food
By Taryn Pire
•
Published Mar 10, 2022
Maybe you made a massive pot of Irish stew. Or perhaps you prepared what felt like a million meatballs for Sunday dinner. Either way, you’re going to need to come up with a tasty use for all that surplus lamb. Luckily, we have plenty of delicious ideas that range from bold pastas to soul-warming soups. Read on for 25 leftover lamb recipes that everyone at the dinner table will rave about.
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Paul Brissman/Antoni in the Kitchen
1. Antoni Porowski’s Moroccan-style Pasta Bolognese
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, low sugar, special occasion-worthy
This Middle Eastern twist on an Italian classic is a clever way to use up ground lamb. The sauce is a labor of love, but well it’s worth the wait.
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Linda Pugliese/Help Yourself
2. Spiced Lamb Meatball And Escarole Soup
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, high fiber, crowd-pleaser
Think lamb shawarma meets Italian wedding soup. Make the meatballs from scratch with leftover ground meat or plop some premade meatballs in the broth to simmer, and call it a day.
Get the recipe
Photo: Mike Grippi/Styling: Caroline Lange
3. Hummus And Spiced Lamb Sambusas
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, low fat, sugar free
Flaky, savory and impeccably spiced, these appetizers will last roughly 30 seconds at your next dinner party.
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Feast: Food of the Islamic World
4. Lamb Shawarma Sandwich
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Leftover lamb shoulder is transformed into a warm-spiced handheld for the books. Shawarma is normally roasted on a spit, but this adaptation calls for cooking it in a skillet instead.
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Kristen Kilpatrick/The Defined Dish
5. Oven-baked Chicken Kofta Wraps
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: high protein, low sugar, low carb, Mediterranean diet-friendly
Kofta is traditionally made with ground lamb or beef anyway, so go ahead and substitute the chicken in this dish.
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6. Lamb Gyro
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, kid-friendly
Thanks to precooked gyro meat, this recipe is ready to devour in a flash. But you can easily swap in whatever cooked lamb you have on deck for an equally flavorful (and speedy) dinner.
7. Spicy Lamb Grilled Pizzettas
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, kid-friendly
Pepperoni who? These individual pizzas, topped with ground lamb, ricotta and mascarpone cheeses and fresh herbs, are a million times more exciting.
8. Simple Irish Stew
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Traditionally made with lamb mutton, this recipe calls on tender hunks of lamb shoulder to honor the O.G. instead of beef.
9. Lamb Burgers With Pesto Whipped Feta
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, low sugar, crowd pleaser
Shave some prep time off the recipe by mixing store-bought pesto into the feta topping instead of fussing with fresh herbs.
10. Mongolian Lamb
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, kid friendly, crowd pleaser
This takeout favorite is as popular in Australia as General Tso’s chicken is in the U.S. Lamb shoulder, backstrap, fillet or chops will do the trick.
11. Greek Lamb Souvlaki Plates With Avocado Tzatziki
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Complete with oregano potatoes, feta cheese, hummus and pita bread. Drooling yet?
12. Greek Lamb Tacos With Minted Yogurt Sauce
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, low carb, gluten free (if you use corn tortillas)
Slow-braised lamb shoulder, herbed caper sauce and citrusy mint yogurt are bound to shake up Taco Tuesday.
13. One Pot Mediterranean Ground Lamb Pasta
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, kid friendly
We’re betting your picky eaters won’t even notice that they aren’t eating beef.
14. Lamb Pie
- Time Commitment: 3 hours
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, special occasion worthy
Despite many American pubs serving it with ground beef, real shepherd’s pie stars diced or minced lamb. This version boasts stout beer and Gruyère potatoes to boot.
15. Rogan Josh
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, gluten free, high fiber
A flurry of spices (coriander! cumin! turmeric! garam masala!) is the key to this Indian lamb curry’s magic.
16. Mediterranean Lamb And Couscous Stuffed Peppers
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: Mediterranean diet-friendly, gluten free
Ground beef and rice take a backseat for this twist on a weeknight staple. Did we mention the roasted peppers are finished with lemony feta and crunchy pine nuts?
17. Instant Pot Mediterranean Lamb Stew
- Time Commitment: 2 hours
- Why We Love It: high protein, dairy free, low sugar, Instant Pot recipe
Psst: The pressure cooker will do most of the work for you.
18. Spiced Lamb-filled Roasted Garlic Hummus
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, dairy free, special occasion-worthy
The recipe calls for top round lamb, but you can easily substitute ground lamb (and use store-bought hummus) to save yourself some time and effort.
19. Greek Lamb Lettuce Cups With Mint Yogurt Sauce
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, low carb, keto-friendly
Pull this recipe off even faster by using store-bought tzatziki instead of making your own yogurt sauce.
20. Grilled Lamb Kebabs With Herb Salad And Yogurt Sauce
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, low carb, Mediterranean diet-friendly
Fire up the grill pan to cook these picturesque kebabs when the weather’s cold.
21. Pastit*io
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Think of this masterpiece as Greece’s answer to lasagna. It’s made with layers of pasta, lamb Bolognese and decadent béchamel sauce.
22. Instant Pot Lamb Stew
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: high protein, Instant Pot recipe, dairy free
Any stew lamb or beef will work here, whether you use shoulder or leg meat.
23. Slow Cooker Rosemary And Garlic Balsamic Lamb Sandwiches
- Time Commitment: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, Crockpot recipe, gluten free, crowd-pleaser
Drench the lamb in balsamic glaze, pile it on a bun and top it off with feta cheese and peppery arugula.
24. Lamb Gyro Board
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Greek-inspired leg of lamb is the main event, but you could use gyro meat, lamb meatballs or cubed lamb shoulder in its place.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
25. Pomegranate-maple Glazed Lamb Chops
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Just in case you have a surplus of chops in the freezer, we know exactly what to do with them. Did we mention these only require about 15 minutes of cooking?
Get the recipe
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Taryn Pire
Food Editor
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s food editor and has been writing about all things delicious since 2016. She’s developed recipes, reviewed restaurants and investigated food trends at...
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