To make a perfectly roasted leg of lamb, simply rub it with olive oil and spices, then cook it in the oven to medium-rare. The result is tender, juicy, and flavorful.
I enjoy lamb thanks to its distinctive flavor. I cook lamb often, including lamb steak, lamb burgers, and lamb meatballs. When I want to cook a big piece of meat for a holiday or a large gathering, my most common choices are pork roast, beef tenderloin roast, ribeye roast, or leg of lamb. It's incredibly delicious, makes lots of leftovers, and the leftovers are excellent, reheated or cold.
Ingredients and Variations
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on the ingredients.
- Olive oil: This is my favorite oil to cook with, and it goes amazingly well with lamb. If you use extra-virgin olive oil, it should be fine at the temperatures we use in this recipe. You can also use melted butter or ghee.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, dried cumin, and dried rosemary. You can use a tablespoon of fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder, as I do in the video below.
- Leg of lamb: I typically use a 4-pound semi-boneless roast that I get at my local grocery store (Safeway).
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and rosemary. Rub the mixture all over the lamb. Place the lamb in a roasting pan on a greased rack. Let it rest at room temperature for one hour.
Roast the lamb for 15 minutes in a 425°F oven. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F and continue roasting until a meat thermometer alerts you that the lamb is done.
Remove the lamb from the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
This was easy to make and very juicy. I enjoyed the flavor of the spices. My wife and I have lots of leftovers to use in sandwiches. Thank you for a great recipe!
Jim Holland
Read more comments
This was easy to make and very juicy. I enjoyed the flavor of the spices. My wife and I have lots of leftovers to use in sandwiches. Thank you for a great recipe!Recipe Tips
- If your lamb is larger than 4 pounds, it will need to spend more time in the 375°F oven. Loosely cover it with foil after it's spent about an hour and a half in the oven. Otherwise, the top could get too dark.
- If the roast is significantly larger than 4 pounds, increase the olive oil and spices accordingly. So, for example, if your lamb is 6 pounds, increase them by 50%.
- As with all roasts, allowing the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing is important. You want to give the juices a chance to settle and redistribute before you cut into the meat. There's nothing more depressing to a foodie than cutting into a juicy piece of meat and watching all the yummy juices escape to the cutting board.
Recipe FAQs
Roasting is the best method. This cut of meat has a beautiful fat cap, and cooking it in the oven browns it nicely.
You could, but it's not a fun thing to do, and I don't think it's necessary. You can achieve a similar result by roasting it briefly at a high temperature (425°F), then lowering the oven to 375°F and continuing to roast until the lamb is cooked.
You want to ensure the meat stays medium-rare (although the USDA says you should cook roasts to medium). Any more than that, especially if it's cooked to more than medium, and it becomes dry and tough and loses much of its flavor. So it's best to use an oven-safe meat thermometer when roasting - the type of thermometer that beeps to alert you when the lamb has reached the desired internal temperature.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave at 50% power, taking care not to overheat them. I also enjoy eating cold slices of the leftovers with quick pickles, Dijon mustard, or sriracha mayo.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this roast with mashed cauliflower plus an easy steamed vegetable or a simple side salad. Here are a few ideas:
Recipe Card
Roasted Leg of Lamb
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or 1 teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper - freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 pounds leg of lamb - semi-boneless
Instructions
- Mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried rosemary, and ground cumin in a small bowl.
- Rub the olive oil mixture all over the meat. Place the lamb, flat side down and fat cap up, in a rimmed roasting pan on a greased rack. Allow it to rest on the counter at room temperature for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the lamb without allowing it to touch the bone. Set the thermometer to 135°F (medium-rare). Roast the lamb for 15 minutes in the preheated 425°F oven.
- Lower the oven temperature to 375°F and continue roasting until the thermometer alerts you that the meat has reached an internal temperature of 135°F (or your desired doneness). This should take about 1 hour and 20 minutes (about 20 minutes per pound), but the only way to know for sure is to use a meat thermometer.
- Remove the lamb from the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- If your lamb is larger than 4 pounds, it will need to spend more time in the 375°F oven (about 20 minutes per pound after the initial 15 minutes at 425°F). If this is the case, it's a good idea to loosely cover it with foil after it has spent an hour and a half in the oven. Otherwise, the top could get too dark.
- If the roast is significantly larger than 4 pounds, increase the olive oil and spices accordingly. So, for example, if your lamb is 6 pounds, increase them by 50%.
- The nutrition info is from the USDA database.
- The USDA says you should cook roasts to medium (145°F).
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave at 50% power, taking care not to overheat them. I also enjoy eating cold slices of the leftovers with quick pickles, Dijon mustard, or sriracha mayo.
Nutrition per Serving
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Lita says
Do you add water to the roasting pan ?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Lita,
I do not.
Rachel says
Thank you for this recipe! The lamb was wonderful! I did use fresh garlic also. I will make this again.
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Rachel! Thank you for sharing your tweaks.
N says
The one I have says boneless, does that change the instructions at all? Thanks.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi,
You can use the same instructions for a boneless leg of lamb. Please use an oven-safe meat thermometer.
Jim Holland says
This leg of lamb was easy to make and very juicy. I enjoyed the flavor of the spices. My wife and I have lots of leftovers to use in sandwiches. Thank you for a great recipe!
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Jim!