Moroccan Lamb Chops with Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

Ready in under 15 minutes, these delicious Moroccan Lamb Chops are perfect for a quick and easy midweek meal, they also make a great alternative to burgers and sausages for the barbecue and are easily impressive enough for a dinner party!

This year I’ve teamed up with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign to share my love of lamb and to bring you lots of delicious and easy lamb recipes. A couple of months ago, as part of my role as a ‘Lambassador’ for the campaign, I hosted a giveaway to win a hamper of lamb products for Easter and the entry question I posed was ‘What lamb recipe would you most like to see on Easy Peasy Foodie?’

I got so many fabulous requests and I’m currently working hard to create some of the most popular. I’ve already shared two recipes which you requested…my delicious Leftover Lamb Korma – perfect for using up leftover roast lamb (though if you don’t happen to have any roast lamb, I share in the recipe how to ‘create’ some leftovers to use in this curry), and my easy Greek Style Lamb Kebabs – perfect for the barbecue (though you can easily cook them inside, if it’s not BBQ weather – I share both methods in my recipe).

Today I am sharing another recipe you requested: an easy lamb chops recipe – this one was super popular, so many people asked for it…and it’s easy to understand why…we all need a few quick and easy recipes to do on a busy weeknight – but while it needs to be simple to do and super speedy, you definitely don’t want to compromise on taste!

This Moroccan Lamb Chops recipe ticks all those boxes and more – with just a few simple spices, the marinade is so easy to throw together…and you can either marinate the lamb overnight or in the morning before you go to work, or just an hour or two ahead of time, whatever suits you best (you can even just give the lamb a quick 5 minutes in the marinade if you are pushed for time – it will still taste great!) and then the cooking part couldn’t be easier – simply cook the lamb chops in a griddle pan, under the grill or on the barbecue for 3-4 minutes each side and serve.

In an ideal world you would allow these lamb chops to rest for 5-10 minutes after cooking – you really will notice the difference if you do!

To go with this simple lamb dish, I have created an equally simple Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce…inspired by the flavours of Greek tzatziki, Indian raita and the garlicky yogurt sauces you find all across the Middle East.

To keep things simple on a busy weeknight you could serve the Moroccan Lamb Chops and  Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce with couscous, rice or flatbreads, but my favourite way to serve these chops is with my Easy Tabbouleh Salad…so light and refreshing and just the perfect accompaniment. Later in the year, when the weather turns chilly, you could also serve these chops with creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables for a comforting British twist to this dish.

For a wine pairing, I would suggest either a Southern French red, such as Côtes du Roussillon or Côtes du Rhône, or a Spanish Rioja Crianza. If you wanted something a little lighter and more summery, a rosé from the same regions will work well too.

4.8 from 5 votes

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Moroccan Lamb Chops with Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

Ready in under 15 minutes, these delicious Moroccan Lamb Chops are perfect for a quick and easy midweek meal, they also make a great alternative to burgers and sausages for the barbecue and are easily impressive enough for a dinner party!

Recipe Type Main Course

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Moroccan, North African

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Serves 4 people

Calories 351 kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

Moroccan Lamb Chops

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 garlic clove crushed or grated
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper or to taste
• 8 lamb chops

Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

• 200 g cucumber coarsely grated
• 250 g full fat Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic clove crushed or grated
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped finely
• ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper (or to taste)
• Extra sprig of mint for garnish (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Method

Moroccan Lamb Chops

1. Place all the ingredients (except the lamb chops) in a large bowl and stir together thoroughly.
2. Put the lamb chops in the bowl and coat thoroughly with the marinade. (I find it’s easiest to use my hands!)
3. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and marinate for 2 hours in the fridge (or even overnight), or if you don’t have time, simply continue with the recipe.
4. Remove the lamb from the fridge 15 minutes before you need it, if you can, to allow it to come up to room temperature.
5. Get your BBQ, grill or griddle pan nice and hot and cook the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side until slightly charred on the outside, but still soft and juicy and just slightly pink on the inside.
6. Ideally rest for 5 to 10 minutes before eating (but I don’t blame you if you just can’t wait!).
7. Serve the chops with the Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce and my Easy Tabbouleh Salad, or alternatively serve with couscous, rice or flatbreads.

Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

1. While the lamb is cooking, grate the cucumber on the coarse side of the grater, then pick up the grated cucumber in your hand and squeeze gently to remove some of the water. Place the grated cucumber in a medium sized bowl and add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
2. Stir the sauce thoroughly to mix and garnish with a sprig of mint, if you wish.
3. Eat straight away or cover and store in the fridge until required.

Notes

Please note in addition to the above timings you may want to add on the following to achieve optimum flavour and texture:
(1) 2 hours for marinating the lamb, or alternatively marinate overnight.
(2) Ideally rest the lamb for 5 to 10 minutes before eating.
Alternatively, if you simply don't have time, skip the marinating and resting times and you can have a delicious and easy meal on the table in 15 minutes!

Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition Facts

Moroccan Lamb Chops with Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 351 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 17g 26%

Saturated Fat 5g 25%

Cholesterol 107mg 36%

Sodium 116mg 5%

Potassium 679mg 19%

Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 3g

Protein 41g 82%

Vitamin A 15.9%

Vitamin C 7.3%

Calcium 10.7%

Iron 25.8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This is a collaborative post with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign. ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ is an EU funded campaign which aims to increase the use of lamb in everyday cooking.  Lamb is often considered difficult to cook, expensive, or something to be saved for Sunday roasts. The aim of the campaign is to demonstrate just how tasty, easy and fun lamb is to cook with every day of the week! They also have a wonderful website, full of tasty and easy lamb recipes that go way beyond the traditional roast lamb we all know and love.

Want more delicious lamb recipes? Find more here…

Want more Middle Eastern Inspired Recipes? Find more here…

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I am linking this up to Brilliant Blog Posts, Cook Blog Share, Cook Once Eat Twice,  Free From Fridays and Recipe of the Week.