Slow cooker Mexican leg of lamb is a delicious, simple dish that makes feeding a crowd (or just for the family) simple. Perfect for tacos.
A few more of our favourite Mexican recipes include: Mexican-Style Lasagne, Chicken Burritos In The Slow Cooker, Made From Scratch Chicken Fajitas & Chocolate Snickerdoodles Mexican Style.
Quick look at Slow Cooker Mexican Leg of Lamb
- ⏲️ 8-10 hours but about 15 mins hands-on.
- 🛒 Ingredients: 5 + spiced & condiments to serve.
- 🍽️ Makes: about 5 serves
- 🧑🍳 Difficulty: Super simple, set and forget.
- 🗃️ Make ahead: Keep for up to 3 days - reheat in the slow cooker or pan.
We used to go to a local Mexican with a group of friends specifically for one meal - slow cooked Mexican leg of lamb.
It was the most delicious, melt-in-your mouth dinner and perfect for sharing with a group. But then the restaurant doubled the price & a few months later they closed the doors for the last time.
Of course I then had to recreate it myself.
The meat is fork tender and perfectly spiced.
What was even better was it cost me $20 for the lamb (these days lamb is $40+ but still much better) and everything else I had at home.
It sure beats the $125 we paid last time!
Why Make This Slow Cooker Mexican Leg of Lamb
- Melt-in-your-mouth – Slow cooking transforms the lamb into super tender, juicy pieces. Not a chewy morsel in sight.
- Hands-off – Once the ingredients are in the pot, the slow cooker does the work — perfect for busy days or weekend cooking.
- Versatile – The lamb works beautifully in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, on rice bowls, or with tortillas and fresh toppings.
- Feeds a crowd – A whole leg of lamb is ideal for family dinners, gatherings, or meal-prepping for the week. Served in the middle of the table surrounded by sides it makes the perfect group dinner.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Leg of lamb on the bone - you can use boneless but the cooking time will vary. Bone-in lamb has a bit more flavour too. A bone-in lamb shoulder will work too.
- Herbs & spices
- Sugar - we use rapadura but any sugar will work.
- Garlic - crushed. Use fresh or from a jar.
- Lime juice - fresh or from a bottle.
- Oil - we use olive oil
- Chilies - optional.
- Tin diced tomatoes - you can also use tomato pasata
- Flour tortillas to serve - we make our own tortillas.
If you want to cheat a little, you could substitute the spices for a Mexican spice rub.
How To Make Slow Cooker Mexican Leg Of Lamb
Step 1 - Heat the oil in the bowl of your slow cooker or in a frying pan if your slow cooker doesn't sear.
Step 2 - Cook the lamb for a couple of minutes.
Step 3 - Turn it over and sear it on the other side for a few minutes more.
Step 4 - Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker bowl. They’re there to stop the lamb sitting on the bottom and burning (and to add a bit of flavour).
Step 5 - Carefully place the lamb meat on top of the onions so it doesn’t touch the sides. In a small bowl, combine the oregano, cumin, salt, sugar, garlic, lime juice, oil and paprika and then pour them over the lamb.
Step 6 - Tip in the tinned tomatoes and then put the chili, bay leaf and cloves on top.
Put the lid on the slow cooker, set it to low and let it do its thing for 8 hours.
Take the lid off and spoon some juices over the top then cook for another 30 minutes or so. If you're out of time just let it sit for a little with the juices on top.
Very carefully transfer lamb to a serving dish.
It will be super tender at this stage and practically falling off the bone so you have to be carefully not to lose the lot.
I served mine in the middle of the table with tongs so everyone could help themselves to the shredded lamb.
If you want it to be a bit prettier, you could shred the meat on a chopping board before and serve it ready to go in a serving bowl.
I personally think it’s more fun having the leg on the table.
Store any leftover shredded lamb in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can also freeze the meat in a container or portioned into ziplock bags.
Serving Slow Cooker Mexican Leg Of Lamb
We like to serve it in the middle of the table with accompaniments to make lamb tacos:
- soft flour tortillas (or corn tortillas for gluten free)
- guacamole
- grated cheese
- sour cream
- chili or hot sauce
- fresh lime wedges
- fresh salsa (or ready-made salsa)
Wrap them up and gobble them up. Enjoy!
What about you?
Do you recreate dishes you try in restaurants?
Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Check out 12 winter slow cooker favourites.
Recipe FAQs
The first time I didn't & it was full of flavour.
Searing does add and extra element of deliciousness though. I say yes if you have time. No if you don't or can't be bothered.
Generally, the rule we use is that high is double the speed of low.
It's preferable to cook this low and super slow over increasing it to high as it will let the flavours develop better.
When you can stick a fork in it and the meat comes away easily, it's cooked to tender perfection.
If you need to use force to pull the meat then it will need to cook longer.
The cook time can vary a little from piece to piece of meat.
If your lamb is tough you likely haven't cooked it long enough.
Slow cooking is all about patience.
Don't be tempted to lift the lid while it is cooking as it adds to the cooking time.
If you don't have a tender leg of lamb at the end of the cooking time, put the lid back on and turn it up to high for 20-30 minutes then test it again.
For making Mexican shredded lamb, we recommend a bone-in leg of lamb. Boneless can also be used as can lamb shoulder.
If you can't get either of those, the next option would be lamb meat cut in large pieces which you can then shred once cooked and tender.
Sear diced lamb in a frying pan over medium heat before adding it to the slow cooker.
It will need about 6 hours on low.
Recipe
Slow-cooked Mexican leg of lamb
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg 3.3lbs leg of lamb on the bone
- 3 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1 teaspoon regular table salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 onions peeled and quartered
- 3 red chilies sliced in 3 pieces
- ½ teaspoon hot paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 tin diced tomatoes
- flour tortillas to serve (I usually make my own
Accompaniments
- grated cheese
- guacamole
- salsa
- sour cream
- chili
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the oregano, cumin, salt, sugar, garlic, lime juice, oil and paprika.
- Place the chopped onions on the bottom of a slow cooker and place the lamb on top so it's not touching the sides of the bowl.
- Pour over the spice mix and the chopped tomatoes and then add the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves and chopped chili on top.
- Put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Take the lid off and spoon the juices over the lamb. Put the lid back on and cook on high for half an hour.
- Carefully remove the lamb to a serving platter.
- Serve it with tortillas and your choice of accompaniments.
Notes
- You can use lamb shoulder in place of leg of lamb. Chunks of diced lamb can also be used & shredded when cooked.
- In place of all the individual spices, you can cheat and use a pre-made Mexican seasoning.
Az says
Hi, just wondering how long I would need to cook if I cooked on auto or high. Alternatively if I cooked on low over night (over 10 hours) will that ruin the lamb or taste?
Chris says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I cooked it for a large group of friends and they all loved it! A few said it was the best lamb they'd ever had!
The juices were so nice I shredded the meat and mixed it with them.
The flavours were so nice I'm going to try it with some chicken for a quicker meal.
Claire says
Oh yum! I'm so glad it was a success Chris.
Nic@diningwithastud says
I guess bad lamb is one of the reasons they went out of business haha. Love the flavours in this dish Claire - I'm bookmarking this for our next part-ay ;)
Claire says
Haha I would say so! I was sad to see it go but I've heard rumours a Japanese restaurant is taking its place and you know how I feel about Japanese!
celia says
Claire, that's a fabulous recipe, thank you! I'll be bookmarking this one. We don't have a slow cooker, but I have poached lamb before on the hob, so I'll try with these flavourings next time!
Claire says
Celia I think a slow cooker might need to be your next purchase. I imagine this would work just as well cooked any other way nice and slowly.
Corrie says
What can I say but yum! :-) I love cumin in Mexican food for its lovely earthy flavour.
Claire says
I'd never thought of it like that. It's warming and comforting without being stodgy isn't it?
Jo Smith says
Wow I'm surprised Will responded to a non-football question with the Origin on! Here it's strictly football only during those times. Great creation and one I will definitely try. I'm usually non-adventurous with lamb (garlic and rosemary only) but this looks wonderful.
Claire says
It was probably to get me out of the way of the TV! It's an easy way to expand your lamb repertoire.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
The lamb leg looks so tender and juicy!
Claire says
It was Angie! Thank you slow cooker.
vanessalilllian says
Hehe "does this smell Mexican". That looks like a great way to cook a leg of lamb. I find that when trying to recreate restaurant dishes at home and there's something missing, the answer is usually "add butter". Probably doesn't apply to Mexican food, though :)
Claire says
Haha yes I think the butter is the secret ingredient too. I'm fine to eat it in a restaurant but I can't bring myself to add it to my own food.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Hehe snap! I have a shoulder of lamb defrosting and I am just trying to figure out what to do with it. It's so disappointing when a dish you've been looking forward to doesn't fulfil expectations! :(
Claire says
Ooh look forward to hearing what you did with it.
Yes I know that feeling tonight... I attempted beef cheeks and they were a big fat fail :-(
Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef says
We're all going to read this post -- every single word of it and we're going to come away with just one line.
"Does this smell Mexican??"
I love you to bits. You're so cute.
Claire says
Yes I thought that might be the case! The best part was there was no strange look. Just an obedient sniff and yes. He's used to it!
Hotly Spiced says
That's a lovely meal Claire. I can't believe the restaurant practically doubled the price overnight and even then, the meal was terrible. That's so expensive. No wonder they are now out of business. So much better to make your own. This looks so yummy and all that slow cooking has made the lamb look so very tender. xx
Claire says
I couldn't believe it either. In true Claire style I went back in and spoke to them but they really didn't have anything to say about it. I was only telling them that their lamb supplier had given them some dodgy lamb but they didn't want to hear it!
Kristin says
I have no doubt your version is worth much more than the money we spent on the underwhelming lamb that night! It looks delicious, I'm adding it to my "To Cook..." list right now x x
Claire says
It was very underwhelming wasn't it?! xx