Inspired by a traditional Mexican mole, this Spicy Mexican Lamb Stew is full of warming spices and just a touch of cocoa. With less than 15 minutes prep time, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights.
I am currently working with the ‘LAMB. Tasty Easy Fun’ campaign, as one of their Lambassadors, helping share my love of lamb and showing how easy peasy lamb is to cook with.
One of the things I love about lamb is how quickly you can make a delicious tasting stew, with that melt in the mouth texture. Whereas I find with beef you really need a good long, slow cook to achieve that soft texture, you can get that meltingly tender texture with lamb in much less time, making it a great weeknight choice.
I have made several lamb stews and tagines on my blog, such as Lamb, Date and Butternut Squash Tagine and Lamb Stew with Spices, Butternut Squash and Chestnuts…but I got to wondering whether lamb would work well with Mexican flavours…after all, some of the key flavours in Mexican cooking, such as cumin, chilli and fresh coriander, are also flavours which work brilliantly with lamb.
So I got to work in the kitchen developing this easy peasy take on a traditional Mexican mole stew – a Mexican mole would traditionally take hours, if not days to make – but this Spicy Mexican Lamb Stew uses a few of the key flavours, such as cumin, chilli and cocoa, to create a deliciously simple take on that traditional stew and in much less time!
I chose to use diced lamb leg in this Spicy Mexican Lamb Stew for speed and convenience – buying diced lamb means one less job to do on a busy weeknight. You could easily use lamb shoulder or neck in this stew too instead, if you prefer.
This recipe would also work brilliantly with leftover lamb from your Sunday roast, simply follow the recipe below, but only cook in the oven for a total of 30 minutes – meaning an even speedier weeknight supper!
Spicy Mexican Lamb Stew
Ingredients
Spicy Mexican Lamb Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or to taste
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 600 g diced lamb leg
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 red or yellow pepper cut into bite sized pieces
- 400 g tin kidney beans, black beans or pinto beans
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander plus extra for garnish (optional)
- Squeeze of lime juice (optional)
- Rice or tortillas to serve (optional)
- Salsa, guacamole, extra limes, sour cream etc. to serve (optional)
Easy Peasy Salsa
- 1 small onion
- Juice of half a lime
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan/ gas mark 4 / 350F.
- Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large ovenproof saucepan or cast iron casserole dish. Add the onion and cook on a gentle heat, with the lid on, for about 3 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown.
- Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, paprika and cocoa. Stir well and cook for 1 more minute with the lid off. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
- Next add in the lamb. Stir well to coat the meat in the onions and spices and then add the tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring the stew to the boil and then put the lid on and put in your preheated oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes add the beans and red/yellow pepper and continue cooking for another 45 minutes (1 hour 30 in total).
- While the stew is in the oven, make your salsa by combining all the salsa ingredients in a small bowl and setting it aside to allow the flavours to develop.
- When the stew is ready, remove from the oven and stir through the chopped coriander and lime juice, if using. Serve with tortillas or rice and the salsa.
Notes
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!
Love Mexican food? Find lots more easy peasy Mexican inspired recipes here…
Love Lamb? Find lots of easy and delicious lamb recipes here…
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Monika Dabrowski says
Thank goodness we have stews to keep us warm in winter! This one is exceptionally well thought through, with a lovely combination of spices and that cocoa! What a fabulous idea, makes me want to also say ‘why didn’t I think of that myself!’ I imagine the cocoa adds depth and richness of flavour to this lovely stew:)
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Monika – so kind of you! I know – the cocoa adds an amazing depth and richness to the stew – it doesn’t taste of chocolate it just enhances the other flavours…now seeing how well lamb goes with Mexican flavours, I am amazed that I have seen so few Mexican lamb recipes – it’s a no brainer really – lamb with cumin, coriander, chilli etc!! Thanks for your lovely comments. 🙂 Eb x
Corina says
It sounds really delicious Eb! It’s definitely full of ingredients I love. I’m also planning to have a go at a mole soon from a recipe book I got at Christmas and this has definitely made me want to make it sooner rather than later. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina. Yes, these are some of my favourite flavours too, I love how well they go together and how much they complement the lamb – if you like these flavours I would well recommend trying out a mole! Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
I adore the flavours from Mexico, so this meal would be right up my street! Simply delicious! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Me too – just some of my absolute favourites and they go so well with the lamb – I can’t believe there aren’t more Mexican Lamb recipes out there! Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
It certainly is the weather for stew. I dont often us lamb in them but when I do they usually turn out good. This recipe sounds really tasty.
I have a funny story about cocoa powder. Many years ago my parents owned a cafe, which they took over from a previous owner. There was a large tin of bisto on the shelf and although he made gravy from scratch he would add just a little for extra flavour. He was renown for his great gravy – turns out that tin of bisto actually contained cocoa powder.
Eb Gargano says
Isn’t it just? The weather here is perfectly vile today! Thank goodness for lovely warming stews!! I know what you mean about lamb stews, they are really easy to get right. I’ve had quite a few bad beef stews in my life (usually due to undercooked chewy beef), but never a bad lamb one as far as I can remember! That is a fab story about the bisto/cocoa tin. Cocoa adds such a great depth/richness to stews so I can imagine it would be fab in gravy, I’ll have to try that!! Eb x
Mel says
I’m pretty sure I mentioned it before: I’m not a fan of lamb (at all!) but I can see this dish working beautifully as a sausage stew too! Yummy, makes me hungry! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
Oooh then I am on a mission to convert you, lady!! 😀 But yes this stew could be easily adapted with sausages or beef – if you must!!! 😉 Eb x
Wendy says
Our whole family enjoyed this – just enough chilli for the parents to enjoy without the kids reacting to the heat! Made a few tweaks due to availability of ingredients – and used Sunday nights Lamb Roast leftovers. Served with rice and a dollop of sour cream mixed with cucumber and cherry tomatoes, and some pappadums! Can definitely recommend this flavour sensation. Super yum! Thank you.
Eb Gargano says
Oh yay! I am so happy to hear that 😀 Thanks for this lovely feedback and the 5* rating! Eb 🙂