Slowly simmered in a red wine sauce with cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, and thyme, this simple braised lamb shanks recipe is the perfect make-ahead centerpiece for holidays and dinner parties.
Lamb shank is a cut of meat that comes from the well-exercised lower section of the lamb leg. It’s a tougher, more budget-friendly portion of the lamb, but it is also one of the most flavorful. It greatly rewards patience: Simmer it slowly, and it will become fall-off the bone tender and so deliciously rich.
For this lamb shank recipe, I drew inspiration from classics like Persian Mahiche and Moroccan Tagine for the seasoning blend. Lamb’s richness really shines with warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. As a bonus, it will make your house smell incredible!
If you’d like a stress-free holiday or a dinner party, this easy recipe is your answer. You can make it the night before, it’s nearly impossible to mess up, and it brings all the fancy festive vibes to the party. Serve with something to soak up the delicious sauce, like Lebanese rice, creamy polenta, or cooked orzo pasta.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for this Lamb Shank Recipe
A dry red wine and beef broth make the base of the robust braising sauce. Red wine evaporates as it cooks, adding richness and depth of flavor. (Keep in mind that the alcohol in red wine will cook off, so the sauce will not taste boozy.) Here’s what you’ll need to make this oven-braised lamb shank recipe:
- Lamb shanks: You’ll need 6 lamb shanks, one per person.
- Herbs and spices: Paprika, garlic powder, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, fresh rosemary, and fresh thyme add an aromatic, cozy quality. Kosher salt and black pepper draw out all the flavor.
- Vegetables: Onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and whole peeled canned tomatoes. (I like San Marzano tomatoes. I find them to be less sour than other whole canned tomatoes.)
- Broth: I love the richness of beef broth, but vegetable broth or chicken stock will also work in a pinch.
- Red wine: I’ve made this recipe with a variety of dry red wines at different price points and did not notice a difference in the flavor. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are two great options. If you don’t use alcohol in your cooking, substitute an equal amount of beef broth.
- Olive oil: Use a high quality extra virgin variety.
How to Cook Lamb Shanks
One tip: while braising lamb shanks is mostly hands-off, you don’t want to skip the searing step. The golden crust makes all the difference, adding depth and texture before the slow braise begins. Here are the steps:
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix together 2 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season all over with the spice mix.
- Prep the veggies. Roughly chop 1 medium yellow onion and 2 celery ribs. Peel and cut 3 large carrots into large pieces. Scrub 1 pound of baby potatoes.
Sear the Lamb and Make the Braising Liquid
- Sear the lamb. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Working in batches, brown 6 lamb shanks until golden on all sides (about 8 mins or so). Transfer to a large tray or bowl for now.
- Saute the veggies. Carefully pour off any excess fat and return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Saute until the vegetables gain some color, 5-7 minutes.
- Make the braising liquid. Add 2 cups red wine and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook briefly so that the wine reduces a bit, then add 3 cups beef broth, 1 (28-ounce) can peeled tomatoes, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Return lamb shanks back to the pot; press down to submerge. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off.
Braise the Lamb Shanks
- Oven-braise the lamb. Cover the pot and transfer to the hot oven for 2 1/2 hours. (It’s a good idea to check periodically through cooking just in case you need to add a little more liquid. When the shanks finish cooking, the liquid will have reduced to about 1/3 of what it was when you started.)
- Serve. Serve the lamb shanks hot on a bed of Lebanese Rice, polenta, or orzo with a little of the veggies and braising sauce on top. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Option
You can absolutely make this lamb shanks recipe in your slow cooker! Here is how:
- Sear the lamb shanks: Season and sear the lamb shanks on the stove-top per recipe instructions until a nice brown crust forms on all sides of the lamb.
- Braise the lamb shanks in the slow cooker: Transfer the lamb shanks to a large slow cooker. Add the vegetables, 1 cup of red wine instead of 2, beef broth, and the remaining ingredients. Cover and set the Crockpot to Low for 8 hours or High for 5 to 6 hours or until the lamb shanks are cooked through to tender.
What to Serve with Lamb Shanks
I don’t like to waste any of the delicious red wine sauce, so I love to serve the shanks on top of Lebanese rice, creamy polenta, or cooked orzo pasta.
To kick off a dinner party or special occasion, use a few extra sprigs of rosemary for these blood orange cocktails. Round out the meal with a bright and crisp radicchio salad, which will nicely balance the richness of the lamb. And for dessert, a couple pieces of crispy homemade baklava with hot tea would be just perfect.
More Slow Cooked Lamb Recipes
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Persian Braised Lamb Shanks (Mahiche)
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Easy Moroccan Lamb Stew Recipe
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Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
For the Spice Mix
- 2 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Lamb Shanks
- 6 American lamb shanks
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 1 pound baby potatoes, scrubbed
- 2 cups dry red wine (I like Merlot)
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 28- ounce can peeled tomatoes
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix all of the Spice Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season all over with the spice mix.
- Sear the lamb. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Working in batches, brown the lamb shanks until golden on all sides (about 8 mins or so). Transfer to a large tray or bowl for now.
- Saute the veggies. Carefully pour off any excess fat and return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Saute until the vegetables gain some color, 5-7 minutes.
- Make the braising liquid. Add the red wine and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook briefly so that the wine reduces a bit, then add the broth, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, thyme, and rosemary. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Return lamb shanks back to the pot; press down to submerge. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off.
- Oven-braise the lamb. Cover the pot and transfer to the hot oven for 2 1/2 hours. (It’s a good idea to check periodically through cooking just in case you need to add a little more liquid. When the shanks finish cooking, the liquid will have reduced to about 1/3 of what it was when you started.)
- Serve. Serve the lamb shanks hot on a bed of rice or orzo with a little of the veggies and braising sauce on top. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Slow cooker lamb shanks: Follow the recipe instructions for seasoning and browning the lamb. Transfer the lamb to a large slow cooker. Add the vegetables, then add 1 cup wine (instead of 2), broth, and remaining ingredients. Cover the slow cooker. Set on Low and cook for 8 hours or on High and cook for 5 to 6 hours or until the shanks are fully cooked to fall-apart tender.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat lamb and vegetables in a 350 degrees F heated oven in an oven-safe pot for about 30 minutes. If the sauce has reduced too much, add a little more beef broth.
Nutrition
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Delicious! I made this yesterday. It filled the house with a spicy aroma and our bellies with delight. Made it exactly as written, except only using two lamb shanks and minus the rosemary as apparently it all died in the freeze 🙁 I will add it next time! It was more than enough meat for the three of us; we have leftovers enough for an entire second dinner. It was great over basmati rice!
This was amazing!!! Made it for family visiting for the weekend of our son’s wedding. Instructions were easy to follow and it came together perfectly. Everyone loved it!!
Suzy’s cookbook is remarkable!!! We use it all the time and have shared it with friends.
Thank you so much, Mary! And congrats to your son and your family!
Lamb shanks are out of this world! Suzy, your recipes never disappoint! The recipe is so easy to follow and so simple and delicious. Thank you, thank you!
Wow! This was absolutely delicious!
I bought shanks already seasoned from Costco so didn’t use the seasoning in recipe.
I followed the rest to a tee except for the cinnamon.
They came out so tender, fall off the bone. Served with Israeli cous cous but next time I will make mashed potatoes to soak up all the sauce!
Delicious and easy!
Thanks, Tricia!
Another winner Suzy! Made this today for Christmas dinner, and it was a big hit! We took the lamb off the bone and added it back into the braising liquid; served it all over polenta…it was fantastic. We used parsnips instead of potatoes, but that was about the only change.
Because the shanks were still a bit frozen, I cooked them in the sauce on their own for about an hour and 1/2 in the oven, then added in the onions, carrots, and parsnips, then cooked everything together for another hour. It worked…the lamb was perfectly tender and fell off the bone, and the veggies didn’t get overcooked. Wow…this may be a new annual tradition…although I may not be able to wait a whole year to make it again. So good!
Happy new year!
Made this dish tonight. OMGoodness! It was absolutely the most tender, tastiest braised lamb shanks we have ever had. And the scent in the house as it cooked, was heavenly. I did cut back on the garlic power for the rub. Replaced it with a couple cloves of fresh garlic from this year’s crop. Worked well and did not overpower the other spices in this dish. Absolutely recommend it to anyone, who wants an easy to prepare, delicious dish for a cold winter night.
Thanks, Pat!
WOW! The recipe is easy to follow and the results are amazing! A show stopper dish, will be making again!
Yay! Thanks, Claire!
Didn’t hear one word peep out of my husband – all I heard was, “Num, num, num…!”
I had to decrease the serving amount to 2 because I only had two shanks and followed the recipe exactly. It was wonderful!
Thank you for putting together a great meal…
Lol! That’s awesome! Thanks, Tracy!
I’m going to make this for Father’s Day and will be sure to give reviews. Can you tell me if an instant pot on slow cooker would be ok to use? Would you make any suggestions.
Hi, Chavonne. Although we haven’t tested this here, using the Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting should work. I would would double check the user manual for your Instant Pot and compare it with the slow cooker instructions here in the article and make any necessary adjustments. Hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day :).
Amazing recipe. My husband LOVES it! Question, I’m not a big fan of potatoes. Is there anything I can use to replace potatoes in this recipe?
Hi, Yanna! I think really any veggies you and your hubby enjoy would work here… especially other root vegetables.
This was Outstanding!! The meat just fell right off the bone! It also smelled Fantastic while baking!!
I made this for a small dinner party over the weekend and it was a huge hit! Everyone raved about the flavorful lamb. I served the shanks over mashed potatoes, and had a simple fresh salad on the side.
Sounds wonderful! Thanks, Ania!
I am off to store for some of my missing spice rub and I am excited to try this. All the comments have made me very excited to cook this for a lamb aficionado tonight.
Hope you love it!
Hi, are your oven temperatures fan-forced or for conventional? Where I live fan forced is the norm, but I know that isn’t often the case elsewhere. I would hate to overcook this 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! My niece’s Greek MIL always brings lamb shanks for Christmas and I wanted to make them though her spoken recipe (she doesn’t have it written down) wasn’t the least bit clear. I found your recipe and now I have delicious lamb shanks any time I want. We’re actually having them for Thanksgiving this year. We love this recipe!
Awesome! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I was really disappointed with how this recipe turned out. I cooked the shanks using every single ingredient in a slow cooker for 6.5 hours. I don’t think the cinnamon was a good idea as it made all the vegetables taste like cinnamon… There wasn’t much flavor to the lamb meat and I had even followed the seasoning recipe to the tee, also seared them before putting into slow cooker. Maybe it was the type of lamb shanks I used but either way I thought the meat would’ve had more flavor with all the ingredients used. The aroma was way too strong and I think it was due to the 2 cinnamon sticks.
I always make my shanks the day before. I salt and pepper the shanks and let them ist in the fridge overnite. Take them out of the refer at least a. 1/2 hr before you want to cook them. Refrigerate them overnite. Defat the stew. Warm it in an oven until it bubles. Serve with whatever you want….pasta, orzo, etc. Flavor of the meat and your seasoning comes out like the stars at night. Try some dry oregano while your cooing the shanks at the end of cooking fresh oregano works great with shanks. . I tend to use Cento peeled plum tomatoes. For more flavor, take the shanks from the sauce and reduce it to bring more flavor to the pot, then add the shanks to incorporate the meal! ENJOY!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
I think it’s unfair to blame Suzy and give a low rating if we don’t like a certain ingredient, like cinnamon. I find the recipe to be great