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
Ingredients
- 3 lbs lamb shoulder, well-trimmed and cut into 1½-in (4-cm) pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions cut into 1½-in (4-cm) chunks
- 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-in (2.5-cm) chunks on the diagonal
- 1 lb small white boiling potatoes (baby yukons), cut in half
- 1 cup frozen 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 to 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 to 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.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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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Loved this recipe. So simple and tasty. I used what we had in the house though so I had to modify a few things like using chicken broth and coors light because it’s what we had and katsup instead of tomato paste and sugar. It worked out great. Delicious!!!
I made it in an electric pressure cooking following the adaptations posted by another reviewer (15 minutes/high pressure) and it turned out great! Thank you, Ms. Segal, for such delicious recipes–and thanks to the fellow cooks who take the time to review them so we can learn from each other!
Can this be baked in the oven in a Dutch Oven?
I usually find that the meat is more tender if oven baked instead of cooked on the cooktop.
Hi Debbie, Yes, you can cook this in the oven if you’d prefer. I’d stick to the times indicated in the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Hand down, this is the BEST LAMB STEW EVER!!!
I’ve just made this stew, following your recipe perfectly, but my broth just didn’t thicken like yours did- mine stayed the consistency of yours in the picture when you added the carrots and potatoes. Any idea why this would have happened?
Hmmm- did you leave it uncovered while simmering it?
I would love to make this for a small dinner party. Would this stew work well, if slightly thickened, as a lamb guinness pie?
Hi Sahara, Yes, I think that’s doable I’d prepare the stew in the same way, but just drain the liquid after it’s done cooking. Hope everyone enjoys!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I have a question? Why don’t you marinate the meat the day before? I followed Ina Garten to make beef stew and she marinates meat in red wine for 24 hours. I am just curious. This is a beautiful site. HAPPY COOKING!!
Hi Rebecca, I don’t find it necessary to marinate slow-cooking cuts, as they absorb so much flavor during the cooking process. But feel free to marinate if you like – can’t hurt :).
Hi — I want to make a lamb stew because I hear lamb is great for post-surgery healing. But I’m torn. I love stew with red wine (like you beef stew…delicious?). Would it be best to make the beef stew recipe with lamb or the lamb stew recipe with wine? Thanks!!
Hi Lesa, I’d go with the beef stew recipe with lamb :).
Anyway to use leftover leg of lamb(bone in)
instead of fresh? How would you suggest
CANNOT wait to make this!
Hi Mary, I wouldn’t recommend it– I’m sorry!
This is a great make ahead dish and the flavor improves after resting. in the refrigerator. I substituted red wine for the beer since I didn’t have any beer on hand and it turned out beautifully. The next time that I make this, I will serve it with polenta.