This meltingly tender Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma is the stuff food dreams are made of!! Slathered in a deceptively simple shawarma spice rub then slow cooked until fall apart, the flavour and fragrance of this lamb is absolutely heavenly. This recipe is ideal for butterflied lamb leg OR lamb shoulder.
While it takes time to roast, it’s a very straightforward recipe – and will feed a crowd. Sensational for finishing on the BBQ! After more lamb centrepiece ideas? Browse all my roast lamb recipes!
Lamb Shawarma
This one’s for everyone who doesn’t have a charcoal spit in the middle of their kitchen….. and for Australia Day!!!🇦🇺 🇦🇺🇦🇺
Quick to prepare but tastes like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all day, this Lamb Shawarma is absolutely terrific for gatherings because it’s easy to make loads, can be cooked ahead then reheated. Or in the spirit of Australia Day, finish it on the BBQ!
This Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma is 100% me. Big hunk of meat. Big flavours. Simple, fast prep, with big pay offs. Meltingly tender, fall apart meat, dripping with the beautiful roasting juices. Food made for sharing with family and friends. Food to pile onto platters to let everyone help themselves, rather than using tweezers to daintily plate up.
Rustic. That’s how I describe my food. As opposed to refined and elegant! 😂
Just remembering how good this was is killing me as I sit here on the couch late on a Wednesday night sipping on a green smoothie of all things. Suddenly, this spinach-kale-mango-pineapple-ginger smoothie is very unappealing. 😩
So, here’s how this Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma goes down.
We start with a simple homemade Shawarma slather, my go-to mix that I use for my Chicken Shawarma and all things Shawarma on this site (Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup, One Pot Chicken Shawarma and Rice Pilaf). Nothing exotic in it, you’ll find all the spices at the supermarket: coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne and cardamon. Plus olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix and slather.
Use butterflied lamb leg OR lamb shoulder
As for what to slather, take your pick – lamb shoulder or butterflied lamb leg.
In the recipe video, I’ve used lamb shoulder because I wanted to show how to pull the lamb apart in order to finish it on the BBQ. Also because I think lamb shoulder is not quite as popular as lamb leg but I rate it highly and I want to encourage people to try it! It’s usually cheaper than lamb leg and it’s fattier which means juicier (and better for reheating), making it ideal for gatherings.
Lamb shoulder
Lamb shoulder has a bone through it, like pictured below. Because the shoulder is cooked to fall apart perfection, the meat slides off the bone in 4 or 5 large pieces which you can then either slice, shred or BBQ to get an extra tasty crust on it / reheat (see the video, it looks SO GOOD!).
Butterflied lamb leg
When making Lamb Shawarma with lamb leg, I prefer to use butterflied lamb leg because you can rub the Shawarma slather into the meat better. Even if you leave the lamb to marinate, a bone-in leg of lamb is very thick so the marinade doesn’t penetrate right through to the bone. Though having said that, there is plenty of heavily flavoured roasting juices to drizzle all over the meat once sliced or shredded.
Lamb leg is leaner than shoulder but in this recipe, it’s cooked until meltingly tender. One of the “pros” of butterflied lamb leg is that it holds together in one piece even after hours of slow cooking making it easier to slice neatly. Also for handling on the BBQ – one piece rather than the multiple pieces of shoulder you’ll see in the video.
Whether you use shoulder or lamb leg, you’re going to end up with this – incredible tender lamb. Sliceable but shreddable (I also show this in the video).
What to serve with Lamb Shawarma
Now for the hardest part – choosing how to serve it. What will you do – make Lamb Shawarma Wraps (Doner Kebab style!) or pile it on a platter with couscous? 🙂 Here are some suggestions for what to serve this with:
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Lemon Herb Couscous – see recipe notes
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Homemade Flatbreads – add slices of tomato, shredded lettuce, raw sliced onion and a dollop of yogurt or Hummus. You could also use a Lemon Yogurt Sauce (use the sauce in the Chicken Shawarma recipe)
For a side salad, try this Middle Eastern cabbage and carrot salad (you’ll love the burst of freshness from the mint) or this Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad (option to skip the chickpeas).
🇦🇺HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!! 🇦🇺 – Nagi x
More Roast Lamb Recipes
I love a good roast lamb – so I’ve shared a few over the years!
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Classic Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy – the classic, perfectly blushing pink inside
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Slow Roast Leg of Lamb – infused with garlic and rosemary flavours, slow roasted until fall apart tender!
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Greek Butterflied Leg of Lamb – quick to cook on the barbecue, or stovetop and finish in the oven
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Slow Cooker Roast Lamb – fall apart goodness in the convenience of your slow cooker
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Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb – garlicky lemony fall apart deliciousness
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Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder – the juiciest, most succulent roast lamb you will ever have!
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See all Roast Lamb recipes
PS Jeez, my hands look extra small compared to that giant platter!!! 😂
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Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma
Ingredients
- 2kg / 4 lb lamb shoulder (bone in) or 1.7 kg / 3.5 lb butterflied lamb leg (Note 1)
Shawarma Paste:
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp = not spicy)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (ordinary also ok)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 - 3 tbsp / 40 - 60 ml lemon juice
Cooking:
- 2 cups / 500 ml water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan forced / convection).
- Place Paste ingredients in a bowl, starting with 2 tbsp lemon juice, and mix. It should be a wet paste that can be slathered onto the lamb (see video).
- Place lamb in a large roasting pan. Slather all over with paste. Optional: Marinate 24 hours (not mandatory, I usually skip).
- Position the lamb with the fat side up. Pour water around, cover tightly with foil.
- Roast 3 hours, removing from the oven 2 - 3 times to spoon over pan juices (ie baste).
- Remove foil. Meat should be tender - check with 2 forks.
- Baste again, then return to oven for 30 minutes to get a nice crust.
- Remove lamb from roasting pan - reserve juices.
Finish on BBQ, Optional (Note 2):
- Cool the lamb for 20 minutes or so (so it firms up slightly, easier to handle).
- If you used shoulder, pull the meat off the bone in 4 or 5 chunks (see video).
- Preheat BBQ to medium and oil if required.
- Coat lamb in pan juices. Sear on both sides until deep golden and a crust forms. Dab with pan juices on both sides.
Serving:
- Slice or shred lamb, as desired. Drizzle with plenty of juices.
- Make Lamb Shawarma wraps by serving with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and minted yoghurt (Note 3) or pile over Lemon Herbed Couscous (Note 4) and garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley or chopped coriander/cilantro (if desired). Both pictured in post.
Recipe Notes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Someone is happy that I’m so terrible at butterflying lamb leg…. plenty of meat left on that bone!
This recipe will not disappoint. Has become my favourite way of cooking lamb. Highly recommend.
Hi! This looks amazing! Am wondering if it would be suitable for freezing as there’s just one of me! X
Next level. So easy, set & forget in the slow cooker. Great for feeding a crowd
Lovely flavour, i did mine in the weber bbq at 180, should have been 160 as all liquid gone in the 3 hours and the tray was burnt, will do again correctly
A hit!!
I did your pumpkin and the lemon yoghurt dressing, plus couscous with lemon wedges on the side. Tonight its leftovers with flat breads.
An update on my previous comment…
I removed fat from cooled liquid left in slow cooker and through in rinsed dried out lentils and slow cooked til tender (4ish hours on low after half hour on high). Really good! Added fresh coriander.
Third meal with the last of the lamb, I served soft warm flatbread stuffed with lettuce, tomato, coriander, red onion, mint yoghurt with lamb warmed in air fryer which made it slightly crisp on edges. Best wrap I’ve ever eaten!!!
Hi Nagi, I made this in slow cooker with 1kg size shoulder and scaled spices down. Cooked on high for 1 hour then 7+ on low with a doubled over tea towel under lid. It was delicious!
I served with Lake Palace hotel aubergines, coriander and mint yoghurt and buttery savoy cabbage and peas cooked in onions and chick stock. Meal was sublime.
However, I have the leftover spiced lamby juice in slow cooker. Any ideas?
I was thinking of slow cooker puy lentils in this stock? Wish I had goat cheese to serve on top, but if anyone has an idea what else I could serve with spicy lamby lentils….?
Thanks guys
loved this recipe, worked fine with both leg and shoulder cuts.
Garnished with fresh raspberries and herbs
I forgot to rate- obviously 5 stars!
I made shawarma platters yesterday, cooked the lamb and chicken and they were mouthwatering delicious! I also cooked the jewelled rice, roasted veg and flatbreads and they were all so good. I will keep the lamb version for special dinners/guests but I will be definitely keeping the chicken shawarma on my regular rotation.
This is a brilliant recipe. Served with a fruit and nut pilaf. Any leftovers is not wasted.
Absolutely delish! Making it again tomorrow
I have made this recipe at least half a dozen times, usually when we have people coming for dinner – sometimes in the oven and sometimes the slow cooker – it doesn’t matter which method is used it is just as delicious either way, and everyone raves about it. Thanks Nagi!
I’ve made this recipe but adjusted to sous vide! I’ve used lamb leg and cooked in sous vide for 36h and then roasted quickly on the oven. Is was epic!! I did it with baba ganoush, hummus and taboulleh, which were the perfect sides! The leftovers were used to do a pita sandwish 🤩
Hello Nagi,
Do you think this recipe would work eith other cuts of mets, like pork shoulder maybe ?
I just did it with lamb shoulder and it’s delicious, but lamb is just really expensive here (around 25€/kg), so I was wondering…
Thanks for the recipe anyway obviously !
Hey! I want to try make this on sunday night but i would like to add roasted vegetables, can i put them in the oven at the same time on the bottom rack? also how would i know when the lamb is ready without pulling it apart? is 3 hours standard for all ovens?
Yep, it’s delicious and quite simple to make. A new favourite.
Love this recipe! Have cooked it multiple times, have tried with the cous cous and with the wrap options, both are great! Definitely recommend giving it a go 🙂
I made this yesterday for an early Christmas party and used butterflied lamb shoulder which is great cut for this recipe. You can get the nice shawarma flavours right through the meat and it’s so moist even after finishing on the bbq.
Made this lamb shawarma last night for guests. Served with Lemon herb cous cous with craisins and toasted slivered almonds and middle eastern roasted vegetables. Thanks to Bobbi for the idea to cook butterflied lamb in the air fryer (marinated over night). Prepped everything the day before. So easy!
Finished with a cheat’s kulfi made with custard, condensed milk and cream served in a pool of raspberry coulis.
Will be revisiting this menu many times going forward.