Rustic Lamb Stew with Garlic Polenta

This lamb stew brings together tender lamb, earthy mushrooms, baby red potatoes, and sweet carrots, all simmered in a savory broth infused with garlic, thyme, and a splash of white wine. Paired with a creamy garlic polenta, it’s the ultimate cozy dinner that practically makes itself in the Dutch oven.

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Here is Why This Homemade Lamb Stew Recipe Works

The Ingredients

• Meat: Lamb stew meat
• Produce: Garlic, fresh thyme, frozen petite pearl onions, white or portobello mushrooms, baby red potatoes, carrots
• Pantry: Vegetable oil, chicken broth, dry white wine, flour, salt, pepper, bay leaves
• Polenta Ingredients: Water, kosher salt, garlic, fine-grind polenta

If you don’t have chicken broth, you can use beef stock. You can also swap the herbs for whatever you have on hand. Rosemary, oregano, or sage would work fine.

Stew Variations 

If you like this recipe, try our  Beef Casserole with Einkorn Dumplings or our Lamb Shanks Cassoulet.

Tips for Success

• Avoid overcrowding the pan when searing the lamb. Browning in smaller batches will help the stew meat get a brown crust.
• After browning the meat, deglaze the pan with broth or wine to get all the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom. 
• Cooking the stew in a covered Dutch oven helps retain moisture and infuses the flavors.
• Before serving, taste and adjust the seasoning. 
• For the best texture, serve the polenta right after cooking; it tends to firm up as it cools. If it thickens too much, add a splash of water or broth to loosen it back up.

Storage

In the Fridge: Let the stew cool completely then transfer it to an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Freezing: Place the stew in freezer safe containers, leaving a little space at the top for expansion. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen stew in the refrigerator overnight.

Reheating: To reheat, warm it in a pot over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. You can also microwave individual portions, stirring every minute or so for even heating.

You might also like our Coq Au Vin or our Lamb Shanks Osso Buco

Hearty Stew with Lamb and Polenta

This lamb stew is the ultimate comfort food that works hard so you don’t have to. With tender chunks of lamb, hearty veggies, and a side of garlic polenta that’s just begging to be dunked, it’s the kind of dish that does all the talking. This is a cozy meal that is perfect for chilly nights. Try it with buttery slices of sourdough bread

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 3 hours hrs

4.95 from 20 votes

Lamb Stew with Garlic Polenta

By Pat Nyswonger

A rich, flavor-intense lamb stew served with a garlic polenta. This lamb stew is an easy recipe to put together and finished in the oven while the garlic polenta takes about 10 minutes just before serving.

If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.

Servings: 6 servings

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ cup flour, for dredging
• ▢ 1 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 3 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks, or purchase precut lamb stew meat
• ▢ 2 cans, 14.5 ounces each low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 8 ounces ½ bag frozen petite pearl onions
• ▢ 4 white or portobello mushrooms, 3-inch diameter, cut into quarters
• ▢ 1-½ pounds small baby red potatoes
• ▢ 4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• ▢ 1 cup dry white wine

For the Garlic-Polenta

• ▢ 3-½ cups water, divided
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1-¼ cups fine-grind polenta

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Instructions 

For the Lamb Stew:

• Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to heavily coat the pan.
• Add the flour, salt and pepper and the lamb chunks to a closable plastic bag, close the top and roll the meat around in the seasoned flour. Open the bag and remove the chunks of lamb and place about ⅓ of the lamb into the hot oil. Cook, uncovered, flipping the pieces as they brown.

  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a large lidded dutch oven or large, lidded oven proof casserole. Continue browning the lamb chunks in batches.
• Deglaze the pan with one cup of the chicken broth, scraping up the grubbies stuck to the bottom and add the mixture to the dutch oven.
• Preheat the oven to 275°F.
• Place the dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat and add the remaining chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, onions, mushrooms, potatoes and carrots stirring to combine and cook for 5 minutes.

  Remove from the stove top and add the wine, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, place the lid on the dutch oven and transfer to the middle rack of the oven and cook until tender 1-½ to 2 hours.

For the Garlic Polenta:

• Add 2-½ cups of water, the garlic and salt to a medium-saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix the remaining water with the cornmeal in a bowl.
• When the water begins to boil, add the cornmeal mixture slowly, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for five minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until serving.
• To serve, place a half-cup of garlic polenta shallow soup bowls, ladle the lamb stew next to the polenta.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 679kcal, Carbohydrates: 46g, Protein: 58g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 166mg, Sodium: 1091mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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