Slow Cooker Lamb Tagine

A wonderfully fragrant slow cooker lamb tagine, cooked gently for hours to produce tender lamb with Moroccan flavours. Dried apricots and pomegranate seeds as garnish make a very colourful dish full of flavour!

What is a tagine

A tagine is the name for a North African stew with spices made with meat and vegetables which are slow cooked in a earthenware pot with a conical lid, called a tagine. 

The pot has given its name to the stew over time.

When I lived in France I was lucky enough to visit some authentic restaurants specialising in tagines and couscous and my love of the dish started then!

Tagine in a slow cooker

Leaving your tagine to bubble away slowly while you have a day out, go to work, or are busy with your family, lets the flavours develop and deepen.

Making a hearty one-pot dish by slow cooking, whether in a slow cooker or a low oven, is affordable and so convenient. 

The results in a slow cooker are very similar to the results you’ll achieve cooking in a traditional tagine dish, since the electric slow cooker is just a more modern way to do slow cooking.

This recipe is from Red Tractor Simply Beef and Lamb, I am sharing it as part of their #LivePeasant campaign.

When you get back from work or your day out, you just need to quickly make up some couscous or rice, garnish and you are ready to serve.

Made with easy to find ingredients, this slow cooker lamb tagine doesn’t require a lot of preparation, and with such impressive results you’ll want to make it again and again.

Ingredients

• lean boneless lamb shoulder or leg
• oil – I use vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• tagine paste (or tagine spice) – I use ras el hanout spice, available in most supermarkets
• dried apricots 
• fresh coriander
• fresh pomegranate seeds

Step by step

Traditionally made in a tagine or earthenware pot, tagines are also an ideal recipe to cook gently in your slow cooker.

Step 1. Brown the lamb in a frying pan then add all the ingredients (except the pomegranate seeds and coriander) into the slow cooker pot.

Step 2. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours, then garnish and serve.

Side dishes

Traditionally a Moroccan and North African dish, lamb tagine is served with couscous. Couscous is so easy to prepare since all you need to do is boil some water, pour it over and leave to stand for 10 minutes. 

Rice works just as well too, and pasta. You can also serve it over a baked potato (find out how I make slow cooker baked potatoes).

More recipes to try

For more economical beef and lamb recipes, why not check these recipes out:

• Lamb burning love from Fab Food 4 All
• Beef goulash from Kavey Eats
• Slow cooked beef with gnocchi from Foodie Quine
• Lamb and bean one-pot casserole from Fuss Free Flavours

You might also like these slow cooker comfort food recipes ideal for the colder months:

• slow cooker chicken tagine
• slow cooker beef casserole with chorizo
• slow cooker lamb casserole
• family slow cooker recipes

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb.

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Recipe

Slow Cooker Lamb Tagine

A flavourful warming slow cooker dish of diced lamb cooked with apricots and Moroccan spices, served with pomegranate seeds

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Slow Cooker

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 244kcal

Author: Lucy Allen | BakingQueen74

Ingredients

• 675 g lean boneless lamb shoulder or leg (1 ½ lb) cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 30 ml oil (2 tbsp)
• 1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped (or 1 x 300 g pack diced onions)
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed, or 10 ml/2 tsp garlic purée
• 170 g tagine paste (or 45 ml/3 tbsp tagine spice) I use ras el hanout
• 300 ml hot water
• salt and freshly milled black pepper
• 3-4 dried apricots roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds

UK Measurements - US Measurements

Equipment

large oval slow cooker

Instructions 

Hob/Stovetop Method:

• Heat the oil in a large 1.7 L/3 pint ovenproof dish, add the onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
  30 ml oil, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic
• Add the paste and lamb. Cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  170 g tagine paste, 675 g lean boneless lamb shoulder or leg
• Add the water (450 ml). Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
• 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time add the apricots. Cover and continue to cook for the remainder of the cooking time.
  3-4 dried apricots
• Garnish with the coriander and pomegranate seeds and serve with steamed couscous or rice. Season to taste.
  3 tbsp freshly chopped coriander, 2 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds, salt and freshly milled black pepper

Slow Cooker Method:

• Brown the lamb in a pan, I did this in a dry pan to avoid adding additional fat to the dish, but you can use oil.
• Place all ingredients except the pomegranate seeds and coriander in the slow cooker. Use 300 ml water for the slow cooker method. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours.

  Garnish and serve as above.

Notes

Tip: This recipe works well in a low oven at Gas mark 3, 170 degrees Celcius, 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Did you try and love this recipe?Then please leave a star rating and comment below to let me know how you got on!