A good, cozy Irish Lamb Stew like this is the perfect solution for a chilly day when the best comfort food is desired. Chunks of tender lamb meat, carrots, potato and onion make up this delicious and flavorful Irish Stew recipe.
What Makes Irish Stew Different?
The difference comes down to the protein. Beef stew is a more common type of stew for Americans. Lamb stew is traditional in Ireland! In fact, to many people across the country of Ireland, Irish Stew is considered the national dish. It’s one of the most eaten foods in Ireland! Beef and Guinness Stew is a popular choice in Ireland too.
A traditional Irish Stew recipe:
There is something very comforting about stew. I had never tried making Irish Lamb Stew before, but now I make this recipe from Rachel Allen’s Irish Family Food Cookbook often for my family. The first time I made this Irish Stew I put it into the oven around noon. It simmered for a couple of hours and delivered a scent to our kitchen that was decidedly welcome. It has become a regular dinner hit with my family. This Irish Stew is special because it’s from Ireland’s #1 bestselling cookbook author. How much more authentic can you get than that?
🛒Ingredients needed:
Irish lamb stew is a rustic, simple recipe made with a short list of wholesome, easy-to-find ingredients.
- Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil.
- Lamb: I like to use lamb stew meat. You can also slice up chunks of lamb shoulder.
- Flour: Use all purpose flour. If you need the stew to be gluten free, use sweet rice flour or tapioca flour.
- Carrots and Onions: You can be creative here and use some of your favorite rustic vegetables (turnips or parsnips would be good!)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: To taste!
- Lamb or chicken stock: If you are at a gourmet grocery store, you might be able to find lamb stock (or lamb bouillon to make your own). If not, chicken stock will work just fine.
- Potatoes: I like to use small red or golden potatoes.
- Thyme, Italian parsley and Chives: Use all fresh- it makes a difference!
Recipe Tips:
- Beef option: Use beef instead of lamb. If you do this, then use beef broth instead of chicken/lamb (or half beef broth and half Guinness.
- Suggested additions: minced garlic, canned chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, red or white wine, chopped cooked bacon, mushrooms or tomato paste. Have fun with the recipe!
- Cook time: Don’t shorten the time in the oven or try to speed it up. The lamb really needs the slow baking time to come out tender and pull-apart delicious.
✏️How to make Irish Stew:
It will only take you about 20 minutes of prep time to get this meal into the oven. Then it bakes for about 2 hours, giving your kitchen the wonderful scent of a warm and comforting meal along the way!
- Get your oven heated to 325 degrees F. Gather a Dutch oven, or a flameproof casserole dish that has a lid.
- Heat olive oil in your pot. Toss the lamb chunks with flour. Then sdd the lamb to the hot oil and cook until browned on all sides. This is going to help lock in the juices of the lamb. And the flour will help with thickening the gravy. Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside. Add the carrots and onions to the pan- stir and cook for a few minutes, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Return the meat to the pot, add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and season again with salt and pepper. Place thyme sprigs on top.
- Cover and bake in the oven for about 2 hours, until the meat is very tender. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs before serving.
✔️What to serve with Irish Stew:
- You must have a pint of Guinness when eating Irish lamb stew. It’s an Irish tradition!
- It’s terrific served with potatoes like Colcannon or Champ.
- Whip up some Irish Soda Bread to soak up the gravy in this stew. Make some homemade Irish butter too, and your whole meal is Irish themed!
★Make Ahead and How to Store:
This stew will store beautifully in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. In fact, Irish stew happens to be pretty delicious when eaten as leftovers. The flavors have a chance to meld, and it gets more rich and delicious with age! The stew can also be frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 months.
❤️Why I love this recipe:
- My husband is Irish and loves all things Irish. The fact that he enjoys this stew so much makes me love it.
- I’ve always been a fan of lamb chops and leg of lamb roast, so I love having such a warm and cozy way of preparing it as a stew.
- Double the recipe, making enough to serve 8 and you’ve got Irish stew as the main course for a St. Patrick’s Day party.
Irish Lamb Stew
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds lamb cut into chunks (see notes below)
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 large carrots (peeled and cut into thick slices)
- 3 medium onions (peeled and cut into quarters)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups lamb or chicken stock (broth)
- 8 medium red or white potatoes (peeled and halved)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium to large Dutch oven or flameproof casserole dish. Add the lamb to a medium bowl and toss with the flour. Add the flour-coated lamb to the hot oil and cook until browned on all sides (a few minutes). Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside. Add the carrots and onions to the pan- stir and cook for a few minutes, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Return the meat to the pot, add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and season again with salt and pepper. Place thyme sprigs on top.
- Cover and bake in the oven for 1½ to 2 hours, until the meat is very tender. Add chopped herbs and serve.
Notes
- Lamb options: Use lamb stew meat (already chopped). Or cut up lamb shoulder and use that.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
i have a recipe almost like that only different I use cooked bacon , sausage and apple cider instead of broth thanks, duane
I featured your irish stew in my blog.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Delicious stew recipe, made this for St. Patrick’s Day except I used beef in place of lamb. It was flavorful and enjoyed by all. Thanks for sharing.
Could you make this in the crock pot?
I didn’t try it in the crockpot, so I’m not sure. Maybe if you cooked it low and slow…
Made this last night along with the Cheesy Soda Scones – it was great! Very simple to put together, and the house smells great while it’s in the oven. I used red new potatoes and left the skin on, which added nice color. I couldn’t find lamb stew meat, so I bought some leg steaks and cubed them up and it was falling apart tender in 1 1/2 hours. Delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing!
The stew looks so hearty and incredible! Love all the big chunks of veggies with the tender lamb!
Lori, what a great stew. I have been looking at Irish dishes all day, this looks amazing! Honestly I have never had lamb (that I can remember). But, this may just inspire me to try it! Thanks!
Lori: You’re absolutely right. I shouldn’t have phrased it the way I did. What I should have said is that our Irish pubs generally serve what we Americans think of as traditional Irish fare! Heck, my only knowledge of what’s ‘traditional’ comes from her mother-in-law’s book and that focuses on down and dirty traditional, down through the ages, with no modern influences. So that was an unfair comment I made. Sorry, Rachel Allen!:)
I’m sure the recipes are GREAT but I’ll bet the reason we don’t see these types of dishes in Irish pubs here is because they’re not traditional Irish dishes. They’re probably danged good, but they’re not “Irish”, so to speak, other than they’re made by an Irish woman:). Her mother-in-law, Darina Allen, has an excellent book, “Irish Traditional Cooking”. A REALLY good book if one is looking for traditional stuff. A wealth of information!
Well, I definitely don’t know her personally, but the author refers to the recipes in the book as family recipes inspired by both traditional and modern Irish cooking, and she writes about the different provinces and the foods/recipes that are common in each province. In any case, it all sounds wonderful to me!