Simple & delicious Instant Pot Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant Middle Eastern 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 Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant Middle Eastern 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 the 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, or everyday quinoa, or if going grain-free, try our cauliflower rice.
Why You’ll Love This!
- Invigorating Middle Eastern flavor! Cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and chili flakes come together harmoniously to create rich, complex, and warm flavor.
- Only 15 minutes of hands-on cooking. This recipe requires minimal prep time before cooking in the Instant Pot for 50 minutes. Your home will smell amazing as the dish stews and becomes rich with flavor!
- Comforting and wholesome. This warm and cozy dish is perfect for cold nights. It is full of nourishing ingredients, warm spices, and aromatic flavors. It’s meaty and satiating and will fill you up after a long day.
- Can be enjoyed in so many ways. Serve over rice, quinoa, couscous, or riced cauliflower. Add a side of warm pita bread or roasted cauliflower. There are so many delicious ways to present this stew.
- Leftovers taste even better! Make this in advance and enjoy leftovers on a busy weeknight. This stew tastes amazing after the flavors have had even more time to blend together.
Instant Pot Lamb Stew Video
This is one of my favorite lamb stew recipes because of the complex and fragrant Middle Eastern spices! If Middle Eastern Spices are not your thing, this simple Irish Lamb Stew would work great in the Instant Pot too!
Lamb Stew Ingredients
- Lamb stew meat: Use lamb shoulder, lamb leg, or lamb shank cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes. The lamb meat provides a hearty and savory flavor to the stew. It becomes tender and flavorful after cooking.
- Olive oil, butter, or ghee: This fat is used for browning the lamb meat and adds richness to the stew.
- Onion: Adds a sweet and slightly tangy flavor to the stew. It also contributes to the overall texture of the dish.
- Garlic cloves: Adds a pungent and aromatic flavor to the stew. It enhances the savory profile of the dish.
- Spices: Cumin provides warm and earthy flavor, coriander adds a citrusy and slightly sweet taste, turmeric brings in vibrant yellow color and a mildly earth and slightly bitter taste, cinnamon adds warmth and sweetness, and chili flakes add a spicy kick.
- Tomato paste: Adds a rich, tangy flavor and helps to thicken the stew.
- Apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar): Adds a tangy and slightly acidic taste to balance the richness of the stew.
- Honey or brown sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness and helps to balance the flavors in the stew.
- Chicken stock or broth: Forms the liquid base of the stew and adds depth of flavor. It helps to tenderize the meat and infuse it with the other ingredients. You can also use beef broth.
- Chickpeas: Provide a creamy and nutty texture to the stew. They also add protein and fiber.
- Raisins, dried apricots, or dried currants: Add pops of sweetness and chewiness to the stew. They provide a nice contrast to the savory flavors.
What is the Best Meat Cut for Lamb Stew?
This recipe is designed for “tougher” cuts of lamb that need longer cooking times to tenderize. Please don’t waste already tender lamb chops or lamb loin on this recipe. Beef stew meat or even goat make good substitutions too!
Use lamb stew meat- cut from lamb shoulder, leg, or shanks. also good options. I’ve opted for local, sustainably raised American lamb, which is meatier and milder in flavor than imported lamb. It’s also fresher, having traveled far fewer miles to get here.
How to Make Instant Pot Lamb Stew
Sauté. 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, scraping up any browned bits.
Pressure cook. Cover and set the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker) to pressure cook setting for 50 minutes on normal/high. Naturally release.
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 the saute function and cook off some of the liquid. (Note that it will thicken a bit as it sits).
Taste and adjust. Adjust seasonings to taste. If it is too sweet, add a few drops more vinegar. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
How to make Lamb Stew on the Stove top
- Alternatively, you can cook this on the stovetop in an oven-proof Dutch oven.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Brown the onions in the ghee or butter over medium-high heat, then add the garlic, lamb, salt, black pepper, and spices, cooking for 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining ingredients – all except the raisins, and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering covered, on low heat, until lamb is tender, about 1 ½ hours, adding more liquid as necessary.
- Alternatively, you could cover and place in the oven and bake for 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.
What to serve with Lamb Stew?
- Basmati rice
- The Best Quinoa!
- Couscous
- Grain-Free Moroccan Cauliflower Couscous
- Cauliflower rice
- Simple Homemade Pita Bread
- Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Lemon and Parsley
FAQs
Yes, absolutely, it will get even more delicious as the flavors meld.
It’s important to let the instant pot come to pressure, cook, and naturally release. The natural pressure release will result in the most tender texture.
To retain the rich flavor of the stew, pressure cooking is best.
Yes! In this recipe the lamb sautés for 5 minutes with the spices and aromatics before pressure cooking.
Yes! Veggies like carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga or celeriac are wonderful options. Even potato would make a delicious and hearty addition.
Storage & Freezing
Lamb stew will keep in the fridge up to 4 days. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can freeze this recipe for up to 6 months. Remove from the freezer to thaw in the fridge when ready to eat. Perfect for busy weeknights!
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.
We hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Lamb Stew Recipe!
Cheers, friends.
More Recipes you may enjoy!
Instant Pot Lamb stew
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Simple & delicious Instant Pot Lamb Stew with chickpeas and fragrant Middle Eastern spices- a fast, flavorful, wholesome meal that can be made in an Instant Pot.
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 salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin ( or use 1 teaspoon ground, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric,
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 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)
- 1–2 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).
- Adjust seasonings to taste. If too sweet, add a few drops more vinegar.
- Serve over quinoa, rice or couscous 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 stovetop in a oven-proof dutch oven. Preheat 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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 33.3 g
- Sodium: 299.7 mg
- Fat: 20.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.7 g
- Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 47.2 g
- Cholesterol: 113.1 mg
Easy and really delicious!
Outstanding. First time visitor to this site, but I’ll be back.
Modified only slightly — went a little lighter than called for on honey and cumin. Used chopped medjool dates instead of raisins or apricots. My Lamb was cut in thinner strips for shawarma, not cubed, so I lowered the cooking time to 30 minutes. Could eat this every day.
Lovely! I used the stove top method and mine reduced a lot more than the picture indicates, but it was still a delicious dish, my partner loved it. I did roast cauliflower as a side. Leftovers the following day were also great for lunch at work.
Great recipe. Very flavorful/intense taste. I used about 3/4 cup of the chick stock and added 4 carrots. Still needed to boil out for about 5 minutes to get the sauce a littler thicker. I also added some potatoes.
One of the best Insta Pot recipes I have tried. Delicious! lamb was tender and succulent with layers of spice flavours but not over powering. Liked it so much we are making it a second time.
Awesome Todd, glad you liked it!
This stew was awesome! Super flavorful & easy to make. I would probably put half as much honey next time as I’ve cut out most sugar & it was almost too sweet for me. Would definitely make again & highly recommend it!!
You didn’t mention what size Instant Pot to use. Could you please let me know? The recipe looks great!
I used a 6 Quart Instant Pot
I made this in a mini instapot (measurements as listed in the recipe) and it came out great (just in case anyone is wondering).
Can you please clarify how long you set the Instant Pot pressure cooker on high. Is it 40 min or 1 hour? Also do you let it naturally release the pressure? Thanks- I’m going to try this tomorrow!
Sorry Lori, I fixed it… thanks!
An hour sounds long in the instant pot- everything will turn to mush
Anna, give it a try, it really works well tenderizing the tough lamb stew meat.
how do you make a comment like that without ever having cooked a stew in the IP?
I love this recipe!! For those who thought there was a lot of liquid after the cook time, here’s what you can do (with all your IP stew/soup recipes): once pressure is released, put the pot in sauté mode and boil it with lid open for about 10 minutes to reduce some of the liquid.
Delicious! This will make a repeat appearance in our home.
Thanks so much!!
Thank you for this recipe. I added carrots and used a pressure cooker over the stove for 30mins. Everything came out perfect! The carrots were filled with the flavors from the gravy, as well as the canned chickpeas (not mushy). This recipe is a keeper!
Delicious! Flavors were lovely and my kids loved it!
Hi Sylvia, I can’t wait to try this recipe and wonder who your ‘go to’ source for local lamb is in our Spokane area?
Thanks, Patty
Hey Patty! I bought a 1/4 of a lamb a while back from someone at the farmers market. I’m spacing out the name right now…. Rocky Ridge Ranch??? So have it frozen and thawing as needed.
J’ai fait ta recette dans un plat à tajine en terre( l’habitude de la cuisine arabe.
Cette recette peut se faire en cocotte minute( nom français pour une cuisson sous pression). Toi, tu l’as fait dans une mijoteuse ,je suppose.
En tout c’est bon. Bisous Chris 06
Translated: I made your recipe in a clay tajine dish (the usual Arabic cuisine.
This recipe can be done in a pressure cooker (French name for a pressure cooking). You did it in a slow cooker, I suppose.
In all, it’s good. Kisses Chris 06
Thanks Chris! I love that you used a Tagine, lovely! I made this in a pressure cooker. Here it is called “Instant Pot” . 🙂
I loved this recipe but will make one change the next time. I’ll reduce the amount of stock by half or more. It came out very liquid-y which diluted the delicious spice mixture. A much thicker sauce will make it seem more like an entree and less like a stew. Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe!
Thanks Barbara, such a good suggestion, really appreciated!!!
We loved it!
I made this recipe exactly as written with my instant pot, using the pressure setting. The prep was super easy and the result is amazing! So delicious and full of flavor, and I love all the spices – you can taste each one. Mine turned out with more liquid than I expected, probably because of the pressure cooker, so I would adjust the amount of chicken broth if you want a less soupy consistency and more like a thick stew.
I would like to try this recipe. Curious if dried chick peas could be used (with added liquid) given the one hour cook time in the Instant Pot as I cook them in less time than that on their own. Do canned ones turn mushy at all? I don’t think I have used canned ones for that long in the pressure cooker.
I would like to try this but with a 1 hour pressure cook time I am wondering if canned chicken peas turn to mush? I am curious if dried would work with added liquid as I cook those in under an hour in the Instant Pot? I have only cooked them on their own however. I don’t want a disaster and ruin delicious lamb!
This is our first instant pot recipe and we will definitely have it again. So easy and delicious!!
Simply loved it, added to my favorites.
I adored this recepie, I will do it again for sure. It was so easy to make, my husband looked how I did it and told me next time he’ll cook it himself. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed and happy your husband will be making it next time! Thanks Lynn.
Hi Sylvia
I am a big fan of your site, have cooked many of your recipes and always love the results. If I don’t eat lamb how do you think substituting veal or chicken breast fillets will taste? I assume less cooking time for chicken breasts or all on the stove top….
Thank you!
Hey Rhonda, I think beef would be the best substitute. I’m not sure about chicken… you could give it a try (and cooking time will be shorter.)
I tried this tonight, but I only used 1 tbsp of honey and also only about 2/3rds the suggested amount of vinegar, because one of my children doesn’t like vinegary flavors.
The stew was quite flavorful and my family liked it. Thank you for this recipe.
I am confused on the cooking time. Does it mean that if you use the meat/stew setting, you let that at the default time of 35 minutes, but if you are using manual setting, cook for one hour? Or adjust the meat/stew setting to 1 hour as well?
Sorry, yes adjust to 1 hour cooking time. I will adjust recipe and make it more clear. Thanks!