One-Pot Irish Lamb Stew: A Family Favorite Recipe

This Irish Lamb Stew is made from lamb shoulder chunks, potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and a whole bunch of love! It’s basically a pot full of comfort, and is absolutely delicious!

Irish Lamb Stew

I’ve been on a bit of an Irish food kick lately with the last few recipes that I’ve posted here. Guess it’s got something to do with that time of year (it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day).

That inner 12% Irish in me is just longing to get out.

In the last few days, I’ve posted recipes for both Irish Champ (spring onion mashed potatoes) and Irish Brown Bread.

Now, I’m rounding it off with my Irish Lamb Stew. Good things can come in threes too!

If you’re gonna make this stew, do yourself a favor and make the Irish brown bread too.

You’re gonna want to dunk it in all this gloriousness, trust me. And that bread is the perfect bread to go along with this Irish lamb stew.

Might as well make the mashed potatoes too because any stew leftovers are excellent on top of them.

Why You’ll Love This Irish Lamb Stew

• Hearty and Comforting: This hearty stew is the ultimate comfort food. It’s full of tender chunks of lamb stew meat, baby potatoes, and fresh veggies.
• Tender Lamb, Every Time: The slow simmering ensures the lamb meat is fall-apart tender. It’ll practically melt in your mouth!
• Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day: This traditional Irish lamb stew is ideal for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
• Nutritious and Filling: Packed with root vegetables like carrots, celery, and potatoes, this stew makes for a seriously hearty dinner!
• Leftovers Taste Even Better: If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this stew is even more flavorful the next day.

My Irish Lamb Stew is steeped in Irish heritage and pairs wonderfully with a loaf of Irish soda bread or crusty bread.

Irish Lamb Stew Ingredients

• Lamb Shoulder Chops: The lamb shoulder cut is tender and full of flavor, perfect for slow cooking. It creates rich, savory juices that make this stew really go off!
• Salt and Black Pepper: Simple seasonings to bring out the natural flavors of the lamb meat and the veggies.
• Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil: You’ll use some oil to sear up the lamb really well. You can use either vegetable oil or olive oil, whichever you prefer.
• Onion: A diced onion adds a sweet, earthy base to the stew. Once it’s cooked down, it blends beautifully with the other flavors.
• Butter: A little butter gives the stew a rich, creamy texture. It’s melted into the cooked onions before adding the flour to thicken the stew.
• All-Purpose Flour: This thickens the broth just enough to give it a silky, comforting texture that coats the tender chunks of lamb and veggies.
• Lamb Stock, Chicken Stock or Broth: If you saved your bone and used it to make lamb stock, you can use that for this recipe. If not, use chicken stock or broth.
• Fresh Rosemary: A sprinkle of rosemary pairs perfectly with the lamb.
• Garlic Powder: Just a dash makes the whole stew shine.
• Carrots: They bring a subtle sweetness and some nice color to the dish.
• Celery with Leaves: I always use the stalks cut up as well as the celery leaves in my stew.
• Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes: These baby potatoes are creamy and soak up all the rich broth. They’re the perfect size for this stew, no peeling needed! You can usually find them in the produce section sold in 1.5 pound netted bags (and triple washed, yay!).

You’ll also enjoy my Irish Coddle Recipe!

How to Make Irish Lamb Stew

• Season and Brown the Lamb: Start by seasoning the lamb with salt and black pepper. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot or skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and cook until it’s browned on all sides, working in batches if needed. Remove the lamb with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
• Cook the Onions: Add the diced onion to the pot. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper, then sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Stir in the butter and let it melt. Then, sprinkle in the all-purpose flour and stir until the onions are well coated. Let this cook for about a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.
• Make the Broth: Pour the chicken stock into the pot with the onions. Stir well to scrape up all the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring this to a boil and add the fresh rosemary and a dash of garlic powder. Let it boil gently for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the Veggies and Lamb: Stir the browned meat back into the pot along with the diced carrots, celery with leaves, and baby potatoes.
• Simmer the Stew: Reduce the heat to low heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the stew simmer for 60-90 minutes.
• Serve and Enjoy: When the stew is done, the tender chunks of lamb and veggies will be melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Sprinkle some fresh parsley on top of the stew for a nice pop of color.

Possible Variations

• Pearl Barley: Add a handful of pearl barley to make your stew even heartier. It soaks up the flavorful broth and adds a chewy texture that pairs beautifully with the tender lamb.
• Bacon Fat: Fry a little bacon and use the bacon fat for browning the lamb and cooking the onions.
• Guinness Beer or Red Wine: Add a splash of Guinness beer or red wine to the broth for a richer, deeper flavor.
• Tomato Paste: Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste for a hint of sweetness and to thicken the broth just a little bit more.
• Beef Stock Instead of Chicken Stock: For a bolder broth, swap out the chicken stock for beef broth. It gives the stew a slightly richer base.
• Vegetable Variations: Add parsnips or turnips along with the potatoes, carrots and celery.
• Slow Cooker Method: Transfer everything to a slow cooker after browning the meat and simmer on low for 6-8 hours.
• Bouquet Garni: Wrap some rosemary, thyme, and parsley in cheesecloth to make a bouquet garni. Toss it in while simmering for easy removal later, ensuring no stray herbs in the stew.

Recipe Tips

Lamb: I like to use a lamb shoulder or lamb shoulder chops for this recipe because they are very budget friendly and have so much flavor and richness in them. I usually just buy the whole shoulder and have the butcher cut the meat off the bone and then break it down into chunks (stew meat) for me.

I bring home the bone to make a rich lamb stock. If you can’t find lamb shoulder cut, you can use lamb shanks or leg of lamb instead. They add just as much flavor and cook up just as tender.

Potatoes: I prefer to use baby Dutch yellow potatoes for this lamb stew. Not only do I love the flavor, but I absolutely love the look of having whole small potatoes in the finished product. It just looks like a big ol’ pot of comfort!

How to Store Leftovers

To store leftovers of this Irish lamb stew recipe, let it cool to room temperature first. Then, add the stew into an airtight container and pop it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you’ve made a big batch, you can freeze portions for later (it freezes beautifully!).

Just thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat gently over medium heat until warmed through. The flavors are even better the next day!

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Irish Lamb Stew

Ingredients

• 3 pounds lamb shoulder chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock/broth
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 carrots diced small
• 2 stalks celery with leaves diced small
• 1-1/2 pounds baby Dutch yellow potatoes they are usually sold in 1.5 pound netted bags in the produce section

Instructions

• Season lamb shoulder chunks with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet/pot over high heat. Cook lamb shoulder chunks until browned on all sides, working in batches if need be. Using a slotted spoon, remove the browned lamb from the pot and set it aside.
• Add the onion to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until slightly softened and edges are browning, about 5 minutes. Stir the butter into the onion until melted; add in the flour and stir until onions are coated. Cook about 1 minute.
• Pour the stock/broth into the onion mixture and bring to a boil. Add the rosemary and garlic powder.  Boil, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the browned lamb, diced carrots and diced celery. Mix in the potatoes.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 60-90 minutes.