Talk about a soup to cozy up with on a cold day!!!! This Instant Pot Lamb Stew pushes all the right buttons: hearty, cozy, deep in flavor, and the perfect leftovers.
It’s no surprise that I absolutely love the flavor of lamb meat. It has a distinctive taste that regular beef just doesn’t have and makes any dish immediately taste more elevated and unique, in my opinion. This Instant Pot Lamb Stew has such a beautiful combination of flavor to make it rich and comforting: red wine, a little tomato, lots of herbs, some veggies and of course the star of the show: the lamb.
If you are a stew person, this is one to put on the top of your list to try. It’s just so dang fabulous!
SHOP THE POST.
For more crockpot and Instant Pot recipes, check out this recipe round-up.
Instant Pot Lamb Stew

Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (shoulder or leg meat works great) (you can also sub beef here)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour (you can sub tapioca or regular flour here, too)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, sliced diagonally about 1/2 inch thick (or 2 large carrots)
- 1/2 cup celery, diced large (or 1 stalk)
- 3/4 cup yellow onion, diced (or 1/2 medium onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (4-5 sprigs)
- 2 cups russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup beef broth + 1/4 cup
- 1/2 tsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves (about 1 sprig)
Instructions
- Pat dry the cubed lamb meat and place in a large bowl with the salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour. Toss until evenly coated.
- Turn the Instant Pot on the sauté function with olive oil. When hot, in batches, sear the lamb meat until golden brown on all sides. About 2-3 minutes per side. Set browned meat aside and continue cooking until all meat is finished cooking.
- Add garlic, celery, carrot, onion and chili flakes (optional) to the Instant Pot (still on sauté function). Stir and sauté the veggies until softened, scraping any of the brown edges from the pot. About 3 minutes.
- Once vegetables are softened, add tomato past. Stir until veggies are coated. Add red wine and stir, scraping brown bits from bottom.
- Add the potato, lamb (plus any of its juices), thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and beef broth into the pot.
- Securely fasten the lid on top of the Instant Pot. Hit the cancel button then hit the meat/stew function. Lower the time to 40 minutes.
- When the cook time has complete, hit the 'cancel' button and release the pressure in the Instant pot manually by carefully turning the valve to "venting". Let vent until all the steam has released and carefully remove the lid.
- Turn the instant pot back onto the 'sauté' function. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of the arrowroot with the remaining 1/4 cup of beef broth. Whisk until the arrowroot has dissolved in the liquid, making a "slurry" that will help thicken the soup.
- With the sauté function on and while stirring, slowly pour the slurry into the soup, stirring, until the soup has thickened, about 2 minutes.
28 Comments
Ania L
February 21, 2023 at 8:36 pmAbsolutely delicious! Cut the lamb into smaller pieces though as I like it super tender, but this was a simple and extremely tasty meal to whack in the instant pot.
Alex
February 22, 2023 at 12:44 amSo glad you loved it!
Danielle
September 30, 2022 at 4:00 pmI love this recipe!! I want to make a double batch and my Dutch oven pot is a better size, I’m assuming this could be done one the stovetop? How hot and long would you cook it for? Thank you!!
Alex
October 15, 2022 at 2:13 pmHi Danielle!
Im sure it would be great stovetop! I would get it so that it’s lightly simmering (so medium-low/low heat) covered until very tender, I would think 1 1/2 hours or so!
Judith
November 20, 2021 at 2:29 amMade it proportionately larger in my 8 qt instant pot tonight for dinner and it was so delicious! I used a dry cabernet merlot and substituted fennel rather than celery as my daughter is unable to eat celery. A perfect harmony of flavours, this will be requested again for sure!
Bella
March 22, 2022 at 8:53 pmFor the larger serving, did you have to increase the cooking time and the liquid amount?
Hannah Husby
November 4, 2021 at 4:15 pmMaking this tonight, sounds delish! Looks the crockpot instructions left off the rosemary. I just added it in with everything else! Is that correct?
Mona Banzer
November 22, 2021 at 1:02 amnot enough fluids, needs a lot more broth…
Paige
October 28, 2021 at 11:00 pmMade tonight with beef and it was so delicious!!!! Warning to let it cool significantly after cooking it in the IP! Can’t wait to make it again.
Brenda Wagner
October 25, 2021 at 3:33 amAwesome. Added parsnips, no need to chop the rosemary and thyme – just threw in the whole sprig. Used small potatoes and did not peel. Very good stew. I doubled it and it fit in a 6 qt instant pot.
Kris Monson
October 10, 2021 at 10:15 pmYum! We loved the flavor of this stew. I left out the potatoes, doubled the carrots and then served it with mashed potatoes with parsley. We had tried lamb stew this way in Sun Valley, Idaho and this was almost as good!
Randy Bowser
July 22, 2021 at 2:40 pmThis recipe is labeled for Instant Pot – But then it says to cook 6 hours – !! – in a slow cooker. — ?
Alex
July 22, 2021 at 5:37 pmThere are instructions for the Instant Pot and Crockpot depending on what you have in your kitchen.
Ediana
April 12, 2021 at 1:57 amMade this today. So good!
Isabel
April 12, 2021 at 12:33 amI made this the other day and it was delicious! I’m excited to make it again. If I doubled the recipe would the cook time in the instant pot be the same?
Kristina
March 18, 2021 at 4:48 pmSo excited to make this tonight! Can leftovers be frozen? And ok to cook in crockpot for more than 6hrs?
Alex
March 18, 2021 at 8:20 pmyou can definitely freeze the leftovers! and if it’s on low, more than 6 hours should be ok.
Lauren
March 11, 2021 at 4:14 amI didn’t know how much I loved lamb until I made this on a whim. This stew is BEYOND good. Huge crowd pleaser!
Jewel
January 10, 2021 at 12:24 amAwesome recipe (Made it in instant pot ). My husband said he’d never enjoyed anything more!
Jennifer Gerich
January 3, 2021 at 11:41 pmHi! I am a total lamb lover as well. Question for you: I am doing the Whole 30 – what would you suggest in place of the red wine? Or should I just wait until I’m done and make it with the wine?
Alex
January 4, 2021 at 1:36 pmYou can just use beef broth– but I’d also add a splash of balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp) or apple cider vinegar for some acidity!
Jesseca
November 12, 2020 at 5:12 pmJust made this last night and it was delicious! Next week I’d like to try it with beef. What type of beef would you recommend to substitute for lamb?
Alex
November 13, 2020 at 1:38 pm‘Chuck’ roast meat would work best 🙂
Stephanie Ann
October 19, 2020 at 11:11 pmCan you add a little more broth to make it more soupy? Or does the meat release a lot of liquid to make more broth? I find that some stews don’t have very much broth and I like a good broth 🙂 Thank you!!
thedefineddish
October 19, 2020 at 11:11 pmThe meat does release more liquid. What I would do is just leave it as is and don’t add the “slurry” at the end if you prefer a brothier stew! 🙂
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October 27, 2019 at 9:00 am[…] Instant Pot Lamb Stew […]
Sandy McMorris Wheeler
October 19, 2020 at 11:17 pmWhat is you favorite wine to cook with? I’m not a wine drinker (I’m a beer girl..lol) so I struggle with this. I usually just add extra broth. But I know the wine will give it extra boost of flavor
Emily
November 16, 2020 at 1:56 amDry wines are the way to go! So like a Cabernet Sauvignon would work great with recipes that ask for red wine! 🙂