A Roasted Leg of Lamb is the perfect centerpiece for Easter dinner, and this Boneless Leg of Lamb makes roasting lamb a breeze! With classic flavors of rosemary and garlic to season the lamb simply and let it's wonderful flavor shine, this impressive cut of meat is extremely tender and perfectly medium-rare!
Holiday dinners are not complete without a beautiful roast centerpiece! For other great Easter options, we love to make this easy Garlic Herb Butter Beef Tenderloin Roast (another perfectly medium-rare treat!), my favorite Brown Sugar Glazed Ham, Prime Rib Roast with Horseradish Sauce, or even a Roast Chicken Recipe, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
Easter Sunday is quickly approaching and I've been planning our Easter menu. This classic Roast Leg of Lamb is one of the top Easter dish ideas in my books when it comes to the main course! Of course, Jesus himself was referred to as the "Lamb of God" and he represents the sacrificial lamb for all of mankind at Easter, so it is traditional in many households to make lamb to symbolize what Christ did for us.
This Boneless Leg of Lamb is absolutely mouthwatering. Not only is it seasoned perfectly with fresh herbs and garlic, but it is oh-so tender and medium-rare, which is the perfect way to cook lamb. And the flavor is just out of this world good, with the perfect blend of seasoning and salt that compliments the natural richness of the lamb meat without overpowering it.
I opted for a boneless cut of lamb as it is quicker to cook, easier to cut, and readily available at Costco this time of year. This Boneless Leg of Lamb recipe takes no more than 2 hours to roast (depending on the weight of your lamb), which is plenty of time to get extra sides like Homemade Brown Bread Dinner Rolls or Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles ready, or prepare a special Easter dessert for later.
This one-pan Boneless Leg of Lamb recipe also includes a side dish! I added a layer of small potatoes to the roasting pan and placed the lamb on top before cooking it. The potatoes soak up the extra lamb juices, plus the garlic-herb flavor is out-of-this-world amazing! Feel free to add some other vegetables like carrots to the tray as well!
Ingredients for this best roast leg of lamb
- Lamb: You can use 3 lbs of boneless or a bone-in leg of lamb that is around 5-6 lbs. Keep in mind that a bone-in leg of lamb will take longer to roast.
- Herbs: I blended fresh garlic, rosemary, and thyme together to create a wonderful herby aroma to the lamb roast.
- Dijon mustard: Dijon brings a little heat and the flavor goes extremely well with lamb.
- Salt & black pepper: Just a little seasoning to make the lamb taste its best!
- Potatoes: Small potatoes (or baby potatoes) are my favorite to use as you don't need to slice them, however, a larger size of potato would be fine if you dice them first.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is a key ingredient that goes in both the herb rub for the lamb and over the potatoes to cook them both perfectly.
How to Make boneless leg of lamb
This recipe is super easy to prepare but tastes like you spent hours on it. If you don't have a food processor (affiliate link), you can just make the rub using a sharp knife and chopping the herbs and garlic really fine.
- Heat the oven and blend the rub. Firstly, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and then combine garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper in a processor or blender. Pulse for a minute or so until the herbs are chopped very fine and then rub the mixture all over the leg of lamb.
- Add everything to the pan. Secondly, drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of a casserole dish or roasting pan. Place the leg of lamb on top.
3. Roast! Roast the boneless leg of lamb and potatoes for 1 ½ to 2 hours until you reach medium-rare, which is 130-135 degrees F on a digital meat thermometer (affiliate link) inserted into the center of the lamb. You may need to cook it a little longer depending on the weight, and if you are using a bone-in leg of lamb.
4. Rest & serve. Finally, remove the dish from the oven and let the lamb rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. The resting time is important because the juices will redistribute through the lamb roast and the temperature will actually continue to rise another 3 to 5 degrees.
How long should a leg of lamb be cooked?
The rule of thumb for roasting a leg of lamb at 350°F is 25 minutes per pound, plus an extra 25 minutes on top of that. So, for my 3lb leg of lamb, I roasted it for just over an hour and a half, checking the temperature at around 1 hour and 15. Perfect medium-rare temperature is between 130-135°F on a thermometer inserted into the center of the lamb.
How do I store leftover lamb?
Leftover roasted boneless leg of lamb keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the lamb in the oven wrapped in foil to retain moisture, or in the microwave (with no foil!).
You can also freeze it for later! Store it in an airtight container or freezer bag for 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating as above, in the microwave or oven.
What side dishes go well with lamb?
I love making Boneless Leg of Lamb at Easter! Here are some of my best Easter side dishes:
- Scalloped Potatoes [Au Gratin Potatoes]
- Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- The Best Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
- Soft Homemade Potato Rolls
- Asparagus Tart
- Creamy Potluck Potatoes
- Classic Potluck Broccoli Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
More Recipes Like This
- Rosemary & Garlic Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb
- Juicy Roast Turkey with a Butter Herb Rub
- Honey Roast Duck Recipe
- Bacon Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
- How to Make a Brined & Smoked Turkey
- Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
- My Best Roast Chicken Recipe
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Roast Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
Lamb
- 3 pounds boneless leg of lamb or 5-6 pounds of bone-in
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Potatoes
- 2-3 pounds small potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Rub all over the leg of lamb.
- Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of a casserole dish or roasting pan. Place the leg of lamb on top.
- Roast for 1 ½ to 2 hours (longer if using bone-in) until you reach medium-rare, which is 130-135 degrees F on a digital meat thermometer (affiliate link) inserted into the center of the lamb.
- Remove from oven and let the lamb rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Delish.
Best ever. We actually put in on the Barbecue rotisserie and it was so juicy and flavorful. Simply delicious!
How long would you cook a 6 lb. boneless leg of lamb?
That's probably going to be more around 3 hours, I think, although I haven't cooked one that large. The key is going to be the internal temperature of the lamb.
I just made this for our Easter dinner. It was really good. I was worried the mustard would be too strong, but it added just the right amount of tang. We had a smaller, 2.5-pound roast, so I was worried it would be ready before the potatoes were soft. I pre-baked the potatoes for 30 minutes and added a bit or rosemary to them as well. The potatoes soaked up the meat juices and were fantastic. I used a meat thermometer to determine when the roast was medium rare. It was perfect. This will be my go-to lamb recipe from now on!
So, I put this into the slow cooker while I went out; after 2 3/4 of an hour I was back and stuck the digital thermometer in it. It was 148 F (on slow). I took it out, waited 15 minutes and took a couple of slices off it. Tasted great! My leg was about 2.5 lbs. Since we made a sandwich, not expecting it to be done, I'll reheat it tomorrow.
A few tips for newbies that I learned. Don't take the netting off the leg, and bring it to room temperature before cooking. Hoping my lamb will still turn out ok.