Lamb Stew And Dumplings. Introducing you to the best lamb stew and dumplings recipe. Cooked in the slow cooker, this lamb casserole is loaded with root vegetables, is budget friendly and perfect for cold winter days.
Even better, this lamb stew recipe for the slow cooker is made exclusively with Aldi produce, making it even cheaper to make at home.
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Lamb Stew And Dumplings
Calling all stew and dumplings fans, we are serving up warm bowls or lamb stew and dumplings.
One of those classic winter stews that never seems to age, and I am sure my kids will be making it for their kids.
My grandad always made amazing stews for me, and I would love the attention to detail and the way the stew came together and how you warmed your hands on the bowl of stew in front of a warm coal fire.
Whilst things have gone modern since my 1980s lamb stews, what has remained is how the hearty dish never fails to impress and how easy it is to put together.
My grandad would have used an old pan to make my stew and dumplings, that was probably 30 years old, whilst I love to make mine in a slow cooker.
If you have not made slow cooker stew and dumplings before, then today’s recipe is a perfect starting point for you.
Then you can mix it up and do beef stew, pork stew, chicken stew, venison stew etc. Whilst following the same easy concept.
Can You Make Stew & Dumplings In A Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can. Lamb stew with dumplings cooked in the slow cooker is amazing and is one of those one pot slow cooker meals that I insist you make throughout winter.
For those days when it is raining outside, and you just want a nice warm stew to warm you up and give you that comforting feeling that only stews and casseroles do.
Can You Cook Dumplings In A Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can. I know many people cook the dumplings separate from the stew when cooking in the slow cooker. But you can cook the dumplings in the slow cooker.
Or you can do what I do and that is to partly cook the dumplings and then add them to the lamb stew later.
The reason I do this, is because it gives a crispy coating to the dumplings, a texture you will not get from a slow cooker.
Then the suet dumplings are loaded into the slow cooker for the remainder of the cook time.
Do You Call It Lamb Casserole With Dumplings?
I love the fact that we all have different names for things. Whilst I would always refer to it as lamb stew and dumplings in the slow cooker, you might think of it as more of a lamb casserole.
Or a lamb casserole with dumplings.
If you were to define the difference between a lamb stew vs a lamb casserole. Then note the casserole is known for the liquid being reduced and been oven baked. Whilst a stew has plenty of liquid that you can dip bread into like a soup.
My Slow Cooked Lamb Pieces
I always love making things out of leftovers and being more original in my recipe creations and my lamb pieces are not cubed lamb stewing meat like you would normally have.
Instead, my slow cooked lamb pieces are one pack of lamb steak that I bought from Aldi on a reduced price deal.
They were reduced by 75% at Aldi and I chopped them up into lamb pieces ready for loading up for a lamb stew.
But WAIT it gets better.
I also had leftovers from our slow cooker vegetable stew and dumplings. Not the dumplings because everyone eats those!!! But the actual veggie stew.
Just think you could do the same. Take leftovers from another meal, take reduced price steak, and mix it up and have it as the base of your stew and dumplings. You could even call the recipe your leftover lamb stew and dumplings.
Lamb Stew Ingredients
Lamb – You can use any chunks of lamb. It can be leftovers from a lamb roast dinner, it can be a steak cut up like we have done, or any other similar option.
Roots – We are using leftover vegetable stew ingredients. But you can use any root vegetables you have in. Our favourites are carrot, swede, leeks and potatoes, but you might have your own favourite choice.
Dumplings – We are decorating the top of our stew with homemade herby dumplings and you will wish that you made yourself more dumplings!
Extras – To make this stew slow cooker recipe stretch further, I recommend adding in extras such as chickpeas, beans, corn, or peas. You will then be able to feed more mouths or have leftovers the next day. We added in lots of frozen corn.
Seasoning – I love my stew and dumplings with mixed herbs, rosemary and oregano. You can use the same or mix and match.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this slow cooker lamb stew and dumplings, it has just been our Crockpot. We have this one and it does an amazing job and is also ideal for sauteing too.
Then if you want to part cook your homemade dumplings then I recommend this air fryer for the job.
How To Make Lamb Stew & Dumplings?
- Saute. I love to make lamb stew flavoursome and always start with sauteing lamb chunks with bacon and extra virgin olive oil.
- Prep. The next step is to peel and dice your vegetables, toss in the seasoning and load into the slow cooker. Then add in stock, extra tinned tomatoes, tomato sauce and stir. Or alternatively like we have done, load up the slow cooker with leftover stew.
- Cook. Next the slow cooker does its magic and cooks your hearty lamb stew. Then whilst it is cooking you can prep and partly cook your herby dumplings.
- Load. Next when the slow cooker is heading into its last hour, you can stir in any extras such as frozen sweetcorn, and then load the partly cooked dumplings on top.
- Finish. Once it has done its last hour, load into bowls and enjoy!
How To Prepare Dumplings For Lamb Stew?
There are two main ways that you prepare dumplings for your stew and these same two applies regardless of having lamb stew, beef stew, pork stew or even vegetable stew.
And that is with or without suet.
Suet dumplings are the old school way of making dumplings and its like a replacement fat that you use when making your dumpling dough in a mixing bowl.
I like both. But I know we have many readers that live in places where you can not get the suet.
My solution is that we have both suet and non suet dumpling recipes for you to print out and make with your lamb stew or lamb casserole.
I recommend you check them out and decide which one is perfect for you.
How To Make Dumplings For Lamb Stew?
Then once you have chosen your dumplings recipe, I recommend that you either make them whilst the slow cooker is making the lamb stew or make them ahead to save you time.
Then once you have made your dumpling dough balls, you can partly cook or load them straight into the slow cooker.
Why Is My Lamb Stew Tough?
The biggest reason for a tough lamb stew is that the stew hasn’t cooked slow enough and for long enough. Lamb can be tough unless it has had the chance to cook for at least 3 hours in the slow cooker.
If you can increase that time.
If you do have a tough lamb stew you can rescue it by reheating it via the slow cooker via a long slow cook on low for 3 hours.
Listen To Slow Cooker Lamb Stew
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More Delicious Lamb Recipes
If you love lamb, we have lots more lamb ideas for you to try out next:
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops
- Air Fryer Lamb Ribs
- Air Fryer Minted Lamb Burgers
- Instant Pot Lamb Chops
- Instant Pot Lamb Shanks
Slow Cooker Lamb Stew And Dumplings
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Lamb Stew Ingredients:
- 2 Lamb Steaks
- 1 Batch Dumplings Without Suet
- 2 Bacon Rashers
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Leftover Vegetable Stew
Vegetables For Stew:
- 3 Medium Carrots
- 3 Medium Leeks
- 2 Large Potatoes
- 1 Medium Swede/Rutabaga
- 1 Medium Parsnip
- 468 ml 1 Can Tinned Tomatoes
- 250 ml Vegetable Stock
- 2 Tbsp Mixed Herbs
- 2 Tbsp Oregano
- 2 Tbsp Rosemary
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Slice up your lamb steak into lamb chunks and also slice up your bacon into bacon bits and place in the slow cooker.
- Sauté chunks of bacon with lamb with extra virgin olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until the lamb is nicely browned.
- Peel and dice your root vegetables and potatoes. Load into the slow cooker, along with seasoning, tomato sauce, tinned tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Stir and place the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. Or alternatively (like we did) load up leftover vegetable stew or leftover vegetable soup into the slow cooker.
- Whilst the slow cooker is cooking your lamb stew make a batch of homemade dumplings. Cook the dumplings for 4 minutes in an air fryer at 180c/360f.
- When the slow cooker has just an hour left, stir the lamb casserole, and add in any extras such as frozen sweetcorn, chickpeas, peas etc.
- Next place the dumplings on top and cook for a further hour before loading into bowls and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!
