Stuffed Leg of Lamb

by Sabrina Snyder

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6 Comments

5 from 3 votes
10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
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This delicious and tender Stuffed Leg of Lamb recipe is easier than it looks and will wow all your friends and family this holiday season!

You don’t need a culinary degree to make show stopping holiday Main Courses like Roasted Leg of Lamb or Crown Pork Roast. We bring you the tips and techniques you need to cook specialty dinner recipes like a pro.

Sabrina’s Stuffed Leg of Lamb Recipe

Leg of Lamb is a deceptively easy cut of meat to prepare. It roasts quickly and doesn’t require marinades or basting to get tender, juicy meat. In fact, the simpler the better when it comes to cooking lamb. All you need for perfect roast is olive oil, seasoning, and about an hour and half. No one will believe you didn’t take a special course to prepare this show-stopping holiday dinner.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Stuffed Leg of Lamb Recipe

This delicious and tender Stuffed Leg of Lamb recipe is easier than it looks and will wow all your friends and family this holiday season!
Yield 10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Slice of lamb on plate with potatoes
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 5 pounds leg of lamb , boneless
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup pesto
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Unroll lamb and slice anywhere you need to, just as deep as needed to make the lamb lay flat.
  • Rub lamb on both sides with olive oil.
  • Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
  • Lay in pan with the inside of lamb leg facing up and make rows of pesto in natural folds of lamb.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Roll lamb back up tightly and tie with kitchen twine.
  • Place onto rack in pan and roast for 1 hour, tented with foil.
  • Remove foil and cook for 20 minutes (then start checking for doneness – 145 degrees with thermometer).
  • Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 942mg | Potassium: 418mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 271IU | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg

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Chef’s Note

Rub the outside of the lamb with dried herbs, minced garlic, or lemon zest. Place aromatics like sprigs of fresh thyme or fresh rosemary, red wine, onions, shallots, and garlic in your roasting pan for subtle seasoning.

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About this Recipe

This is the easiest Stuffed Leg of Lamb recipe full of natural flavor with just a handful of quality ingredients. Use extra-virgin olive oil, buy your leg of lamb from the butcher, and make our Homemade Pesto with fresh herbs for the most mouthwatering Stuffed and Roasted Leg of Lamb. It’s worth the extra cost for this crowd-pleasing dinner, perfect for any special occasion.

Tips & Tricks

  • Bring the lamb to room temperature before you begin preparing. This will allow the meat to reach the desired internal temperature evenly, giving you a perfectly medium rare roast throughout.
  • When preparing the meat, use a sharp knife so you aren’t having to chop away at it. You just want to cut deep enough so the meat is flat while keeping the roast intact.
  • Go easy on the stuffing. The homemade pesto is garlicky and packed with flavor so a little goes a long way. If there is too much stuffing, you’ll have a hard time keeping the roast rolled even with the twine.
  • Rest the cooked Leg of Lamb for 10 minutes before carving. Cutting meat straight from the oven releases the juices and you will be left with a dry piece of meat.

What to Pair with Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Make a steakhouse-worthy holiday dinner by serving Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Parmesan Smashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach, and Dinner Rolls. Leftover stuffed lamb makes a delicious lunch sliced cold in a pita wrap with Zankou Garlic Paste and Cucumber Tomato Salad.

How to Store

  • Serve: Stuffed Leg of Lamb can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it should be stored.
  • Store: Cool meat and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven on 300 degrees, covered in foil, so it doesn’t dry out.
  • Freeze: For best results, freeze whole and reheat after thawing overnight in the refrigerator. Once cooled, store whole Stuffed Leg of Lamb in a sealed container and freeze for up to 2 months.

Alternative Cooking Techniques

Slow Cooker

  • Season and wrap the Leg of Lamb with the stuffing inside per the recipe.
  • Wrap and secure with twine.
  • Optional: Sear roast for 2-3 minute on all sides.
  • Place wrapped, stuffed leg of lamb in slow cooker.
  • Add a cup of red wine and 2 cups beef stock.
  • Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or 3-4 hours on high, until internal temperature is 145 degrees.
  • You can broil roast skin-side up for 3-4 minutes for crispier skin.

Variations

  • Goat Cheese: Add goat cheese to the pesto for creamy stuffing. Try sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, or roasted red peppers in the pesto for more mediterranean flavors.
  • Garlic Herb Stuffing: To make Herb Stuffed Leg of Lamb, use a food processor to blend garlic cloves, flat-leaf parsley, lemon juice, and fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary.

More Delicious and Easy Holiday Main Dish Recipes

Lamb leg pin image 1

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I followed this recipe and it came out so tender and delicious. Paired it with mashed potatoes and it was such a perfect treat. We definitely enjoyed our dinner!

    Reply