Slow Cooker Lamb Ragu

This Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu Recipe is a meaty, rich sauce packed with flavor. Serve with your favorite pasta, it's one of the most comforting meals! Make this for both special occasions or for Sunday dinner for a hearty and satisfying meal.

If you don't have a hearty lamb ragu recipe in your back pocket, this will become your go-to. It's made with succulent chunks of lamb, and just like our beef short rib ragu, it's made with a flavorful mix of tomato paste, onions, garlic, celery, garlic, and red wine. It's supremely satisfying, and the ultimate Italian comfort food.

If you need more ideas for hearty comfort food for Sunday dinner, try this chicken potato soup, this melt in your mouth roast beef with gravy, this Dutch oven pot roast, this slow cooker Irish stew, or this slow cooker sirloin tip roast.

Looking for another new lamb recipe? Try our lamb salad with herb roasted potatoes!

❤️Why we love this recipe

• Hearty and comforting. This lamb ragu sauce is rich and flavorful. It's so hearty, it's almost like a stew. It cooks slowly to create an intensely flavorful sauce.
• Hands-off recipe. After prepping and a small amount of active time, you can set it and forget it for hours until the sauce is nice and tender.
• Perfect for both special occasions & lazy dinners. This recipe is both fancy and easy to make. It's high-end enough for special occasions like Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, or Easter, but it's also great for lazy Sundays when you don't feel like standing over the stove.

🐑Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

• Olive oil
• Lamb. We like to use lamb shoulder, which is a tougher cut of lamb that needs to cooked for a long time. You can also use bone-in if you can't find boneless, it's usually cheaper and has even more flavor, but you will just need to cut it into a few pieces to ensure it gets tender enough.
• Kosher salt & black pepper
• Carrots
• Yellow onion
• Celery
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Smoked paprika & red pepper flakes. Optional and to taste.
• Red wine. Choose a full-bodied, dry red to support the rich lamb. Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Merlot would make good choices. They are on the drier side, but pack plenty of body and fruity flavor that will accompany the lamb flavor well.
• Beef stock. Of course, if you can find lamb stock (affiliate link), use that, but it's not very easy to come by in most areas so we use readily available beef stock or broth.
• Crushed tomatoes. Use something good quality, like San Marzano, since this will be the main flavor component of your sauce.
• Fresh herbs. We use a mixture of thyme, rosemary, and sage to wrap up in a bundle to infuse the sauce with lots of flavor. We also add in a few bay leaves.
• Heavy cream. Cream is a common ingredient in ragu sauces, but it is optional.
• Fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese
• Pasta of choice. Use any pasta you like here, we like using pappardelle as it holds up really well to the hearty sauce.
• Reserved pasta water. Make sure to reserve some pasta water to help the sauce cling to the noodles when serving.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & variations

Here are a few suggestions for additional flavors to try, or simple variations to the ragu.

• Use a different cut. You can use ground lamb, or lamb shank instead of lamb shoulder if you prefer. Make sure to use a hearty cut that will hold up well to braising and develop a really nice rich flavor.
• Dairy free. Omit the cream and parmesan cheese. You can also substitute the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk.
• Spicy. Add cayenne pepper or more red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
• Use marinara sauce. For a shortcut, you can swap the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes with marinara sauce.
• Swap wine for broth or stock. You can simply use all beef or lamb stock instead of wine if you prefer.
• You can use red onions or shallots if you don't have sweet or yellow onions on hand.

🔪Prep work

• Mince garlic.
• Dice carrots, celery, and onions.
• Tightly wrap herbs in a bundle of kitchen twine.
• Measure out all remaining ingredients.
• Dry lamb pieces very well with paper towels to encourage browning.
• Heat a heavy-bottomed pan, skillet, or Dutch oven over medium heat. If your slow cooker has a stovetop setting like ours does, you can preheat that instead.