Rack of Lamb with Cherry Sauce

This cherry glazed rack of lamb brings together tender, herb-rubbed meat and a glossy red wine and cherry sauce that feels effortlessly elegant. Fresh herbs, garlic, and a quick high-heat roast create a beautifully browned crust, while simmered cherries and wine add a deep, tart-savory finish.

Ready in under an hour of active cooking, it’s a restaurant style recipe for a special dinner at home.

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Here’s Why This Lamb with Cherry Sauce Recipe Works

Frenched rack = easy elegance: The bones are cleaned for presentation, and the small size means fast cooking without fuss.

Simple rub, big flavor: Garlic, thyme, salt, and olive oil penetrate the fat cap and infuse the meat while it rests.

Cherry sauce: It’s fruity without being sweet, with shallot, garlic, and thyme grounding the flavors.

Built-in rest time for multitasking: While the lamb roasts and rests, the cherry sauce comes together in one small pot.

Ingredient Notes

Rack of lamb: Look for a rack that’s already Frenched, or ask your butcher to do it. Frenching removes the meat and fat from the first inch or two of the ribs for a cleaner presentation, but it doesn’t affect flavor or tenderness.

Cherries: Fresh cherries give the sauce its bright, fruity depth. Dark sweet cherries work best, but you can sub frozen cherries if needed.

Red wine: Choose a dry red you enjoy drinking, such as cabernet sauvignon or merlot. The flavor concentrates as it reduces, so avoid anything overly sweet.

Butter + flour: Mashed together, they create a quick beurre manié that gently thickens the sauce without lumps and gives it a glossy finish.

Choose a rack of lamb that’s already Frenched, or ask your butcher to do it for you. Frenching simply means trimming the meat and fat from the first couple inches of the bones for a cleaner, more elegant presentation, but it’s completely optional.

For more lamb recipes, try my lamb ossobuco casserole or butterflied leg of lamb.

This recipe just begs for mashed potatoes and we whipped up a bowl of creamy ricotta mashed potatoes.  A side of steamed green beans and a crisp green salad completed the dinner.  

Cherry Sauce with Lamb

In the end, this rack of lamb turns into the kind of dinner that feels special without being fussy. The meat stays tender and rosy, the cherry–wine sauce adds just enough drama, and everything comes together right before serving. It’s the dish I’d put on the table for friends. It’s simple to pull off, but impressive once it hits the plate.

For another restaurant style dinner, try our garlic herb rack of lamb.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Additional Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

4.91 from 11 votes

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Cherry Sauce

By Pat Nyswonger

This succulent, perfectly Roasted Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Cherry Sauce has a rub of garlic and thyme and an easy pan sauce made of red wine, fresh cherries and herbs.

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

Servings: 4 Servings

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Ingredients 

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For the Rack of Lamb:

• ▢ 1½ pounds rack of lamb, with 8 ribs; (Frenched)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Fresh thyme, chopped
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Red Wine-Cherry Sauce:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil, or bacon drippings
• ▢ 1 shallot, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• ▢ 8 ounces fresh cherries, pitted and halved, or frozen cherries
• ▢ 1 cup red wine
• ▢ ¾ cup chicken broth
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Fresh thyme
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

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Instructions 

Prepare the Rack of Lamb:

• Line a small sheet pan with foil. Remove the rack of lamb from the refrigerator, pat with paper towels to remove any moisture, then wrap each bone with foil.  
• Score the fatty side with shallow cuts spaced about 1-inch apart.  Score only through the fat and not so deep as to cut the flesh.  Brush the entire surface with olive oil. 
• Combine the thyme, garlic salt and pepper in a small dish and sprinkle the surface of the lamb, rubbing into the scored fatty area.
• Place on the sheet pan, bone side down, fat side up and and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the lamb to sit at room temperature for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. 

To Roast the Lamb:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F   Set the oven rack on the upper third position.
• Remove and discard the plastic wrap from the lamb. Using a digital oven meat thermometer, Insert the prong into the center of the eye of the lamb.
• Transfer the sheet pan to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes or until an the thermometer reaches 125°F for medium rare or 135°F for medium.
• Remove the sheet pan from the oven and transfer the lamb to a carving board, tent with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile as the lamb is roasting and resting, make the sauce:

• In a small saucepan set over medium, heat the olive oil and sauté the shallot and garlic, for 1 minute, add the cherries, wine and the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 5-8 minutes.  
• In a small dish, mash the butter and flour together and stir into the cherry mixture, cook until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Stir in the thyme leaves, taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the sauce to a small dish and keep warm.  

To Carve and Serve:

• Remove the foil from the bones and grasp the ends of the bones, standing the meat up on end. 
• Slice between the rib bones.  Spoon a puddle of red wine-cherry sauce in the center of each serving plates and add a scoop of mashed potatoes.
• Arrange two ribs on the potatoes and spoon the wine-cherry sauce over the potatoes and lamb. 

Notes

Wrap the bones in foil: This prevents scorching and keeps the presentation clean.

Score only the fat: Shallow cuts help the seasoning stick and the fat render.

Use a thermometer: Pull the lamb at 120°F for rare, 125°F for medium-rare, 135°F for medium, or 145°F for medium-well—its temperature will rise a bit as it rests.

Reduce the sauce well: Let it simmer until it lightly coats a spoon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 565kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 115mg, Sodium: 696mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g

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

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