Greek Lamb Tacos with Minted Yogurt Sauce, cucumber and radishes, made with tender, falling off the bone, slow-roasted Lamb shoulder. Delicious flavors!
These Greek Lamb Tacos are a feast for the senses! In this recipe, lamb shoulder is rubbed with a fragrant herb paste and slow-roasted in the oven until tender and falling apart. Perfect for lazy Sundays, when time is long.
When it’s done, about 3 hours later, the meat pulls apart easily with two forks and is served with a smorgasbord of toasted tortillas, cucumbers, radishes, feta crumbles, parsley, creamy Tzatziki Sauce and an optional but flavorful Herb-Caper Sauce. In summer add vine-ripened tomatoes and greek olives.
Here I’ve used a 5-6 pound boneless lamb shoulder, perfect for entertaining, or for making ahead and freezing in batches.
It’s cooked in a very large Dutch Oven, over a bed of onions, bay leaves and white wine.
A simple herb paste is made with garlic, herbs, salt and olive oil.
It’s rubbed all over the shoulder and then into the oven it goes. About 15 minutes of hands-on time before braising in the oven for 3 hours.
While its cooking, make the simple sides. Lots of freshness here, to counterbalance the richness of the lamb.
A simple Minted Yogurt Sauce is stirred together with lemon zest and optional chili flakes. Or serve with this Creamy Tzatziki Sauce!
Once the lamb is tender, drain the fat, reserving the melted wine-infused onions, then gently pull the meat apart.
Quite easy work for such a delicious feast.
Let guests serve themselves, creating their own perfect Greek Lamb Taco.
The extra meat can be frozen for later and turned into a simple stew, or a tasty Shepard’s Pie.
Or turn all the leftovers into a Greek Lamb Bowl served over rice ( or cauliflower rice) during the busy workweek.
Greek Lamb Tacos- a delicious way to celebrate this Cinco de Mayo!
I hope you love these Greek Lamb Tacos as much as we do….so much flavor happening here!
RELATED: Tzatziki Sauce, Instant Pot Middle Eastern Lamb Stew, Lamb Shawarma
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Greek Lamb Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: Main
- Method: Braised
- Cuisine: Greek
Description
Slow-Braised Lamb Shoulder tucked into tacos with minted yogurt (or tzatziki sauce) cucumber and radishes an optional herb-caper sauce. Full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 5–6 pound boneless lamb shoulder
- 12 fat garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup packed fresh herbs- thyme, parsley, oregano or sage or a combination
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- zest of 1/2 a lemon
- 5–6 teaspoons kosher salt ( 1 teaspoon for every pound of meat)
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- —-
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 large onion
- 3 bay leaves
Taco fillings:
- 1 english cucumber- sliced or diced
- 6 radishes- sliced or diced
- 1 cup crumbled feta ( optional- or make yogurt sauce or tzatziki sauce)
- 1/2 cup fresh torn Italian parsley or mint leaves ( for garnish)
- 10–12 small Tortillas ( I prefer a blend of flour and corn)
Minted Yogurt Sauce ( or sub Tzatziki Sauce! )
- 1 cup Greek-style yogurt ( whole milk)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- zest of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice ( or lime)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and let meat rest on counter and come to room temp. Trim any excess fat. ( A little is ok.)
- Make the garlic herb paste: Place garlic, oil, herbs, zest, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and blend into a paste.
- Slice the onion into ⅓ -½ inch rings and lay in the bottom of a large Dutch oven, creating a foundation for the lamb to rest on. Add the bay leaves. Pour the cup of wine over the onion.
- Rub the lamb with the garlic herb paste, coating all sides well. Use it all up, getting in all the nooks and crannies, inside and out. Place the meat over the onions in the pot. Cover with a tight filling lid and place in the hot oven. The lamb will take roughly about 3 hours to cook and become tender, give or take, depending on size and weight. Check after 2 hours, then every ½ hour after that. It is done when the meat easy pulls apart with two forks.
- While the lamb is braising, prep the veggies. Slice or dice the cucumber and radishes. Chop the herbs. Make the Minted Yogurt sauce by stirring the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- When the meat is tender, using tongs, carefully remove it from the pan, placing it on a dish. Discard the Bay leaves. Fish out the flavorful melted onions and save them with the meat. Pour all the fat/liquid out of the pan, saving it. Return the lamb and onions to the pan, shred it a little with two forks and season with salt. Either skim the fat from the braising liquid ( which will rise to the surface) or chill it- (it will harden) and you can easily remove it. You can add a little braising liquid back into the lamb ( this step is optional-but adds more moisture and flavor).
- Serve up the lamb with warmed tortillas ( or lightly grill them over your gas burner on the stove) and all the sides.
Notes
For another burst of flavor, make the optional Herbed Caper sauce
Herbed Caper Sauce
- ½ cup mint
- ½ cup parsley
- 1-2 garlic cloves- finely minced
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- Zest of one lemon
- ⅛ cup fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons capers
Place all but the capers in a food processor and pulse repeatedly until chopped evenly ( but not smooth). Pour in a small bowl. Stir in the capers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one taco without sauces
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 884.9 mg
- Fat: 14.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.5 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 14.8 g
- Cholesterol: 42.6 mg
Hi Sylvia, Are these 500c. for two tacos? Or what is the serving size? Thank you.
Hi Todd- I updated the nutritional info on the recipe card for you!
Sooo good.
I drizzled some leftover yogurt sauce over fresh pineapple pieces two days later – Oh my!!
Perfect Martie! Glad you liked it!
This is one of my favorite recipes now. I have made it with Lamb, pork, and Beef. And sometimes I make it in the slow cooker so i dont have to worry about the oven being on while I go to work. 10/10 and the perfect recipe to have in the back pocket to impress guests
Thanks so much Monica!
What modifications do you make to cook this in the slow cooker? Do you add any liquid and how long do you cook it for?
Hey Protima- honestly I’m not the best at using a cooker- so I can’t give specifics. I’m sorry. Has anyone else tried this in a slow cooker?
I would like to try this in my slow cooker too. Did you make any changes to the recipe? How long did you slow cook it?
This was delicious! Made your Tzatziki Sauce and the Herb Sauce to go with the tacos, both were fantastic. Our guests asked for the recipe!