Moroccan Lamb Stew is a traditional dish with fall-apart tender lamb, chickpeas, warm spices, apricots, and raisins. It’s an easy one-pot recipe!
One of the big differences between Lamb Stew and Moroccan Lamb Stew is the blend of sweet and savory in the Moroccan version. Using dried fruit along with the savory ingredients gives your Dinner a slight sweetness that makes it completely unique to other stew recipes.
MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
This delicious Lamb Stew is absolutely flavor-packed. The warm spices perfectly season the lamb to make a rich taste that’s simply irresistible. The added texture and flavor from the chickpeas and dried fruit make this stew unique to others but still just as comforting and hearty.
Just like Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Stew, Lamb Stew is wonderfully filling and perfect to enjoy on cold nights. The stew warms you right up and will fill the whole house with the delicious smell of spices while it simmers on the stovetop.
This Lamb Stew recipe cooks low and slow. The longer the lamb cooks in the broth the more juicy and tender it gets. By the time the stew is done cooking in the dutch oven, the lamb meat is fork-tender and well worth the wait time.
MORE SOUP AND STEW RECIPES
WHAT IS THE BEST CUT OF LAMB FOR STEW?
You can get cuts of lamb meat from the butcher that’s already cut into cubes for stew. Another option is using a lamb shoulder or lamb shank and cutting it yourself. Any of these cuts can come out tough and chewy if they aren’t cooked right. That’s why it’s important to start by sautéing the meat and then continue cooking the Lamb Stew nice and slow to make the meat as tender as it can be.
Create a free account to Save Recipes
VARIATIONS ON MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
- More filling ingredients: There are lots of different ingredients you can add to Lamb Stew to make it more filling. This is especially great if you’re making Moroccan Stew for a bigger group. Try putting in some sweet potatoes, potatoes, or couscous. You could also add some red lentils, green lentils, yellow lentils, or brown lentils.
- Broth: There are some changes you can make to the broth in Moroccan Chickpea Stew. Try using vegetable broth and chicken stock. You can also add white wine or balsamic vinegar for some flavor. To make the Lamb Stew more creamy mix in some Greek yogurt with the broth to make it a creamy stew recipe.
- Vegetable add-ins: Some other add-ins you can try in the Lamb Stew recipe are diced tomatoes, bell pepper, parsnips, and plum tomatoes.
- Flavor Add-ins: For some different flavors in the Moroccan Lamb Stew add in some parsley, bay leaf, cilantro, thyme, turmeric, paprika, or cinnamon sticks.
SLOW COOKER MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
- Start by searing the lamb in a cast-iron skillet. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and cook on all sides until browned.
Once the lamb is browned put it in the slow cooker. - Add the onion, garlic, carrots, beef broth, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, dried apricots, and raisins to the crock pot.
- Stir the ingredients, then cover the crock pot.
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours. It’s important to cook on low so the lamb gets as tender as possible.
- Add in the chickpeas and cook in the slow cooker for another hour.
INSTANT POT MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
- Set the instant pot to sauté mode and add oil to the base of the pot.
- Brown the lamb in the instant pot.
- Add the onion, garlic, carrots, beef broth, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, dried apricots, and raisins to the instant pot and stir well.
- Seal the pot and pressure cook it for 15 minutes then manually release the pressure.
- Add in the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes to cook the chickpeas.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
HOW TO STORE MOROCCAN LAMB STEW
- Serve: Don’t leave Moroccan Chickpea Stew at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Once the Moroccan Stew has cooled you can put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep well for 2-3 days.
- Freeze: You can freeze Moroccan Lamb Stew in an airtight container for 3-4 months.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lamb stew meat
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 carrots , sliced
- 2 cans chickpeas , drained and rinsed
- 6 cups beef broth
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dried Turkish apricots , chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins
Instructions
- Season lamb with salt and pepper, then add to a large dutch oven with oil on medium-high heat.
- Cook on all sides until seared well, 6-8 minutes on each side.
- Add in the onion, garlic, carrots, chickpeas, beef broth, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, dried apricots, and raisins and stir well.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 60 minutes.
Sounds yummy. In the photo I see celery and potatoes but those items are not spelled out in the ingredients. Was that just an oversight? Can’t wait to make this. THX Barney
I don’t like the idea of apricots or raisins. Is this still tasty without that? What could be substituted?
You could always try this recipe instead: https://dinnerthendessert.com/lamb-stew/
I hope you’ll give it a try.