• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Collections Roasts

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg

By:Nagi
Published:16 Nov '17Updated:13 Apr '22
464 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Hands down the easiest way to cook lamb leg, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg is fall apart tender and incredibly succulent. 2 minutes prep, pop it in the slow cooker, brown it briefly in the oven while you make a killer gravy using the lamb juices. A roast made for sharing with family and friends!

After more lamb leg ideas? Browse all my roast lamb recipes!

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg

In my world, there are only 2 ways to cook a leg of lamb: either perfectly cooked so it’s pink and juicy inside (see my classic Roast Lamb with Gravy), or long and slow so it’s fall apart tender.

There is no in between!

Well, there is. But it’s dry and no amount of gravy can salvage it. It’s also very sad. 😂

Fall-apart-tender slow cooked lamb leg can either be done in the oven or in the slow cooker. Click here for the slow roasted oven recipe, this is the slow cooker version!

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

I know it sounds counter-intuitive to use the words “roast lamb” and “slow cooker” in the same sentence. But actually, it’s the right description for this recipe because it is cooked in the slow cooker and finished off in the oven to get that beautiful browning. And also to reheat it, in case the slow cooker finished and it was sitting on the warm function for a while.

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

My slow cooker is a standard size round one and I was able to fit in a 1.9kg / 3.8lb lamb leg purchased from the grocery store (Woolworths in Australia) because the shaft of the leg comes cut so it can be bent to fit into the slow cooker. Vereeee practical!

I’ve used a small full lamb leg here, but it can easily be made with half lamb legs which don’t have the shaft so they will easily fit inside a standard slow cooker.

And of course, if you have one of those oval shaped slow cookers, you could make this with a full size lamb leg! After all, arguably one of the best things about roast lamb are the leftovers. Sandwiches with lamb and gravy. SO GOOD!!!

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

Gravy for Roast Lamb

And while it’s browning in the oven, we make a quick gravy using the juices in the slow cooker.

No need to deal with the clunkiness of making the gravy in a roasting pan, like you do when you roast lamb in the oven. Nope, this is a super simple one made in a saucepan using butter instead of the drippings in the roasting pan. And of course the juices left in the slow cooker.

All. That. FLAVOUR!

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

This is the sort of food made for sharing with family and friends. I know there’s something grand about placing a whole lamb leg on the table as a centrepiece. But a pile of incredibly juicy, tender lamb is just as impressive in my books – and there’s no need to pass the plates over and wait for it to be carved. Just dive right in! – Nagi xx


More Roast Lamb Recipes

I love a good roast lamb – so I’ve shared a few over the years!

A classic, perfectly cooked Roast Lamb Leg with a classic smooth, rich gravy. It's Lambalicious! recipetineats.com
Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy
Greek Butterflied Lamb Leg on a platter, ready to be shared
Greek Butterflied Lamb Leg
Slow Roast Leg of Lamb on a white plate with part of the meat pried off to show how tender it is
Slow Roast Leg of Lamb
Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.
Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb
Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma is meltingly tender and has the most heavenly fragrance. Quick to prepare, sensational for gatherings! recipetineats.com
Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder in a baking pan, fresh out of the one
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder in a baking pan, fresh out of the one
Roast Lamb

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg
Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 hrs
Total: 10 hrs 5 mins
Dinner, Slow Cooker
Western
5 from 114 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 1469
Recipe video above. The easiest, most succulent roast lamb you'll ever have! This is not the carving sort of lamb, you can just tear the meat off using tongs.

Ingredients

  • 2.0 kg / 4 lb lamb leg, bone in (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 large garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme OR rosemary (or 2.5 tsp finely chopped fresh)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups / 500ml beef stock (or chicken) (Note 2)
  • 1 sprig rosemary , optional

Gravy:

  • 50 g / 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp / 40 g flour (any white)
  • 2 cups / 500 ml braising liquid from slow cooker , strained
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Place lamb in slow cooker or on work surface. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme or rosemary and garlic. Drizzle over oil, then rub on both sides.
  • Pour beef stock into slow cooker, add sprig of rosemary (if using).
  • SLOW COOK on low for 10 hours, or pressure cook on high for 1 hour 40 minutes. (See oven version here)
  • The lamb should be tender enough to pull off with tongs, but still holding together (just!). Carefully remove lamb from slow cooker and transfer to tray.
  • Drizzle lightly with oil (any). Bake at 200C/390F for 20 minutes or until browned. Remove and rest for 10 minutes before serving with gravy.

Gravy:

  • Strain liquid in slow cooker into a bowl - you will have more than the 2 cups of broth you added, I usually have over 3 cups. Measure out 2 cups of liquid, reserve remaining liquid just in case.
  • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add a bit of liquid, mixing as you go so it dissolves. Then add remaining liquid. Whisk if there are lumps.
  • Increase to medium high heat and cook, stirring regularly, until thickened to your taste. Use remaining liquid to thin if required.

Recipe Notes:

1. Make sure you get a lamb that fits in your slow cooker! I have a standard size round slow cooker and I was able to fit in a 1.9kg/3.8lb lamb leg which had the shaft partially cut so it bends which I got from Woolworths. In Australia, you can purchase half lamb legs (also Woolworths) which come without the shaft /bone which will fit in easily into a standard slow cooker. If you have an oval slow cooker, you can probably fit in the lamb leg even without the shaft cut.
A 2kg / 4 lb bone in lamb equates to about 1.5kg/3lb boneless lamb, same cook time.
If your lamb is about 1 - 1.25kg / 2 - 2.5lb, you can reduce the cook time to 8 hours. If your lamb is larger than 2.25kg /4.5lb, increase it to 12 hours.
2. If you use chicken broth, the gravy is slightly lighter in colour. The reason I use broth and not just the lamb juices is that lamb juices are very...well, LAMBY. 🙂 Too lamby for gravy. I find that 2 cups of broth combined with lamb juices = perfect gravy flavour.
3. OVEN: See the Slow Roasted Lamb Leg recipe!
4. Servings - 2kg/4lb bone in is about 1.5kg / 3 lb of meat which reduces to about 1.2kg/2.4lb of meat after cooking. This serves 4 generously or 5 for normal servings (in my opinion!).
5. Nutrition - This is a conservative calculation because it doesn't take into account the lamb fat and drippings that are discarded (which accounts for plenty of the calories!). Unfortunately I don't know how to estimate that, so I've not made an adjustment to exclude discarded fat.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 357gCalories: 747cal (37%)
Keywords: Roast Lamb Leg, Slow cooker roast lamb, Slow Roast Leg of Lamb
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Life of Dozer

Contemplating being a stowaway.

I don’t want to come across as a snob, but seriously Dozer, if you’re going to stowaway on a boat, you can do better than that!!!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Previous Post
Roast Turkey Breast with Garlic Herb Butter
Next Post
Homemade Chicken Doner Kebab recipe

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Beef Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib) medium rare with slice cut, showing the inside

Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)

Pot-roasted chicken from RecipeTin Eats "Dinner" cookbook by Nagi Maehashi

Juiciest, Easiest Roast Chicken Ever

Duck Confit in a white baking dish

Duck Confit (French slow-cooked duck)

More Roasts

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




464 Comments

  1. Deborah March says

    January 11, 2023 at 3:08 am

    5 stars
    Yours is always the first cooking website I visit when I want to be creative in the kitchen. This slow cooked lamb roast is AMAZING! Thanks so much!

    Reply
  2. Cathy says

    December 24, 2022 at 3:46 pm

    5 stars
    So … I still don’t like lamb. And this recipe didn’t change that. But my family absolutely LOVED it (apparently I’m the only one who just doesn’t like the taste of lamb, never have, apparently never will – if this recipe couldn’t change my mind, I don’t think any ever could). Thank you for always being there with the BEST recipes, Nagi! I spotted a lamb leg at Trader Joe’s, searched RTE for a recipe, found this, made sure I had all of the ingredients, went home and made it. My husband and both teenage boys devoured every bit! Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  3. Lisa Coughlan says

    June 15, 2022 at 9:47 pm

    Hi Nagi, can I cook this the day before in slow cooker then finish for I oven the next day? Hope you can answer this as mum coming over for lunch and 10 hours is not enough time on the day. Love all your recipes, you are a legend 😄

    Reply
  4. CherC says

    May 12, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks so much, roast has been in since 8ish, about another hour and into oven. Smells delish!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 13, 2022 at 6:31 pm

      Woo hoo!! Enjoy that Cher! N x

      Reply
  5. CherC says

    May 12, 2022 at 8:38 am

    5 stars
    Hi, Nagi, (our cooking life saver ❤)
    Do you line or spray the slow cooker. Mine in 2nd hand, I remember something about lining base with sliced spuds/onion. Will this change cooking time? Thanks for all the inspiration.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 12, 2022 at 3:14 pm

      Sometimes I use a layer of onions or veg to keep my roasts slightly elevated out of the liquids. It will say so in the recipe if you need that! N x

      Reply
      • CherC says

        May 12, 2022 at 4:06 pm

        5 stars
        Thanks so much, roast has been in since 8ish, about another hour and into oven. Smells delish!

        Reply
  6. Lorraine says

    May 10, 2022 at 12:46 am

    Hi Nagi, my slow cooker has a metal rack for roasting meats that elevates them slightly off the bottom of the pan. Should I use that for this recipe please?

    Oh, and how’s the photography going for your book? Can’t wait for its release later this year.💖💜

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 10, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      The photos are getting very close to being done!! HUGE JOB! You can use the rack if you like Lorraine, but it’s not necessary in the slow cooker version. N x

      Reply
  7. Ak says

    May 3, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Can I use a Boneless leg of lamb?
    I can’t seem to find an answer to this question in the Reviews 🤞

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 3, 2022 at 9:49 pm

      Yes you can AK – see Note 1 under the recipe regarding boneless legs! N x

      Reply
  8. Kate says

    April 23, 2022 at 11:14 am

    Can i add potatoes and other veg to cook all at the same time. If so when would i add them in?

    Reply
  9. Linda says

    April 22, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    Hello,
    Can I cook this in a slow cooker the day before , cool it and brown in the oven the day after? Thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 24, 2022 at 6:47 pm

      Yes Linda hat should be fine or you can brown it and then reheat the next day. N x

      Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top