Slow Cooker Leftover Lamb Ragu

Leftover Lamb Ragu. How to make the best lamb ragu recipe, using leftover roast lamb. Thanks to the slow cooker, ingredients are dumped in the slow cooker, cooked slow, with very little effort, but maximum flavour.

This roast lamb pasta is so delicious you will have this planned each time you cook roast lamb. It will become your go to leftover lamb dinner.

Leftover Lamb Ragu

I have always been a HUGE Jamie Oliver fan and prior to moving to Portugal, watched all his shows.

It was thanks to my lovely chef husband and watching Jamie Oliver’s Naked Chef that helped me learn to cook.

One show I remember of Jamie Oliver’s that I watched so long ago, I simply can’t remember its name was about leftovers and cheap family dinners.

In one episode he showed how to cook a roast lamb and then use the leftovers in other meals. I think one was a lamb salad. But it was such a long time ago, I can’t remember.

But what I do remember, is that he got many negative comments, complaining that the average home cook, doesn’t have organic, top of the range lamb to turn into leftovers.

And many of his recipes during that show got the same opinion.

After watching the show, it inspired me, that whenever I did have some leftover roast lamb, that I had got on a special deal, that I would make use of every bit of the lamb shoulder and turn the leftovers into something different each time.

The recipe I love the most though, that gets eaten the most in the Recipe This kitchen is lamb ragu pasta and that is what I am showing you how to cook today in your slow cooker.

What To Do With Leftover Lamb?

There are many leftover roast lamb ideas. You can use your leftover roast lamb to make a salad, a pasta dish, a rice dish, a curry, or even use it in some homemade lamb samosas.

My first suggestion when it comes to using leftover lamb is to lamb pasta. That is because when you cook lamb, it shrinks, and you don’t get much meat for your money.

Therefore, if you have already had a roasted lamb shoulder such as our slow cooker roast lamb or our air fryer roast lamb, you will not have a HUGE amount of lamb to load into a leftover lamb meal.

That is when a lamb pasta dish is ideal such as this lamb ragu pasta. Because the pasta is then making the meal a lot more substantial, and you will have enough to feed four people instead of two.

What Is Lamb Ragu?

If you have not had lamb ragu before, then I like to think of it as a Mediterranean pasta dish, that works brilliantly with in season vegetables.

A ragu often has plenty of tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini), garlic, sometimes carrots and celery and can also be blended into a creamy tomato sauce.

You can also add in other vegetables that need using up, add your favourite seasonings and cook it all together in the slow cooker.

Then the vegetables are mixed with leftover lamb and served on a bed of pasta for the best leftover roast lamb recipe.

Or if you prefer you can blend the vegetables (before adding the lamb) to make a creamy lamb ragu sauce.

Leftover Lamb Ragu Ingredients?

Lamb – You can use any leftover lamb in this recipe. I find that lamb leg is better, because it is easier to shred. But if you are using lamb shoulder and if it doesn’t shred well, you can always cube it instead of shredding.

Vegetables – I am a big fan of vegetables and ragu uses quite a few of my favourites. It is loaded with fresh tomatoes, celery, courgettes, red onion, and carrots. I also add tinned tomatoes too, to make the ragu stretch even further.

Pasta – To make your lamb ragu pasta you will need some pasta, but the great thing is, it can be any of your choosing. It can be spaghetti, tagliatelle, it can be pasta twists or any other pasta that you can think of. Though we used fresh tagliatelle.

Red Wine – For a depth of flavour, nothing beats red wine in your ragu. You don’t need a lot, just enough for the ragu to have a richer taste. But if you don’t like cooking with red wine, swap it for vegetable stock.  

Seasoning – There is nothing worse than bland boring lamb pasta. I recommend basil, parsley, and oregano. Either one of these or all. Along with salt, pepper, and garlic. You can also add extra seasoning at the end if it doesn’t taste like it has enough flavour.

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this leftover roast lamb ragu recipe in the slow cooker, it has just been our Crockpot. We have this one and it does an amazing job and is also ideal for sauteing on the stovetop first.

How To Cook Leftover Lamb Ragu?

• Prep. Slice and dice your vegetables and make sure they are clean. I usually do the tomatoes last, because of how much the juices make a mess of my chopping board!
• Dump. Next dump the ragu ingredients along with the seasonings into the slow cooker. Mix well and then cook on high.

Shred. When the ragu is done, I like to blend half of it because it will create a creamier ragu and then shred and add in the lamb. Stir add any extra seasonings and then its ready for serving over just cooked pasta.

Can You Freeze Cooked Lamb?

Yes, you can. But note the reheat rule. Lamb can ONLY be reheated once, otherwise it is not safe for eating.

Therefore, if you cooked your lamb, then reheated it when you make our roast lamb pasta, then if you freeze your lamb, it can’t then be reheated again.

If this is YOU, I recommend that you serve the last of the lamb that you have added to the freezer as a cold lamb pasta dish, like the kind you would take to a picnic. Or you freeze the lamb before you transform it into a ragu.

What To Do With Leftover Lamb Ragu?

If I have some leftover lamb ragu (not very often) then I recommend that you mix it with some salad dressing and then serve it cold as a lamb ragu salad.

Or if you have not reheated your lamb already, then I recommend you load it up over pizza bases as it makes a fantastic pizza. Especially if you then sprinkle it with lots of cheese.

Recipes Using Lamb

In the Milner household we are obsessed with lamb. We find that it tastes amazing whether slow cooked or roasted.

Here are a few of our lamb favourites:

• Instant Pot Lamb Chops
• Instant Pot Lamb Bhuna
• Air Fryer Rib Of Lamb
• Air Fryer Lamb Kofta Kebabs
• Air Fryer Lamb Chops

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!