Lamb Stew with Vegetables
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Cozy up with a bowl of Guinness-spiked lamb stew—each spoonful promises succulent meat, hearty broth, and pure comfort.
This lamb stew is a comforting classic, much like my popular beef stew and Hungarian goulash, but with a distinctly Irish twist. Tender, seared lamb is slow-cooked in a Guinness-spiked broth, giving the stew a rich, malty flavor, while carrots and potatoes make it wonderfully hearty. Pair it with my Cheddar soda bread, and you’ve got a hearty meal that’s perfect for warming up on a chilly day.
“Delicious! I doubled the recipe and made it for a crowd of friends all from Ireland the weekend before St Patrick’s Day…No leftovers, unfortunately!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Lamb Stew With Vegetables
- Lamb Shoulder: Rich in flavor, this cut and becomes fork-tender when cooked slowly over low heat.
- Onions and Garlic: The flavor base of the stew.
- Tomato Paste: Adds umami, richness, and a slight acidity.
- Flour: Thickens the stew.
- Guinness: Adds a unique, malty depth and a hint of bitterness.
- Beef Broth: The savory liquid base for the stew.
- Bay Leaf and Fresh Rosemary: Bring earthy flavor.
- Carrots and Baby Yukon Potatoes: Add heartiness to the stew.
- Peas: Bring a pop of color, sweetness, and freshness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Pat the lamb dry and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven until shimmering. Brown the lamb in batches, adding more oil as needed, and letting it develop a crust before turning.
Transfer the browned meat to large bowl and set aside.
Add the onions, garlic and 2 tablespoons of water to the pot.
Cook until the onions are soft, then add the tomato paste and cook a few minutes more.
Add the lamb with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with flour.
Stir until fully combined, then add the Guinness, broth, water, bay leaf, rosemary, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes to the stew.
Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the meat is very soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in peas and simmer until warmed through. The stew can be made up to 3 days ahead of time or frozen for 3 months.
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Lamb Stew with Vegetables
Cozy up with a bowl of Guinness-spiked lamb stew—each spoonful promises succulent meat, hearty broth, and pure comfort.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds lamb shoulder, well-trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1½-inch
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Guinness
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water, plus 2 tablespoons more for cooking onions and garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks on diagonal
- 1 pound small white boiling potatoes (baby yukons), cut in half
- 1 cup frozen green peas
Instructions
- Pat the lamb dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Brown the lamb in three batches, adding one more tablespoon of oil for each batch. Do not crowd the pan and let the meat develop a brown crust before turning with tongs. It should take 5-8 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned meat to large bowl and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic and 2 tablespoons of water to the pot. Cook until the onions are soft, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of pan, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook a few minutes more.
- Add the lamb with its juices back to the pan and sprinkle with flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely mixed in, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the Guinness, beef broth, water, bay leaf, rosemary sprig and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low and simmer for one hour and twenty minutes.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the stew, then cover and continue simmering until the vegetables are cooked and the meat is very tender, 30-40 minutes. (Be sure to stir a few times to prevent vegetables from sticking to bottom.)
- Remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprig, and then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If serving right away, add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are warmed through. Otherwise, let the stew cool, then cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Reheat gently on the stovetop and add the peas right before serving.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Prepare the stew as directed, then cool it to room temperature before refrigerating. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot. If you want to freeze the stew, transfer it to an airtight container once it has cooled. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw the stew overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 789
- Fat: 52g
- Saturated fat: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Sugar: 9g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 42g
- Sodium: 1242mg
- Cholesterol: 150mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’ve made this recipe several times now and it’s amazing! It is a family favorite and one I make often. The flavors are on point. It is delicious, hearty, very filling and perfect for chilly days. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
I’m simmering the stew as I write this and it smells sooo good! I had lamb chops in the freezer and decided to use those (bones added for flavor) rather than buying more lamb. It was easy to put together with pantry ingredients. Can’t wait to eat it! Happy St Patty’s Day!
What are the quantities of ingredients??
Hi Curtis, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an icon that looks like a notepad – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Love this recipe it’s soooo delicious !!!
I used beef instead of lamb to make this stew. The beef came out so tender! My family loved it, not a drop left. I’ll definitely make this recipe again, and it’ll be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
Wonderful lamb stew! The lamb was so tender, almost melted in your mouth! Everyone raved about it. I did use 1/2 cup of flour instead of 1/4 cup as some others suggested and consistency was perfect. I also added some cooked barley with the peas at the end. We absolutely loved this stew!
Just made this for my husband’s birthday. It was absolutely delicious. The lamb was so tender. I will say I did cut off quite a lot of fat from the lamb shoulder, which left under 2 lbs. meat. Definitely enough, though. I also did not add the sugar. Plenty thick for us, but I had made it in the morning and reheated it later. This is a keeper.
Awesome flavor! I did use leg of lamb meat and it does cook as tender as the cuts mentioned in the recipe.
Great flavor. Did not get thick enough for our tastes, ended up adding some cornstarch to thicken. Next time will use less liquids and see if that helps. Love all the variety of your recipes though.
I have made this stew several times over the course of the past year when I originally found this recipe. My husband told me he didn’t like lamb, but I decided to make it because I said he probably never had it prepared correctly. I was right! He absolutely LOVES this stew, as does our daughter. I made a few changes though. I added 1/2 cup of flour instead of 1/4 cup, I used John Smith’s Imperial Stout, I added a little more salt, I added 1-1/2 teaspoons of roasted garlic powder to the meat before I browned it, and I ALWAYS add twice as much smashed garlic, as we are all garlic fans! Today I decided to also use a teaspoon of thyme to the meat before browning it and it turned out absolutely fabulous! I usually serve this over homemade mashed potatoes. I once replaced the lamb for beef and it wasn’t as good. The lamb is definitely the best! Preparing this makes the house and the outside of it smell wonderful 🙂 thank you for this recipe! Absolutely delicious 🙂
This recipe is superb. All 3 of my kids eat this, they used to ignore soupy meat that I cooked. They prefer fried as usual. The big kids become curious how did I make this one. I am a big fan now, your recipes are easy and always a big hit at home, I have become a good chef mom now. I used to be non cooking working mom.