This leftover lamb stew is perfect comfort food and a great way to use up leftover lamb. Tasty, filling and super simple, it’s a great Monday night dinner.
I love stew, there’s nothing more warming or comforting.
A nice big bowl of stew is perfect on a cold day or when you aren’t feeling your best, it’s like a big cuddle.
A delicious winter lamb stew is also filling, and packed with vegetables, making it super nutritious.
Even better, a Lamb stew with leftover lamb is great for using up all your leftovers, and even if you haven’t got much lamb, you can pack it with veg and potatoes for a super filling family dinner.
Another thing that I love about an easy lamb stew is that you can change it up really easily.
The ingredients in this recipe are things that we like, but you can swap and skip vegetables that you don’t like to make it suit your family.
**I recommend reading this information on storing and reheating food if you have any doubts. Always make sure leftovers are cooled quickly, stored safely and reheated thoroughly, and if you think it might be off, bin it!**
Disclaimer: While I aim to be as accurate as possible, any advice in this post, including but not limited to, cooking times, quantities, nutritional information and storage and freezing guidance is based on my own experience. Please use your own skills, knowledge and judgement, and get up to date food safety information.
Ingredients for Leftover Lamb Stew
For my leftover lamb casserole, I use:
Cooking Spray or Olive Oil/Vegetable Oil
Lamb – ideally around 500g, but less or more is fine. You can also use any cut of lamb, either shoulder or Leftover leg of lamb stew is fine. Use whatever you’ve got. I’m probably more likely to make Lamb stew from leftover leg of lamb, but it really doesn’t matter.
Onion
Garlic
Carrots – I love Chantenay carrots, so I use these where possible. If you use other kinds, you probably want to slice them.
Parsnips
Swede – I use about half a large Swede, if you don’t like Swede, use more potatoes instead.
Potatoes
Leeks
Lamb Stock – I use 500ml stock and then add extra water to make sure my veg and meat are covered in the cooking pan.
Red Wine – I love the flavour of wine in my tender lamb stew, but if you prefer not to use it you can add more stock instead.
Bay Leaves
Dried Rosemary
Salt and Pepper
How to Make Leftover Lamb Stew
My favourite thing about Leftover lamb stew recipes is how fantastically simple they are.
I start by softening the onions and garlic in a large flameproof pan (I use a cast-iron dish), before adding the leeks.
Then I add the wine and lamb and simmer, before adding the veg and potatoes, covering with stock and water, adding the herbs and tomato puree and simmering it all together for at least one hour.
You can leave it to simmer for longer. I like to have mine on low for hours.
For full instructions, please read the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How Do You Thicken Stew?
I don’t do anything to thicken my stew other than letting it simmer for a long time and adding a little tomato puree.
My gravy is still fairly watery, I guess, but with bread to dip, I never mind.
If you prefer a thicker gravy, toss your lamb in flour before adding it to the pan.
Only a little will stick because the lamb is cooked, but it should be enough to thicken your gravy up a bit.
What is the Froth on Top of My Stew?
Lamb is fattier meat than beef.
I find that sometimes when I cook Lamb stew from leftover lamb, as it simmers away, a fatty froth forms on the top.
This doesn’t affect the taste of the stew, but it doesn’t look amazing.
I just scoop it off with a spoon.
How to Serve Stew with Leftover Roast Lamb
So we slightly disagree in our house on how to serve leftover roast lamb casserole or stew.
Husband loves dumplings, so we always add some.
The kids don’t like dumplings but love dipping crusty homemade bread in their stew.
I quite like both!
I tend to use packet mix to make dumplings, but I also have a recipe on my minty lamb stew post.
Other Leftover Roast Lamb Recipes
If you have lots of leftover roast lamb and don’t fancy stew, you can try another lamb leftovers recipe.
These are some of my favourites:
- Leftover Lamb Shepherd’s Pie
- Tagine with Leftover Lamb
- Lamb, Mint and Potato Pie
- Leftover Lamb Curry
- Leftover Roast Lamb Hotpot
- Greek Wraps with Leftover Roast Lamb
- Lamb Tacos
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Leftover Lamb Stew
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray or Oil
- 1 Onion (Finely Diced)
- 3 Clove Garlic (Crushed)
- 1 Large Leek (Sliced into 3mm rounds)
- 500 g Cooked Lamb (Chopped into large chunks)
- Salt and pepper
- 250 ml Red Wine
- 500 g Chantenay Carrots (Top and bottomed)
- 500 g Parsnips (Peeled and sliced into thick rounds)
- 750 g Potatoes (Peeled and chopped into 1-2cm chunks)
- ½ Large Swede (Peeled and chopped into 1-2cm chunks)
- 500 ml Lamb Stock
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Rosemary
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large flameproof pan or cast-iron dish (something big enough for everything that you can use on the hob).
- Add the onions and garlic and fry for 5 minutes until soft, stirring often.
- Stir in the leeks.
- Add the lamb and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Pour in the wine, stir and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chopped vegetables and potatoes.
- Pour over the stock and add extra water until the ingredients are covered.
- Add the bay, rosemary and tomato puree and stir well.
- Bring to a simmer, reduce and cook for 90 – 120 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Video
Notes
- You can cook on a low temperature for longer, just make sure it doesn’t boil dry, you could also serve after one hour.
- If you are adding dumplings, add around 20-30 minutes before you serve.
- Swap veg and potatoes for other options if you prefer.
- Swap wine for extra stock if you prefer.
- I cook in a large cast-iron dish.
Nutrition
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
