Rosemary Braised Leg of Lamb

4.54 from 15 votes
Jump to Recipe

This post contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Easy one pot Easy Braised Leg of Lambย Recipe is rich, hearty, and delicious – full of flavor that is perfect for a fancy dinner party or holiday dinner. Italian-Inspired rosemary braised leg of lamb is quick, easy, and delicious – perfect fall off the bone tender braised lamb in tomatoes and rosemary sauce.ย 

leg of lamb in red sauce with rosemary in it

Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.

At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!

Easy braised Leg of Lamb

Lamb is a dish that is perfect for holidays – it is rich and delicious, hearty, and often involves long, slowly bubbling concoctions of wine, herbs, and spices that cocoon it in flavor while making the meat tender and soft. Lamb is also a very good source of zinc, iron, potassium and vitamin B12, according to the Animal Sciences department of Purdue University – making it a healthy and delicious choice for holiday dinners.

This easy leg of lamb recipe is perfect for an Easy Easter Lamb Dinner – and sure to be the star of your Easter dinner!

A slowly braised lamb dish is not only a decadently fancy dish to serve at a dinner party – it’ simple and easy enough to make any night of the week, and can easy be chucked into a slow cooker to do the work, as well.

This Easy Braised Lamb is perfect for any night of the week – from a hectic school day, to a grand celebration – and can easily be scaled up or down depending on the amount of diners, or the amount of rich and hearty rosemary wine sauce you’d like (this dinner is perfection with pasta or gnocchi, and I will often make 1/2 the amount of lamb legs called for and opt instead for tons of leftover sauce.)

leg of lamb in red sauce with rosemary in it

What to Enjoy with Braised leg of lamb

Try these other favorites: 10 Minute Perfect Broiled Lobster Tails Recipe, One Pot Creamy Shrimp Florentine Skillet, and Italian Marinated Leg of Lamb

This Braised Leg of Lamb is a perfect Easy Easter Lamb Dinner – I love to serve it with my recipe for delicious homemade artisan-style no knead bread!

This recipe is a knockout, and fabulous for Easter dinner.

To find my No Knead Bread Recipe, click here – or click the video below to see just how easy it is!

Try these favorites next:

leg of lamb in red sauce with rosemary in it

How To Make Lamb Taste Less Gamey

Lamb gets a bad rap for tasting gamey – and certainly, lamb can have a very strong “funk”.

There are a couple tips and tricks to be sure your lamb is melt-in-your-mouth delicious and has less of a gamey-grassy funk – I’m sharing some below!

  • Buy American Lamb. 
    • While not scientific, many people report that American lamb is less gamey than New Zealand lamb and has less grassy “funk”.
  • Opt for younger lamb, not mutton. 
    • Lamb tastes more gamey as it ages – opt for younger lamb instead of mutton.
  • Trim fat. 
    • The gamey, grassy flavor of leg of lamb is strongest in the fat of the lamb – trim off much of the fat to reduce gamey flavors.
  • Rosemary, Garlic, Thyme.
    • Aromatics like rosemary, garlic, and thyme combat lamb’s gamey flavor – pairing these herbs in this recipe helps cut the flavor and bring out the rich, delicious lamb flavor.
  • Sear first to prevent steam. 
    • Locking in the moisture of the lamb is important for a few things – browning meat before cooking helps give a rich, caramel flavor to the crust, cutting down on funky gamey lamb flavor – but also helps seal in moisture and gives your lamb a beautiful texture and appearance. Don’t skip searing your lamb shanks first if you’re looking for a good way how to make lamb less gamey.
leg of lamb in red sauce with rosemary in it

If you love this easy recipe please click the stars below to give it a five star rating and leave a comment! Pease also help me share on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!

Follow on Instagram

Follow

Only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table? Sign up for my 30 minute dinner plans direct to your inbox!
Find and shop my favorite products in my Amazon storefront here!

Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week – and be sure to tag @sweetcsdesigns on social media – I love to see your creations!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
4.54 from 15 votes

Rosemary Braised Leg of Lamb

By: Courtney O’Dell
Servings: 6
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Easy braised leg of lamb recipe with rosemary sprigs.
Rosemary Braised Leg of Lamb is rich, hearty, and delicious – full of flavor that is perfect for a fancy dinner party or holiday dinner.

Ingredients 

  • 6 lamb, shanks salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp Salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 10 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 red wine, 750 milliliter bottle
  • 1 tomatoes, 28 ounce can whole, peeled
  • 1 10.5 ounce can condensed chicken broth
  • 1 10.5 ounce can beef broth
  • 5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Instructions 

  • Pat lamb shanks dry and trim off any excess fat.ย 
  • Season well with salt and pepper.ย 
  • Het olive oil in large, heavy pan until shimmery.ย 
  • Working in batches, cook lamb shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate and set aside.
  • Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and sautee until golden brown, about 10 minutes.ย 
  • Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth.
  • Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.ย 
  • Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
  • Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer.ย 
  • Transfer shanks to platter, place in a warm oven.
  • Boil juices in pot until thickened, about 15 minutes. Spoon over shanks to serve.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 191kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 1007mgPotassium: 411mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 5270IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetcsdesigns or tag #sweetcsdesigns!

About Courtney

Courtney loves to share great wine, good food, and loves to explore far flung places- all while masting an everyday elegant and easy style at lifestyle blog Sweet Cโ€™s Designs. Sweet C's devoted to finding the best food and drinks you'll want to make or find, around the world!

You May Also Like

4.54 from 15 votes (15 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




1 Comment