This Irish Lamb Stew recipe is incredibly easy and delicious! Made with tender lamb (or beef), baby potatoes, carrots, peas, cipollini onions, and fresh herbs with only 30 minutes of hands-on time.
What I refuse to face within myself will meet me in the exterior world
through you, not as you are, but as I have so construed you.
James Hollis
My Egyptian father was born on St. Patrick’s Day. Though far from being Irish, he had a little bit of leprechaun in him, and he loved this Irish Lamb Stew. And I loved making it for him.
Flavorful and easy to make with frozen, peeled cipollini onions, baby carrots, and baby potatoes, this recipe requires very little chopping and dicing. It can come together in about 25 minutes before going into the oven to bake. It’s my favorite kind of recipe!
Why You’ll Love Irish Stew!
- Simple recipe with wholesome ingredients. Familiar, healthy ingredients and minimal chopping or prep work.
- Herby and flavorful. Brothy, surprisingly light, satisfying, with fresh spring flavor.
- Easy to make! 30 minutes of hands-on time before baking.
Irish lamb stew Ingredients
- Lamb or Beef: I prefer lamb shoulder or lamb leg in the recipe. Feel free to use beef ( tougher cuts of beef work great here, shoulder, stew meat, etc, ) or mutton.
- Cipollini onions: Use frozen, peeled. Can sub 3 medium onions cut into wedges.
- Baby carrots: Or 6 medium, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths.
- Baby potatoes: 1-2 inches in diameter.
- Chicken broth: Or chicken stock. Can use beef broth if making Irish beef stew.
- Thyme sprigs: Or sub bay leaves.
- Peas: Frozen or fresh (optional, for color).
- Fresh tarragon leaves or flat leaf parsley.
How to Make Irish LamB Stew
Preheat oven to 350F.
Step 1: Prep the lamb. Cut the lamb into 2-inch pieces. Pat lamb dry and season with salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the lamb cubes on all sides, working in batches, taking your time.
Step 2: Prep the vegetables. Set lamb aside and add onions and carrots to the pot, lowering heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper and cook 8 minutes.
Step 3: Begin the stew. Return the meat to the pot, add the potatoes and broth, and bring to a simmer. Add thyme sprig (or bay leaves).
Step 4: Bake the stew. Cover tightly and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender. (Alternatively, you can continue simmering on the stovetop on low, adding more broth if needed. ) Check meat for tenderness with a fork; it should pull apart easily.
Once tender, add the peas, uncover and cook for 5-10 minutes. When done, remove any fat from the top of the broth using a ladle.
Step 5: Serve. Garnish the dish with fresh tarragon and ladle into bowls. Taste and adjust for salt. Fresh, chopped parsley or fresh thyme would also be lovely garnishes if desired!
Chef’s Tips
- Brown the meat! Take extra care and time to season the meat and brown it on all sides- this give the best flavor.
- Cook until tender! Irish stew is typically made with tougher cuts of meat. This requires longer cooking time- so cook until it easily pulls apart with a fork. Time may vary, depending on the specific cut and size of the pieces, so always check for tenderness.
- Always adjust salt and pepper to taste before serving. A splash of Worcestershire sauce adds punchy flavor and depth.
Serving Suggestions
Any type of bread is great for dipping into this brothy lamb stew. It is traditionally served with Irish soda bread! We love these Cheddar Scones!
- Sourdough Bread
- Cheddar Scones with Caramelized Onions
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Crispy Herby Smashed Potatoes
- Little Gem Salad
- Wild Rice Pilaf
- Easy Roasted Asparagus
FAQs
It all comes down to the protein. Traditional stew is made with beef, while Irish stew is commonly made with lamb.
Yes! If you prefer this to be on the thicker side, simply add a roux of butter and flour. You can stir the roux into the broth toward the end of baking. Alternatively, you could mix in 2 teaspoons of cornstarch (mixed with 2 teaspoons water) during the last few minutes of baking.
Use any vegetables you have on hand. You can add green beans, mushrooms, parsnips, or any other hearty veggies.
This recipe is a lightened-up, brothy stew. However, if you wish to add a stout beer, use a cup of Guinness beer when adding the broth. Scale the broth back to 3 cups.
Storage & Freezing
Store cooled leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, sealed in an airtight container. This recipe is freezer-friendly too! Store in the freezer for 2 months. When ready to eat again, simply thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stovetop.
Enjoy this warm and comforting Simple Irish Stew and have a beautiful week!
More Recipes You May Enjoy!
Irish Lamb Stew Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 90 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Main, lamb
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
An easy recipe for traditional Irish Lamb Stew made with lamb, baby potatoes, carrots, peas, cipollini onions and fresh tarragon! So easy, so delicious- this version is made in a dutch oven in the oven!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds lamb shoulder (or use beef chuck roast) cut in 2-inch chunks
- Salt and pepper
- 3–4 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound frozen peeled cipollini onions (or use 3 medium unions, cut into wedges)
- 1 pound baby carrots (or about 6 medium cut in 3-inch lengths)
- 2 pounds baby potatoes (1-2 inch in diameter)
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2–3 large sprigs of thyme, or 2 bay leaves
- 1–2 cups frozen or fresh peas (optional, for color)
- Optional: splash of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, or flat-leaf parsley.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Pat lamb dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed oven proof dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides, working in batches, taking your time to do this well. This is what adds the flavor!
- Set the meat aside and add onions and carrots to the pot, lowering the heat to medium, adding more oil if necessary. Season generously with salt and pepper and continue cooking 6-8 minutes.
- Return the meat to pot, add the potatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Add thyme sprig or bay leaves.
- Cover tightly, and bake for 1 ½ hours or until lamb is fork tender. (Alternatively, you can continue to simmer on low heat on the stovetop.)
- Once the meat is stender, uncover, add peas, and cook 10 more minutes. Skim any fat from top of broth using a ladle or spoon. Taste, adjust salt and pepper. A splash of Worcestershire works here too, if you want more depth.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh tarragon ( or parsley).
Notes
Irish Stew will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated on the stove top, or can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 485
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 920.7 mg
- Fat: 17.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.7 g
- Fiber: 4.7 g
- Protein: 37.6 g
- Cholesterol: 115 mg
If I wanted to keep this recipe vegetarian, would mushrooms work in place of meat?
Thanks for all your phenomenal recipes!
You could sure give it a try. You also may want to check out our Vegetable Stew!
This looks amazing and I’m going to make it for Easter as my husband loves stew. Since we live in our RV full time I prefer my Instant Pot to leaving anything in an oven for more than 30 minutes. I’ll brown the meat first (hopefully I can find lamb here in Tucson) and then cook it at high pressure in the IP for 35 minutes, then do a quick release and add the carrots and potatoes in and cook at high pressure for another 10-15 minutes, doing an natural release this time. Hopefully that will give me tender meat and potatoes and carrots that aren’t too mushy. Love your recipes!
Sounds good Jody, though it may just take only about 5 minutes for your veggies to cook! We have an instant pot recipe for Beef Stew if you want to look at that for cooking time reference.
Thanks Tonia, I’ll not only follow those directions for the Irish Lamb Stew, I’ll be making the Beef Stew another time! Total comfort food for my husband.
🙌
Great!
Excellent!
I used this recipe for St Patricks day and had very little left overs. My family loved it. I did cook it in my crock pot as I don’t have a Dutch oven.
Glad it worked out for you!
I accidentally got lamb neck bone in cubes for stewing. Do I have to take the bones out, or will the meat fall off?
Yes, the meat should fall off ( or come off easily with a fork) and the bones will add collagen!
Crockpot? Same instructions just low for 8 hours?
Hi Stephanie! Yes, I think this should be fine, but have not persoanlly tried. Let us know will you?
If I were to use beef instead or lamb, should I substitute beef broth for the chicken broth?
You could use either!
This was the best Irish stew I’ve ever had. Super delicious. I used 5 cups of chicken broth and regular fresh Vidalia onions. Do not omit the fresh tarragon at the end if you can help it. It finishes this stew perfectly and adds to the flavor in really surprising and delicious ways.
Please stay away from regular store bought meat if you can help it. It was very likely raised in a factory farming situation, which is terrible animal cruelty. Look for regeneratively and humanely raised beef. Or at a minimum, grass fed and grass finished. Thanks!
Thanks Heather- more and more grocery stores are offering grass-fed, grass-finished meat these days, which has been nice to see!
Hello. I did not make this but wouldn’t the potatoes and especially the carrots turn to mush being cooked for 1½ hours.I usually add carrots in the last 10′ and the potatoes the last 20′.for this type of dish.
You could absolutely stagger them in!
Love the simplicity
Great to hear!
Great recipe! A added garlic and Maggi. Perfect. Loved it and so did my family!
Wonderful! Thanks Rachael.
I’m going to make this for thanksgiving with venison! I’m so excited to try it!
Sounds good Samantha! Let us know how it turns out!
This came out beautifully and was delicious! Easy to make and enjoyable to eat. Thanks!
Hello! This looks delicious, but there is absolutely no lamb shoulder to be found anywhere in my area! Is lamb leg a good substitute? Thanks!
that should work too!
Delicious!
This is amazing, my husband raved.
How would you make this in an Instant Pot? What would the timing be? Thanks
Lindsay- the lamb would need at least 45 minutes on high pressure but Im afraid the carrots would be mushy. If you are ok with that, give it a try!
Hello, I am currently making this in the crockpot. I browned the meet in a skillet beforehand, but am now realizing I didn’t add salt and pepper while browning, only to the crockpot with broth, veggies, meat, etc. Do you think this is a problem? Thank you! So excited to serve this!!
Yes it would have been best to brown with the salt, but I think it is salvageable…season to taste!
Wonderful recipe, wasn’t expecting much considering the simplicity of it but extremely tasty. Will definitely make again.
Personally I added a medium sized chilli and 3 cloves of garlic to the pan a couple of mins before adding the broth and that worked really well, adding a little heat but no spice.
Would this work in the crockpot?
Yes, brown the meat first. 😉
A fantastic warming recipe without too many ingredients Looking forward to giving it a go
Where do you buy your lamb shoulder in Spokane?
I found some at Trader Joes and Super one I think. Call first, sometimes they are out.
I only eat chicken. Do you think this will work with chicken just as well?
Honestly, I’m not sure?? You could try… and make sure to let me know how it turns out!
Hi! This looks delicious. I was wondering what size pot this wold require? My only suitable pot is small–bout 3qts. I was thinking I could half the recipe since I am cooking only for myself anyway? Thanks!
I think mine was 7 quarts… but not all the way full, so yours should work if you half it!!