Simple & Delicious, Middle Eastern Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant spices- a fast flavorful wholesome meal, that can be made in an Instant Pot!
The ego loves being “offended”. ~Eckart Tolle
Here’s a recipe for Instant Pot Middle Eastern Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant spices that will warm you to your bones. It takes 15 minutes of hands-on time before finishing off in an Instant Pot using the pressure cooker setting.
This can also be made on stovetop, then finished in the oven, but know it will take twice as long. Whichever way you choose to go, the flavors will satisfy. Serve the stew over basmati rice, everyday quinoa, or if going grain-free, try cauliflower rice.
How to Make Middle Eastern Lamb Stew!
Here I’ve used stew meat- cut from lamb shoulder. I’ve opted for local, sustainably-raised American lamb, which seems more meaty and sweeter in flavor than imported lamb. It’s also fresher, having traveled far fewer miles to get here.
Here I’ve used stew meat- cut from lamb shoulder. Lamb leg would also work. I’ve opted for local, sustainably-raised American lamb, which seems meatier and sweeter in flavor than imported lamb. It’s also fresher, having traveled far fewer miles to get here.
This week I’ve partnered with The American Lamb Board who is offering great prizes this month in celebration of Friendsgiving! If you are a fan of lamb, you won’t want to miss out on this, so make sure to enter!
If Middle Eastern Spices are not your thing, this simple Irish Lamb Stew would work great in the Instant Pot too!
If using an Instant Pot, brown the onion and lamb using the sauté setting. Once the rest of the ingredients are in, set the pressure cooker on high for 50 minutes. The lamb will turn out perfectly tender and infused with the most delicious Middle Eastern Spices.
If cooking this Middle Eastern Lamb Stew on the stovetop, sear in a dutch oven, add the rest of the ingredients, then place in a 325F oven for 1¾- 2 hours.
Serve alongside quinoa, basmati rice or even roasted cauliflower or cauliflower rice.
Instant Pot Lamb Stew infused with Middle Eastern Spices….a fast and easy weeknight dinner that requires only 15 minutes of hands-on time before letting the Instant Pot work its magic.
For more Instant-Pot recipes, be sure to check out my favorite Ethnic Instant Pot Recipes from around the Globe!
If you try this recipe, be sure to let us know by leaving a comment, rating, and tagging a picture #feastingathome on Instagram.
Cheers, friends!
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Instant Pot Middle Eastern Lamb stew
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Instant Pot Middle Eastern Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant spices- a simple flavorful wholesome meal. Serve over quinoa, basmati rice or cauliflower “rice”. | www.feastingathome.com
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or ghee
- 1 ½ –1 ¾ pounds lamb stew meat ( shoulder, leg or shank) cut onto 1 ½ inch cubes
- 1 onion, diced
- 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon of each: salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin seeds ( seeds are optional, add another teaspoon ground cumin if no seeds)
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes ( Aleppo Chili flakes are nice) and more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 x 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup raisins or dried apricots (chopped), or even dried currants
Serve with cooked quinoa, couscous or basmati rice & garnish with fresh Italian parsley or cilantro leaves and extra chili flakes.
Instructions
Turn the Instant Pot on and set it to the Sauté function. Heat the butter or oil and saute the onions for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Add the lamb, garlic, salt and all the spices and saute for 5 more minutes until fragrant. Add the vinegar, tomato paste, honey, stock, chickpeas and raisins and stir until combined.
Cover and set the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker) to pressure cook setting for 50 minutes on normal/high. Naturally release.
Let the pressure release and give a stir. The lamb will be tender and break apart easily. If you prefer it less juicy, return to saute function and cook off some of the liquid. ( Note that it will thicken a bit as it sits)
Serve over quinoa, rice or cous cous with some fresh cilantro or parsley.
The leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld.
Notes
Alternatively you can cook this on the stove top in a oven proof dutch oven. Pre heat the oven to 325. Brown the onions in the ghee or butter then add the garlic, lamb, salt and spices, cooking for 5 -6 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients – all except the raisins, and bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven and bake 2 hours, adding the raisins about an hour or 1 ½ hours into the baking time.
After two hours the lamb will be very tender. If you like a little more browning, give a quick broil to the pot uncovered.
LAMB: This recipe is designed for “tougher” cuts of lamb- shoulder, leg, etc., that need longer cooking times to tenderize. Please don’t waste already tender lamb chops or lamb loin on this recipe. You can also use beef stew meat or even goat.
Keywords: Lamb Stew, instant pot lamb stew, instant pot lamb recipes, middle eastern lamb stew, moroccan lamb stew, instant pot recipes lamb
It says the calories per serving is 579. How many ounces in a serving? Does that include the rice?
Hi Jonathon, it is 1/4 of the stew, without the rice. Sorry I don’t know the exact ounces.
I would love to try this, but we have a bigger family. Can I just double all the ingredients or will some of the spices overpower this if I double them?
Hi Ilan, it should be totally fine to double (spices and all) if it fits in your instant pot. 🙂
This is so delicious, an outstanding lamb stew! I like to cook it ahead, let it chill overnight, and then skim the hardened fat off the top before reheating. I used golden sultan raisins, which seemed to disintegrate and disappear under the pressure. Next time I may add them in after the pressure cooking so they stay intact. Finally, I’m intrigued by the poster who suggests using soaked, raw chickpeas. I’ll probably try that next time too! Will let you know the outcome.
★★★★★
Thanks Donna- I like the idea of adding the raisins afterward too- and yes, let me know how the soaked chickpeas work here!
Delicious and aromatic. I served with naan bread to soak up the broth.
★★★★★
Perfect Nancy! Glad you liked it!
is it possible to make with chicken ?
I have made it so many times with lamb but have guests this week and they do not eat red meat !!!
Hi Sandi- I have not tried this with Chicken- so really not sure how it would be? We have so many great chicken recipes on the blog- it might be worth taking a look?
Loved this! Added a large sweet potato to make up for having slightly less lamb. Was a good addition. We will make this again.
★★★★★
Great to hear Debbie!
I love this recipe so much. I have made it so many times and just keep coming back to it. It is easy, full of flavor and just plain amazing. Thanks!!
★★★★★
Love hearing this Fanshen!
Sorry if you answered this elsewhere and I didn’t see it…can I use dried chickpeas? I just have so many and really prefer to use them as they’re so cheap! If I soak them for 24 hours, do you think I could put in with the meat directly and follow the recipe as is? Or would I need to adjust water? If you think dried/soaked won’t work that’s fine and I’ll just pick up a can 🙂
Thanks so much! As an aside….I have turned so many people on to your blog. As my husband and I like to say…every. SINGLE. recipe I’ve gotten from here has been a banger! We are OBSESSED! You have made me such a better cook 🙂
Awww, thanks! Very appreciated! Yes, Julia- I bet if you soaked them they would be great in there! I might add tiny bit more liquid, but not much though if fully soaked for 24 hours. Will you let me know how it turns out, noting the soaking time?
Delicious blend of flavors. I served with naan to sop up the wonderful gravy. I also roasted some carrots for a vegetable and they went well. Plan to make this for company.
★★★★★
Great to hear!
Hi,
Would it be ok to leave out raisins and apricots? My husband isn’t a fan of dried fruits in entrees.
Thanks
So, the sweetness here really balances out the vinegar. If you leave out…maybe just add the vinegar to taste at the end, and you may not need it. 🙂
Loved this! I omitted the red pepper flakes because of my kids and also added in some kale for extra veg
★★★★★
Perfect Alana!
Absolutely wonderful! I’ve been craving is Israeli food ever since I went there, and it’s right here!
My question is can I use frozen lamb, and can I use bone-in shoulder cuts?
Thank you!!
★★★★★
I think you can use either Rayna- but I’m not sure of how the timing would change in the instant pot. If using bone-in, I would absolutely thaw it first. If using frozen, make sure it is cut into smaller chunks.
I made this tonight in my instant pot (I’m pretty much a beginner). WOW! Amazing. I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Awesome Nicola!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Just wondering: if using soaked dry chickpeas (soaked for 24 hours) how much longer doni adjust the cooking time for? Thanks!
★★★★★
I would keep the time the same to get that meat tender.
Really love this recipe.
However, I was suspicious of the 50 minutes for soften chickpeas. It took about 3 hour for the right texture, but we’ll worth the wait?
★★★★
Wow Natasha.Three hours? I would suggest soaking your batch of chickpeas beforehand. That would help a lot. 😉
This was divine. I followed the recipe almost exactly, with an added preliminary step of searing my lamb chunks using the IP’s saute function on high. The moisture released from the cooking onions perfectly loosened up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Will make this again and again.
Great to hear Betty!