Paleo Slow Cooker Lamb Roast with Root Veggies is total fall comfort food.
With fall weather starting to settle in, my mind naturally drifts to hearty roasts, soups, and stews. I’m a big fan of the slow cooker for this job, as the meal practically cooks itself once you’ve added the ingredients.
Searing off the meat before you add it is an extra step that’s well worth the time because it helps to develop an extra layer of delicious flavor. Using a boneless leg of lamb will make this recipe cook a bit faster. However, if all you can find is a bone-in leg of lamb, that will work, too!
Can You Make Leg of Lamb in the Instant Pot?
Absolutely. You should sear the outside of the leg of lamb first to help develop some flavor. Use ghee for searing because it has such a high smoke point. From there, add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Set the timer to 90 minutes manual (high). When it’s done, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes.
Paleo Slow Cooker Lamb Roast with Root Veggies Recipe
This Paleo Slow Cooker Lamb Roast Recipe has all the comforting flavors of fall, and it's made in the slow cooker which makes it super easy! Gluten-free and whole30.
Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless lamb leg roast
- Generous pinch each sea salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 cup chicken broth low-sodium if possible
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 sprigs rosemary chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme stripped off stalk
- 1/3 cup stone ground mustard
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 parsnips peeled and chopped
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and chopped
- 1 rutabaga peeled and chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- First, you’re going to sear the lamb roast to develop a nice golden crust. That’s where the flavor really shines. To do that, dry the lamb very well with paper towel and season with a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat, then add the ghee. You want the pan smoking hot. If not, the meat will steam instead of sear. Try for 3 to 4 minutes a side until you get most of the roast seared. Remove the meat from the pan (I put it on a plate), then reduce the heat to medium, and add the chicken broth, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Place the roast in the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix the garlic, rosemary, thyme and mustard. Pour it on top of the lamb and use your hands to coat the meat with the mixture.
- Toss the chopped root veggies (carrots, parsnips, potato and rutabaga) with salt and pepper, and arrange them around the meat. Pour the chicken broth from when you deglazed the pan on top of the veggies.
- Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
- Serve with a green salad or veggie of your choice for a complete meal.
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We will totally be making this soon – sounds AMAZING!
Awesome!
I bet this is soo nice, looks gorgeous! I love hearty autumn-ish meals like this. Thanks for the recipe :)!
You’re very welcome, Mark! Enjoy!
Stephanie, do you think there may be a danger of vegetables becoming too mushy? They are root vegetables, of course (meaning – quite hard), but 8-10 hours may do it to them? It would be nice just load everything in the slow cooker and forget, as opposed to adding veggies later – any thoughts?
I put them on the top away from any liquid. They did fine and didn’t come out mushy.
Well, makes sense – time to try, I guess 🙂
Ok! It’s all in use crock pot. I think the lamb steamed a little when I was searing it but mostly seared hopefully it’s okay. Praying it comes out yummy. I used a lot more veggies because I want to freeze about half of them. Will there be enough liquids or should I add a little bit more chicken broth?
*all in the crock pot.
Still getting used to iOS 8 typing
Hi Lauren…the veggies will make their own juice (and there will be some from the lamb) so resist the urge to add more 🙂
You were so right. I resisted and it came out perfect. Let me tell you this dish is soooo good. I can’t believe I am the one who made it that is how good it is. haha. I don’t cook much but I was able to do this and your instructions were very helpful! I can’t wait till dinner for 2nds. Any advice for freezing half of the lamb and veggies?
This recipe is delicious! 🙂
That’s awesome! I’m stoked you liked it, Lauren. 🙂
This was fantastic!! Lots of left overs to carry me into the week too.
I love the mix of mustard, garlic and herbs with the root veggies. Adding to my list of favorites from you!
Yay Ellen! I am so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I’m making this for my mom (forcing her to try paleo!). But she doesn’t have a slow cooker so I put it in the oven for 8-10 hours on 200 degrees. Hopefully it works! Can’t wait!
I made a modified version of this and it was extremely good. I ended up having to roast my veggies in the oven with a bit of the juice from the crock due to overcrowding (my lamb leg was over 5lbs) but even still it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
I altered it a slight bit as we like it more rare. We cooked for 4.5 hours on low with an internal temp of 140 when done. Also we omitted the veggies as we had none of those on the recipe. Love the tangy mustard. Used organic home made bone broth.
I made this pale lamb roast according to dire tion. I served my husband and I each a portioned amout. I was so full and satisfied. I came back later and no veggies, half the roast was gone. It was my husband. We both REALLY LOVED this dish. I will be looking for more of your recipes.
So glad to hear that Dora!!
Hey there
Should the lamb be thawed or frozen?
Thanks
You can use frozen but you’ll need to increase the cooking time.
I need to cook faster, I need to use high heat how long should I cook? Thank you
If you have to cook it faster, use a Dutch oven in your oven at 325F for 3 hours or so. I don’t recommend using your slow cooker on high. The meat will come out tough.
Will this work with a bone-in leg of lamb?
Yes…but you’ll probably have to bump up the time a little.
Would this work with a rack of lamb??
Rack of lamb is pretty lean and delicate. I probably wouldn’t slow cook it.
Absolutely delicious! I used only sweet potatoes because that’s what I had on hand. This is a recipe to use over and over!
Wishing you lots of success,
Just made this today and it was amazing! The lamb pretty much just fell apart and the sweet potatoes were a hit.
Super happy to hear that Danielle!
Hi! I’m so excited to try this. How big was your crock pot? I have 3-1/2 quart slow cooker and I wonder if I should divide the recipe in a half.
6 quart
How many net carbs are on these meal and how many kcal per serving? thank you!
I don’t provide nutritional info on the site, sorry. If that’s something you need, I recommend using My Fitness Pal.
How long should I cook this if I wanted to do it in the oven? My crock pot insert cracked, and the Instant Pot I have is too small.
At least 3 hours.
OHHHH. MYYYY. GAAWWWDD!! I love all your recipes I’ve tried but this one knocked it out of the park. I made it yesterday for our early Xmas with my BF’s family. Got a little nervous thinking, “Why would I make something I’ve never tried before for a house full of people? What if it’s not good?” Needless to say everyone thought it was amazing…..the lamb was juicy and tender, the veggies were perfect! I doubled it, in a dutch oven in the oven for 3.5 hours at 325, adding the veggies about an hour into the cooking time. Thank-you for all you do!!
I’m SO stoked to hear that it turned out well for you Sara <3 Thanks for stopping by!
I have histamine issues so I can’t eat slow cooked food. Is there a way to adapt this to the instant pot or oven?
Thanks.
Hi Mel…we are no strangers to histamine intolerance over here. My husband has it as well. You might want to do this one in the instant pot…it would have the fastest cooking time, say 60 minutes. Cut down the amount of liquid to about 1 cup. After cooking, freeze any leftovers immediately.
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