Slow Cooker Lamb Stew With Chickpeas

By Cybelle Tondu

Published Aug. 7, 2025

Slow Cooker Lamb Stew With Chickpeas
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
About 6¼ hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
6 hours
Rating
4(44)
Comments
Read comments

This rustic dinner party dish requires minimal preparation and lets time do the work to achieve meltingly tender results. Dried chickpeas become velvety under the slow cooker's patient heat, forming a hearty base for succulent lamb without any soaking or searing. Warm spices, garlic and lemon complement and brighten the stew's robust flavors. Serve blanketed in fresh herbs, with flatbread or rice to sop up the rich juices.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2½ to 3pounds lamb shanks or 2 (1-pound) bone-in lamb shoulder chops
  • Salt
  • Cracked black pepper
  • 1heaping cup/8 ounces dried chickpeas
  • 2yellow onions, cut into 1-inch slices
  • 6garlic cloves, lightly smashed and peeled
  • 3bay leaves
  • 2cups chicken broth
  • 1lemon, plus lemon wedges for serving
  • A handful of mint, basil or cilantro leaves, for serving
  • Flatbread or rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1182 calories; 74 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 30 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 70 grams protein; 1403 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine cumin, paprika and cloves in a large bowl. Place lamb shanks in the bowl and season generously with salt (about 1 teaspoon per pound) and black pepper, then coat evenly with the spices. (For the best flavor, this step can be done up to 48 hours in advance; cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.)

  2. Step 2

    In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine chickpeas, onions, garlic, bay leaves and broth. (The chickpeas should be just covered in liquid, since the lamb and onions will release juices as they cook.) Peel wide strips of lemon zest and add to the slow cooker. Place lamb shanks on top (the meat will not be submerged in liquid), cover and cook on high for 6 hours, until lamb and chickpeas are very tender.

  3. Step 3

    Pull away and discard lamb bones from the meat. Cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze in the juice into the stew. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Top with herbs, and serve with lemon wedges and flatbread or rice.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
44 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

So Easy

Coming back the next day to add that it was very greasy. This was alleviated today when I scraped the fat off of cold leftovers before reheating, but only partially.

So Easy

I could not believe I was done when I hit start on my Crock Pot. So easy and tastes like it took way more effort than it did. I of course didn’t see the note to let it sit up to 48 hours for more flavor. I managed 2. I did not think it was too spicy/flavorful like another commenter- it was just right and could have handled more if you felt adventurous. Maybe they added lemon juice before cooking, because they mentioned not adding lemon next time. The recipe only said to add rind, so that’s what I did. Served it with lemon wedges, mint and flatbread.

Gary

Way too spicy,cut them all in half and leave the lemon out. Should have gotten some chutney and flatbread on the way home.

Lia

This was very tasty. I had the butcher cube 3 pounds of lamb for me. I seasoned the meat and put it in the fridge overnight. I seared the meat before adding to the slow cooker and added baby carrots in addition to the other ingredients. It was flavorful and tender. I served with jasmine rice.

Delicious

This was sensational. I used Tunisian Pickled Lemons and put a little of the pasta water in the pot Added 1/2 tsp of Aleppo pepper and served over pappardelle pasta. So good with a simple green salad with a lemony vinaigrette

maryp

I thought this was so easy to throw together and so delicious. I loved the spice level.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.