red wine braised lamb shanks (2024)

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks are incredibly simple to make at home, and they make an elegant dish for Easter or a family dinner! This recipe requires only 30 minutes of hands-on time, under 2 hours of hands-off cook time, and the result is lamb that’s tender and full of flavor! Serve with couscous, rice, mashed potatoes, or any other side you like!

Thanks to our friends at theAmerican Lamb Boardfor sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

I know the way we celebrate Easter may look different for all of us this year, but I hope that you are still able to cook a meal to share with your family at home! Lamb is such a classic dinner option – and it’s really quite simple to prepare! If you’ve never cooked lamb or a dish like this before – don’t stress! It’s simple. I’ll walk you through it.

What You’ll Need:

• Lamb Shanks
• Red Wine
• Tomato Sauce
• Beef Broth
• Flour
• Salt + Pepper
• Rosemary
• Onion
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Olive Oil

If you’ve never purchased lamb before, you can find it at natural grocery stores or your local butcher. Try to purchase lamb raised locally – it’ll be the freshest, have the best flavor, and it helps support your local producers + farmers! I’ll add a bit more about this at the end of the blog post.

To begin this recipe, add a splash of olive oil to a large dutch oven. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper on all sides, and brown them on all sides.

Next, saute carrots, onion, and garlic for a few minutes, then coat the lamb shanks in the flour, and add them on top of the veggies. You do not need to coat them perfectly!

Pour in the tomato sauce, red wine, and beef broth. Add the rosemary and bay leaves. Bring this to a simmer on the stovetop, then turn off the heat, put on the lid, and place the pot in the oven! We’re cooking the lamb shanks for 1 hour at 350 degrees, and an additional 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Using a lower cooking temperature will help ensure that the meat turns out nice and tender!

And, there’s what the lamb will look like once it’s done cooking! You can test it with a fork – the meat should shred off easily. And yes – the lamb shanks are cooked with the bone in. I also don’t bother trimming the fat off before cooking (with most recipes). It adds flavor and will easily fall off the meat once cooked – that’s easier, in my opinion, than cutting the fat off beforehand.

You can serve this dish with any side you like! I had couscous on hand already in my pantry, so I used that. I’m always a big proponent of using whatever you have on hand – and this is no exception! You could serve your Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks with rice, mashed potatoes, farro, orzo, or any other type of grain or side you have.

Pour yourself a glass of the leftover red wine, and dive in!

I hope this meal is able to bring some joy to you in your Easter celebrations this year, as you spend time at home with your loved ones. If you need some more Easter recipe inspiration to round out your meal, try some of these!

More Easter Recipes to Love:

The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – It wouldn’t be Easter without a lovely dessert to round out your meal!

Easter Egg Blondies – This is a simple desserts the kids can help make.

Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots – A super-easy side dish that would pair wonderfully with this meal!

Favorite Spinach Artichoke Dip – The easiest, most delicious appetizer to enjoy before your meal.

Lamb Roast with Herbed Garlic Butter Potatoes – If you like lamb, this is another great recipe to make for Easter! You could even just make the potatoes to use as a side with this recipe, too.

Bacon Green Beans – Another fabulous side dish to pair with this recipe!

One final tip – make sure to buy locally-raised lamb meat! It’s fresher, more flavorful, and helps support American farmers. Use thelamb locatoronAmerican Lamb‘s website to help you find American-raised lamb if you’re not sure where to find it! When you go to buy your lamb, don’t be afraid to ask the butcher for help selecting a piece if purchasing lamb is new to you. They’re usually very knowledgeable and can help you out quite a bit!

Happy Easter and be well! ❤️

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