Name: Greek Boneless Leg of Lamb (Slow Cooker)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 20 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 3 lb/ 1.360 kg Bone less leg of lamb, fat trimmed; Kosher salt; Black pepper; Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil; 12 garlic cloves (6 thinly sliced and 6 minced); 2 tsp / 2.3 g dry rosemary; 2 tsp fresh thyme (from 4 or 5 springs); 1 tsp dry oregano; 3/4 tsp sweet paprika; Juice of 1 lemon; 1 lb pearl onions, peeled (or shallots, if you prefer); 1 cup dry red wine; 1/2 cup low-sodium broth (beef or chicken broth is fine); Parsley for garnish

Flavorful, succulent, fall-apart tender boneless leg of lamb, seasoned Greek-style with loads of garlic, rosemary, oregano and citrus. Let your slow cooker do all the magic as this lamb leg cooks along with pearl onions in a special wine broth. Watch the how-to video toward the end of this post, grab all my tips and step-by-step below. (Don’t have a slow cooker? No worries! See braising instructions.)

Turn this awesome leg of lamb into a Greek feast! Side options: Greek roasted potatoes; Lebanese rice; Spanakopita; Traditional Greek Salad; Greek Green Bean Salad; Fasolada; Tzatziki Sauce; and Creamy Hummus.

If it’s Easter, Christmas, or whatever big occasion requiring an impressive centerpiece kinda dish, I often do my roasted leg of lamb with potatoes. It’s tasty and just glorious to look at (you can check it out here.)

But, if you’re new to working with lamb, it can be intimidating to start with a big bone-in lamb leg. Good news is, you don’t have to!

If you’ve checked out my Kleftko recipe, then you already know that boneless leg of lamb can be just as impressive a dish. And in this recipe, we let the slow cooker do all the heavy lifting. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love the ease of dumping everything into the crock, push a button, walk away, and return to a hot, fall-apart piece of meat ready to serve?!

A few Tips for this Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe

I have three tips here for you:

1. Bring to room temperature, if possible. If you have the time, remove lamb from your fridge and season with salt and pepper then let it rest at room temperature for a bit (bring it to room temperature if possible.) This allows for efficient and even cooking (I know, we are using a slow-cooker, but it still helps, if you have the time.)

2. To Sear or Not to Sear? It’s true that searing (or browning) the lamb before cooking is not a strictly necessary step, but it creates a beautiful crust and a deeper flavor! For me, it’s worth the little extra effort.

3. Flavor the Lamb Well. Many people dismiss lamb because it’s “too gamy,” they say. The common mistake they make is that they don’t appropriately flavor it. In this recipe, we give our leg of lamb proper TLC with some favorite Greek flavors–loads of garlic, rosemary, oregano, fresh thyme, citrus and quality extra virgin olive oil.

Step-by-step: Boneless Leg of Lamb in the Slow Cooker

1. First, once you trim the fat off the leg of lamb, season only with salt and pepper. (If you have the time, let the lamb rest at room temperature for up to 1 hour.) Brown lamb in a cast iron skillet that’s been coated with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.

2. Now, let’s add more flavor. When lamb is cool enough to touch, using a small knife, make a few slits all over and insert slices of garlic. Add the remaining minced garlic in a small bowl and mix with spices (I used rosemary and sweet paprika), fresh thyme, lemon juice and olive oil to rub all over the lamb. (That’s right, loads of flavor!)

3. Prepare your slow cooker (crock pot). Add pearl onions to the bottom of the pot, then add the liquid (wine and broth) and top with the spiced lamb.

4. Now let the slow cooker do its magic! Cover slow cooker and set on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 7 hours or until lamb is super tender that it falls apart at the poke of your fork!

Transfer to a serving platter and add some of that beautiful juice on top or to the side!

Don’t have a slow cooker? You can make this in your Dutch oven or heavy pot! (Braising Instructions)

You can absolutely still make this boneless leg of lamb even if you don’t have a slow cooker. You can use a Dutch oven or an oven safe heavy pot to braise the leg of lamb instead. Important note: You will need to increase the liquid amount from 1 1/2 cups to 3 1/2 cups. Here is how it goes:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Brown the lamb as stated in the recipe, but this time use your Dutch oven or large oven-save pot. Remove lamb, and once cooled, make slits and add garlic slivers then apply the garlic spice rub just as directed in the recipe.

3. Place pearl onions in Dutch oven (or prepared oven-safe pot). Add 1 1/2 cups red wine and 2 cups broth.

4. Add lamb to the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil for about 7 to 9 minutes, then cover and transfer to the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until lamb is very tender. IMPORTANT: be sure to check periodically and add a little more liquid as needed. When lamb is finished, liquid will have reduced to about 1/3 of what it was when you started.

Turn it into a Greek feast! What to Serve Along

If you’re having a special dinner party, this boneless leg of lamb can make a great centerpiece along with other Greek/Mediterranean dishes like:

Greek Roasted Potatoes

Lebanese Rice

Traditional Greek Salad

Greek Green Bean Salad

Fasolada: Greek Bean Soup

Watch the Video for How to Make this Boneless Leg of Lamb in Slow Cooker

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