Lamb Shanks: Easy Slow Cooker Recipe

Jump to Recipe

In this easy recipe, flavorful, tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks are cooked in the slow cooker with broth and aromatics until wonderfully tender. I love serving them over buttery mashed cauliflower.

A lamb shank is served on a bed of mashed cauliflower.

I enjoy lamb's bold flavor, and the shanks are especially fun to eat. They're like giant drumsticks - I feel like a cavewoman when I eat them. 🙂 So, I make this recipe often. It's incredibly easy, and I always make extra because the leftovers are delicious. It's one of those dishes that keeps and reheats well.

Ingredients

Here's an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.

Beef broth: Store-bought is fine if the ingredients list is clean.
Lamb shanks: I use four of them, about 3 pounds total weight. If yours are much bigger, you'll need to increase the cooking time, adding 30 minutes on HIGH or one hour on LOW.
To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and dried rosemary.

Variations

If you don't have beef broth, chicken broth is fine. You can also use water.
Go ahead and experiment with the spices you use! Onion powder, smoked paprika, and oregano are good candidates. You can add ½ teaspoon of each additional spice.

Instructions

Lamb shanks should be cooked low and slow, or the meat will be tough. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:

Add a small amount of beef broth to your slow cooker.

Season the shanks and place them in your slow cooker.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 7 hours. When the shanks are done, strain the cooking liquids and simmer them, reducing them into a rich glaze. Transfer the shanks to plates, spoon the gravy on top, and serve.

Serving a lamb shank over cauliflower rice and pouring the gravy on top.

Recipe Tip

This is a truly easy recipe. The only challenging part is making the gravy. It's important to skim the fat from the top of the cooking liquids with a spoon before attempting to reduce them. Otherwise, the oil can separate.

See the fat layer on top in the photo below? You should remove it with a spoon. It's easier to separate the fat from the cooking liquids if you strain them into a measuring cup and place the cup in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. The fat will float to the top and slightly harden, making it easy to remove it.

Cooking juices in a measuring cup with a fat layer on top. — Cooking liquids with a fat layer on top.

After removing the fat layer, cook the liquids patiently over medium heat just until thickened, then immediately turn the heat off. This can take as long as 15 minutes. You can speed up the process by mixing a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water and stirring this cornstarch slurry into the cooking liquids.

Featured Comment

I thought this was great, the more so for being incredibly easy. The lamb was super tender (I did 4.5 hours on high) — even though, as someone who has usually done lamb shanks in the oven covered in liquid, I was worried about cooking the lamb with so little broth. - Lucy
Read more comments

Recipe FAQs

Can I roast lamb shanks in the oven?

No. The shank is taken from the lower part of the lamb's legs. As you can imagine, that part gets quite a bit of exercise, making it tough unless it's slowly braised in a small amount of liquid. The appropriate cooking method for shanks is braising, not roasting. This is true for beef shanks, too.

Should I brown the shanks before slow cooking?

Not necessarily. I've experimented with browning the shanks before putting them in the slow cooker, but I have found that the extra step is not worth the trouble. The dish is excellent, with or without browning.

The shanks I cooked turned out tough. Why?

They should be cooked low and slow. The ideal method for them is braising, not roasting, which is why the slow cooker is ideal. When cooked this way, their tough meat becomes wonderfully tender.

Alternatively, if you cooked only two shanks in a standard 6-quart slow cooker, they might have become overcooked.

Can I keep the leftovers?

Yes. 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, turning them midway through reheating. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer bags for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Serving Suggestions

I usually serve lamb shanks on a bed of mashed cauliflower, as shown in the photos on this page. The cauliflower mash works well to absorb the tasty gravy. Other excellent beds for the shanks include cauliflower rice, mashed butternut squash, and hearts of palm pasta.

I also like to add a simple green vegetable. An easy one is microwave broccoli. Other good options include steamed asparagus, sauteed spinach, and sauteed green beans.

Recipe Card

5 from 47 votes

Save this Recipe Print Recipe

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks

In this easy recipe, flavorful, tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks are slowly cooked with broth and aromatics until wonderfully tender.

Prep Time10

Cook Time4 15

Total Time4 25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: servings

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

Video

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup beef broth
▢ 4 lamb shanks - small; about 3 pounds total weight
▢ 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
▢ ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

Instructions

Add the broth to a 6-quart slow cooker pan.
Season the shanks with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and rosemary. Place them in your slow cooker.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 7 hours until the lamb is very tender. (See the notes below for the cooking time for larger shanks).
When the shanks finish cooking, set the slow cooker to WARM.
Transfer the cooked shanks to a plate. Strain the cooking liquids into a glass measuring cup. Return the shanks to the slow cooker pan (carefully wipe it with warm, moist paper towels if needed) and cover to keep the shanks warm while you thicken the gravy.
Use a spoon to skim the fat layer off the top of the cooking juices. Pour them into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until almost boiling but not quite, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the liquids are reduced into a rich gravy, 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the lamb shanks to plates, spoon the gravy on top, and serve.

Notes

If the shanks are frozen, please thaw them completely in the fridge before placing them in the slow cooker.
There's no need to brown the shanks on the stove before adding them to the slow cooker. I've experimented with browning them first and have found that this extra step is not worth the trouble. The shanks are excellent, with or without browning.
The shanks I typically use are small - four of them weigh about 3 pounds. If yours are much bigger, you'll need to increase the cooking time, adding 30 minutes on HIGH or one hour on LOW.
To cook just two shanks, you would need a smaller slow cooker. Alternatively, place the shanks in a small baking dish that fits them snugly, cover the baking dish, place it in the slow cooker, and cook on LOW for 6 hours instead of 7. They might still come out drier than if you had used four shanks, though.
It's important to skim the fat from the top of the cooking liquids with a spoon before attempting to reduce them. Otherwise, the oil can separate. It's easier to separate the fat from the cooking liquids if you strain them into a measuring cup and place the cup in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. The fat will float to the top and slightly harden, making it easy to remove it.
After removing the fat, cook the liquids patiently over medium heat just until thickened, then immediately turn the heat off. This can take as long as 15 minutes. You can speed up the process by mixing a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water and stirring this cornstarch slurry into the cooking liquids.
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, turning them midway through reheating. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer bags for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Nutrition per Serving

Save this Recipe!

We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

We will also add you to our weekly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime. See healthyrecipesblogs.com/privacy/ to learn how we use your email.

Disclaimers

Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.

Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

Variations

Instructions

Recipe Tip

Featured Comment

Recipe FAQs

Serving Suggestions

Recipe Card