Hands down the easiest way to cook lamb leg, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg is fall apart tender and incredibly succulent. 2 minutes prep, pop it in the slow cooker, brown it briefly in the oven while you make a killer gravy using the lamb juices. A roast made for sharing with family and friends!
After more lamb leg ideas? Browse all my roast lamb recipes!
Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg
In my world, there are only 2 ways to cook a leg of lamb: either perfectly cooked so it’s pink and juicy inside (see my classic Roast Lamb with Gravy), or long and slow so it’s fall apart tender.
There is no in between!
Well, there is. But it’s dry and no amount of gravy can salvage it. It’s also very sad. 😂
Fall-apart-tender slow cooked lamb leg can either be done in the oven or in the slow cooker. Click here for the slow roasted oven recipe, this is the slow cooker version!
I know it sounds counter-intuitive to use the words “roast lamb” and “slow cooker” in the same sentence. But actually, it’s the right description for this recipe because it is cooked in the slow cooker and finished off in the oven to get that beautiful browning. And also to reheat it, in case the slow cooker finished and it was sitting on the warm function for a while.
My slow cooker is a standard size round one and I was able to fit in a 1.9kg / 3.8lb lamb leg purchased from the grocery store (Woolworths in Australia) because the shaft of the leg comes cut so it can be bent to fit into the slow cooker. Vereeee practical!
I’ve used a small full lamb leg here, but it can easily be made with half lamb legs which don’t have the shaft so they will easily fit inside a standard slow cooker.
And of course, if you have one of those oval shaped slow cookers, you could make this with a full size lamb leg! After all, arguably one of the best things about roast lamb are the leftovers. Sandwiches with lamb and gravy. SO GOOD!!!
Gravy for Roast Lamb
And while it’s browning in the oven, we make a quick gravy using the juices in the slow cooker.
No need to deal with the clunkiness of making the gravy in a roasting pan, like you do when you roast lamb in the oven. Nope, this is a super simple one made in a saucepan using butter instead of the drippings in the roasting pan. And of course the juices left in the slow cooker.
All. That. FLAVOUR!
This is the sort of food made for sharing with family and friends. I know there’s something grand about placing a whole lamb leg on the table as a centrepiece. But a pile of incredibly juicy, tender lamb is just as impressive in my books – and there’s no need to pass the plates over and wait for it to be carved. Just dive right in! – Nagi xx
More Roast Lamb Recipes
I love a good roast lamb – so I’ve shared a few over the years!
Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg
Watch how to make it
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Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy
Ingredients
- 2.0 kg / 4 lb lamb leg, bone in (Note 1)
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper
- 2 large garlic cloves , minced
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme OR rosemary (or 2.5 tsp finely chopped fresh)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups / 500ml beef stock (or chicken) (Note 2)
- 1 sprig rosemary , optional
Gravy:
- 50 g / 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp / 40 g flour (any white)
- 2 cups / 500 ml braising liquid from slow cooker , strained
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place lamb in slow cooker or on work surface. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme or rosemary and garlic. Drizzle over oil, then rub on both sides.
- Pour beef stock into slow cooker, add sprig of rosemary (if using).
- SLOW COOK on low for 10 hours, or pressure cook on high for 1 hour 40 minutes. (See oven version here)
- The lamb should be tender enough to pull off with tongs, but still holding together (just!). Carefully remove lamb from slow cooker and transfer to tray.
- Drizzle lightly with oil (any). Bake at 200C/390F for 20 minutes or until browned. Remove and rest for 10 minutes before serving with gravy.
Gravy:
- Strain liquid in slow cooker into a bowl – you will have more than the 2 cups of broth you added, I usually have over 3 cups. Measure out 2 cups of liquid, reserve remaining liquid just in case.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Add a bit of liquid, mixing as you go so it dissolves. Then add remaining liquid. Whisk if there are lumps.
- Increase to medium high heat and cook, stirring regularly, until thickened to your taste. Use remaining liquid to thin if required.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Contemplating being a stowaway.
I don’t want to come across as a snob, but seriously Dozer, if you’re going to stowaway on a boat, you can do better than that!!!
Hi, I made this on the weekend and it was soooooo good. However I completely over catered and now I have left overs. Do you have any ideas for lamb leftovers please?
Hi Sarah – I did the same & then chopped it up small in the blender. 1st I cooked down some onions & garlic, added whizzed carrots & zucchini (I peel these to hide them from my kids) & then made it into a Ragu – adding Tomato Paste, Pasatta & a couple of Bay Leaves – simmering it for an hour or so. I served it to friends & they said it was the best Ragu they had ever had. It was pretty delicious, even if I say so myself. It freezes beautifully too…. So it is a great little friend to have up your sleeve in the freezer. Ooh, I served it with pasta! Good luck!
Hi
How long do you think I should cook if it’s 2.8kg??
I have been cooking this regularly for around 6 years now and it’s one of my family’s favourites.
Funnily enough I was talking to my friends once and of 4, 3 of us were using your recipes already. I know the 4th one does now too! And whenever I want to cook something new, yours is one of 2 websites I check first for recipes.
I’d like to serve the slow cooker lamb leg for a 1:30pm lunch but don’t want to get up at 3:30am to put it on. is it OK to put it in the slow cooker for 6 hours on high?
I’m so sorry to hear about Dozer, it is soo sad to lose a family member🙏
Soo easy. Just did a small 1kg boneless leg of lamb slow cooked M for 2 hours, perfect.. Thanks
Hi Nagi, I haven’t actually tried your recipe yet but planning on doing it very soon.
QQ – if I boil off the alcohol first, would a cup (or two) of red wine be good to add!
P.S. ever since I bought your two books (excellent- highly recommend!!!) I don’t seem to have received any emails from you. Hopefully just a coincidence?
Cheers, Mark.
A really easy recipe to follow! Superb. Thank you
Can I slow cook one day and finish it in the oven on the following day? Thank you
Wow-Wow! Hubby loved it, said it was the best ever! Easy to assemble. I did exactly as the recipe stated. Hubby said the gravy was the perfect finishing touch. All praise and no complaints! Going to serve this again at Easter! Thanks for sharing!
We used this recipe on Christmas Eve, and although we didn’t cook it for as long as recommended, our small lamb cut still shredded beautifully. The juices made for a lovely gravy and our son showed us a new method for wonderfully juicy lamb, by shredding it into the remaining juices (next time I’d remove some of the juice first). It was SO good! Thankyou for the last minute help on Christmas Eve when all was a buzz.
2025. Christmas. Wonderful. No Fail method. Had not really intended to do this with the slow cooker but a couple of disasters at Christmas decided this leg of Lamb (bought on a whim) was to be the main. Had to get out the cleaver and a mallet, rope my son into supplying the muscle work to make a fit (even though my cooker is oval).
Needed to eat early so I cooked it the day before, plopped in the fridge overnight. Easy to remove the fat the next day, reheat & make the gravy.
Have saved the fat for some potatoes in the near future!
I used beef stock – this lamb was not “gamey” at all. Delightful.
Thank you – saved the day!
and tell Dozer – for a quick tour around the shoreline that’s a perfect size. A boy needs more than one boat, eh? Can never have too many toys. This way he’ll be home in plenty of time for supper too.
I have been making this for years and its always a hit. Could someone let me know if this can be made the day before and then leave the oven roasting bit to the day of? Toddler life and not wanting to wake at midnight to put it on.
Thanks all!
This was a delicious meal. I only slow cooked for 6.5 hrs (1.8kg), so it wasn’t “falling apart” but it was still beautifully cooked and perfect with the gravy. The whole family were raving!!
This was so good and so easy!
Can I cook this with a boneless leg of lamb? Unfortunately, I can’t get a bone in where I am, but I would really like to cook this recipe!
HAVE A 7 POUND BONESLESS LEG OF LAMB HOW LONG TO COOK FOR IN SLOW COOKER
If using boneless in slow cooker, do you truss with string for even shape?
Thanks from 🇨🇦
Thank you Nagi,
Perfect cake for sharing with confidence for a beginner baker.
Lamb is my favourite and I’ve been cooking it in the over for decades, this was a game changer, this is my new go to recipe for the perfect lamb roast. Thank you Nagi