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
Sylvia!
I am from Scotland and loooooove my lamb. So I wanted to give you my impression of this recipe from my view! First off, the smell Is amazing! I can’t wait to take it out! I actually bought a cooker just to try this recipe, I love anyone who will take a twist on lamb. The flavor is great! and I’m happy to see this recipe put there! Feel free to add some saffron, it is an amazing spice for any dish like this! Enjoy! -Mabon!
thanks for sharing!
It was a disaster for me ! Too much of apple cider vinegar how can they rate it at 4.9? Waste of expensive meat.
I’m sorry to hear that Ayesha. I’m wondering if somehow the honey got left out? That would balance the vinegar.
I am a big stew fan, and this one instantly made it right to the top of my list. It’s sweet, it’s tangy, it’s spicy… and oh so tasty!
Great to hear!
Amazing recipe! I had some lamb to use up and made this for the crowd of 22 year olds living in my house and it was a hit!
I made this tonight. Used the raisins, but left out the honey/sugar. It was delicious. My husband really liked it too. Served it with couscous. I will definitely make this again.
Such a great recipe, really flavourful and warming, while also feeling fresh and not too heavy of a stew! We’ve loved this dish so much its in our regular routine now and have recommended it to guests who have enjoyed it. Pretty much follow it exactly as you have it, we prefer the apricots over raisins, serve it over quinoa and top with cilantro. Like some others, I buy a bone-in lamb shoulder, cut off some chunks and add the whole bone in, makes it really rich and the rest of the meat falls off the bone when its done cooking. Just as good a few days later for leftovers too. Thanks so much!
I modified the recipe:
– two cans of garbanzo beans rather than 1
– Costco aged balsamic vinegar 2 TBS not 1/4 C
– ground lamb 1#
– added carrots
– used 1 teaspoon of Korean Chile Flakes (Gochugaru)
rather than the 1/2 teaspoon generic chile flakes
– no tomato paste
Served over brown rice – it was very good!
Thank you Sylvia!
One of the most delicious meals I’ve ever made. Followed the recipe to the letter. Opted for brown sugar instead of honey, and dried apricots over raisins.
Perfect in every way. Will definitely be making this again, and will look forward to making it for dinner guests.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Amazing! My family was so impressed, but it was so easy to make… this one is going in my regular repertoire. Thanks, so much!
Droooool
I made this in the oven today and it was delicious! I included the honey but omitted the currants, as I don’t like dried fruit that much, but added in a whole preserved lemon, sliced, to the pot just before I put it into the oven. It was absolutely delicious, will definitely make again!
Thanks for sharing Rosa! Gald you enjoyed.
Didn’t the preserved lemon make it more North African than Middle Eastern?
You must be thinking of the other lamb stew recipe with the olives? This Tagine? Instant Pot Lamb Tagine
Great recipe! My wife says “2 thumbs up and 5 stars.
Delicious, and quite easy to make. Wonderful recipe for the instant pot (my favorite appliance).
I followed the recipe, except I added carrots and celery, (looked like it needed them).
Turned out just as advertised, simple and delicious. I will make this again.
Awesome! so happy you both liked! Thanks for your adjustments- sounds perfect!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! At first I wasn’t going to add as much stock as other reviewers commented but I decided what the heck. I was glad I did because although it was a little more “soupy” my guests were slurping it down. I did double the garlic for my garlic loving husband haha! Thank you!
I made this recipe when I didn’t really want to cook on a Sunday. My family LOVED the flavors and I loved that it was so extremely easy and delicious. I strongly recommend it.
Thank you for this recipe. I used bone-in lamb stew meat, as well as chunks. The bone-in lamb turned out wonderfully tender and juicy. I highly recommend using bone-in lamb, using the identical recipe.
Thanks for the tip! Appreciate it!
Thank you Thank you this recipes was incredible
I made it for my friend and I and he’s Berber he loved it just loves it
Oh great to hear!
Absolutely delicious and very easy to make! Full of flavours The lamb pieces were so tender you could cut through them with a spoon!
My family loved it. I puréed and added to elbow noodles for my 3 year old. He ate it up. I do agree with others regarding the sweetness. Next batch I will eliminate the honey. I think the raisins should make it sweet enough.
Made this last night and it was excellent. My husband and I like a little bit more heat so I would recommend adding more heat next time. Will definitely be making it again!
outstanding in prep time, cooking time and taste!
I followed this recipe using an instant pot and it came out amazing. Wonderful flavors. Just a perfect stew to warm yourself on a cold day. The only change I’d make next time is adding a bit less chicken broth as I like my stews with more of a gravy base than soup but this is personal preference and I’m sure if you leave it on saute long enough the dish will thicken quite a bit. Thanks so much for the recipe! This is a definite keeper.
Looks facinating…. My waif and I team drive a semi truck and often cook on board… we have an instapot duo mini. How would you recommend adjusting the recipient and what about cooking time in the instapot baby brother version?
Hey Ken- I’m so sorry but here is where I lack in the Instant Pot Department. My guess would be to cut recipe in half but keep same cooking times? But this is only a guess!
Husband liked it and he has been not liking instant pot recipes
I don’t usually use many spices so was happy to follow a recipe that had many spices I have not used regularly. I highly suggest waiting until the next day before eating it to give everything a chance to blend.
I’m new to using an Instapot– forced into trying it during a kitchen remodel. This recipe is my favorite so far!! I’m trying to eat a diet with less protein and wondering if anyone can recommend a substitute for the chickpeas, which add more protein to the lamb? Whatever goes in has to withstand 50 minutes of pressure cooking
What about adding in roasted veggies after the lamb is cooked? Or a few handfuls of chopped spinach?
Great ideas! Love that you reply… I have recommended this recipe to others and it came to me via my son — a chain of deliciousness!
Do you think making this recipe two days in advance would be okay? Also, what sides go with it?
Absolutely! I would serve with basmati rice or quinoa!