Lamb Tagine

Name: Lamb Tagine
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 2 tblsp Olive Oil; 1 finely sliced Onion; 2 chopped Carrots; 500g Lamb Leg; 2 cloves minced Garlic; ½ tsp Cumin; ½ tsp Ginger; ¼ tsp Saffron; 1 tsp Cinnamon; 1 tblsp Honey; 100g Apricot; 1 Vegetable Stock Cube; 1 medium chopped Butternut Squash; Steamed Couscous; Chopped Parsley

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Lamb recipe with Moroccan flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 49 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 31 min total

2 tblsp Olive Oil
1 finely sliced Onion
2 chopped Carrots
500g Lamb Leg
2 cloves minced Garlic
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Ginger
¼ tsp Saffron
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tblsp Honey
100g Apricot
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
1 medium chopped Butternut Squash
Steamed Couscous
Chopped Parsley

Step-by-step instructions

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook for 3- 4 mins until softened.
Add the diced lamb and brown all over. Stir in the garlic and all the spices and cook for a few mins more or until the aromas are released.
Add the honey and apricots, crumble in the stock cube and pour over roughly 500ml boiling water or enough to cover the meat. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 mins, then stir in the squash. Cook for 20 – 30 mins more until the squash is soft and the lamb is tender. Serve alongside rice or couscous and sprinkle with parsley and pine nuts, if using.

Why this works on a weeknight

Lamb Tagine lands at about 31 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Lamb Tagine actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Lamb Moroccan