This roasted boneless leg of lamb recipe really brings me back to my younger years! It’s delicious to eat, pretty to serve and impressive when you take it out of the oven!
A Fond Memory
Every time I have lamb anything, I think of my parents. We didn’t have roasted leg of lamb often, so we considered it a special dinner. When I first went to college, they drove me the two hours to school and we stopped along the drive to have lunch at an old, mom-and-pop place. Leg of lamb was on the menu and that’s what each of us ordered. YUM.
I remember feeling both excited and scared that day to be starting this new venture in my life. Having that meal was so comforting that I became more excited than scared. That’s what comfort food does for a person, right? Makes you comfortable?
I know. Deep.
Tips for making the roasted boneless leg of lamb:
- Do not add salt to the rub or the lamb before cooking as it will draw out moisture
- Put all the herbs and spices in a mixing bowl to combine before rubbing on the lamb
- Dribble olive oil on the lamb and rub it in before adding the herb mixture and garlic for better coverage
- Set the lamb on thickish onion slices as the meat drippings will make them delicious to eat
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. You want it to read 125 – 130 degrees for medium rare.
- Note that its temperature will rise another 5 degrees as you wait to cut the roasted boneless leg of lamb
How to make the roasted boneless leg of lamb
Step one: Take out leg of lamb at least an hour before preparing it. You want it to be close to room temperature
Step two: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
Step three: Crush 3 cloves of garlic and set aside. Gather rosemary, sage, parsley oregano and pepper and add them to a small bowl and mix together
Step four: Cut 4 thick slices out of a big onion
Step five: Get a roasting pan and place the four onion rings on the bottom of the pan. Rest the trussed up boneless leg of lamb on top of the onions
Step six: Dribble the lamb with olive oil (be liberal) and sprinkle the herbs, spices and garlic on the lamb and rub it on the meat. I stick a meat thermometer in the lamb but if you use a digital thermometer, you’ll need to check the temperature near the end of the cooking time
Step seven: Place the pan with the boneless leg of lamb into the oven and set the timer to 15 minutes
Step eight: Once the timer dings, lower the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until the lambs reaches the right temperature, which is 125 – 130 degrees
Mine took an hour but remember, go by temperature, not time.
Step eight: Let it rest for 15 minutes before you cut into it
Oh, man! Yummy. Here’s another angle of thick lamb slices.
I plate the lamb with some mashed celery root and my grandmother’s German-style creamed spinach.
All that’s left to do is eat this roasted boneless leg of lamb. And so we do.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe!
What is your favorite way to eat lamb? Leave me a comment as I’d love to know.
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this boneless leg of lamb I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
- 3.25 pound boneless leg of lamb leave webbing on, take out of fridge 1 hour before roasting
- 3 cloves garlic 2 - 3 cloves, crushed
- 2 teaspoons rosemary dried
- 1 teaspoon sage dried
- 1 teaspoon parsley dried
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 onion slices used to raise the lamb off the pan
- mixing bowl
- large baking pan
Take lamb out an hour before proceeding. You want it to be close to room temperature
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Place the onion slices on the bottom of a roasting pan and place leg of lamb on top of the onions
- In a small bowl add rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano and pepper and mix together
- Dribble olive oil on leg of lamb and rub it all over the lamb, including the bottom
Sprinkle the herbs, spices and garlic on the lamb and rub it into it
- Stick a meat thermometer in the meat - or use a digital thermometer.
- Place leg of lamb into the oven for 15 minutes
- Reduce temporature to 325 degrees F and roast until lamb is 125 - 130 degrees internally for medium rare
- Take leg of lamb out and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting it at a slight angle towards the larger part of the lamb
- Plate
- Smile
- Enjoy
This size leg of lamb serves 6, with leftovers. Timing above doesn't include the hour the leg of lamb needed to come to room temperature before roasting, nor the resting time before cutting into it
Tips for making the roasted boneless leg of lamb:
- Do not add salt to the rub or the lamb before cooking as it will draw out moisture
- Put all the herbs and spices in a mixing bowl to combine before rubbing on the lamb
- Dribble olive oil on the lamb and rub it in before adding the herb mixture and garlic for better coverage
- Set the lamb on thickish onion slices as the meat drippings will make them delicious to eat
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. You want it to read 125 - 130 degrees for medium rare.
- Note that its temperature will rise another 5 degrees as you wait to cut the roasted boneless leg of lamb
Other Ideas:
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. You want it to read 125 - 130 degrees for medium rare
- Note that the temperature will rise another 5 degrees as you wait to cut the roasted boneless leg of lamb
Lamb reminds me of my childhood, this looks fabulous!
I made the recipe tonight. It turned out very yummy! Thank you.
Ephyna! Thanks so much. I love when peeps make my recipes and give me feedback!
We love lamb in my family and I make some every other month, I tend to always make it in the same fashion but I’ll try your way next time, that looks so good!
I am loving this for Easter dinner! If I can wait that long…it looks that good!
Thanks so much Haley! That’s how I feel about it!
This looks and sound fabulous! And I love that your comforting food is more an ingredient than a dish. So accessible that way. 😉 For me it’s brisket stew. Was my mom’s specialty. She’d spend a good 2 days on it and the whole house smelled amazing and it was of course, delicious.
Thanks Valentina! And Mmmm. Brisket stew sounds awesome!!
Learning how to cook and eat lamb is on my “to-do” list for this year. Thanks for the great recipe. Those onions look so scrumptious… not to mention that creamed spinach on the plate!!!
Thanks Susie!! It’s so easy to make lamb and so delicious! And I love eating the onions :).
Lamb, and particularly mint sauce, reminds me of Easter dinner with my parents! Great idea to have the onion rings underneath.
Thanks Kate! I started doing the onions underneath roasts because I didn’t have a rack that fit my pan and now I’m hooked as the onion tastes so good with the drippings!
Not often I eat lamb, don’t know why. But it looks very delicious 🙂
Thanks so much Jeanette! Lamb is one of my favorites!
Such a great recipe, my husband and I made it last night and it was a hit! The lamb and onions were delicious and we added small potatoes in the bottom to make it a one pot meal. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sabrina!! I love the addition of the small potatoes!! And thank you so much for telling me that you made it and liked it! 🙂
Do you just add salt to the lamb after it comes out of the oven?
I let my guests (and myself) salt it at the table. It doesn’t need a lot.
Simply put…PERFECTION!!!!
Didn’t have all herbs on hand and used what I had (thyme, basil, extra oregano, extra pepper and extra garlic). Roasted on top of onion, as per recipe, and carrot….will used extra onion next time. Paired with beautiful wine and a lovely (also simple) mint dessert. Just a fancy Wednesday night here 😜😂
Husband looking forward to leftover lamb…and he’s not the leftover type.
Hi Joy, your comment made my day. I’m so pleased that you enjoyed the recipe!! And all your additions sound fun and delicious! 🙂 Cheers!
Looking forward to trying your lamb roast recipe this Easter! Can you give me some idea as to how long it took to reach desired temps and the final product? (Obviously it would depend on the size roast, oven, etc.) I’m trying figure a rough estimate. Thanks!
Thanks April! I would say it’s 20 minutes per pound so my lamb too an hour but I like it medium rare. And the size of my lamb was 3.25 pounds. If you like it medium – then I’d say 25 minutes per pound but check the temperature 15 minutes from the time you anticipate it being done. And remember to let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting. I hope you enjoy it.
What about the beautiful dark brown lamb gravy?
I do love lamb with gravy but I’ve only made gravy once. I have to get my sister to teach me as she makes the gravy during the holidays. But I encourage you to make some if you prefer your lamb with gravy!