Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe

Learn how to roast perfect Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe every time! Herb crusted and garlic stuffed, this is an easy lamb roast anyone can make!

We also have this bone-in leg of lamb recipe.

Roasted boneless leg of lamb in a dutch oven.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

My favorite way to celebrate anything is with this roasted boneless leg of lamb because it’s so easy to do but looks grande on the table!

I have been making this lamb roast recipe for Easter dinner, Holidays or whenever I need to leave a lasting impression for the past 20 years. Works every time!

Easy recipe: Lamb is expensive, so I understand your fear of “screwing it up”. You will not thanks to my foolproof roasting method!
Tender juicy meat: Thanks to the precise cooking times for your preferred level of doneness.
For garlic all lovers: This boneless leg of lamb roast is stuffed with over 30 slivers of fresh garlic.
Recipe with a video: If you are more of a visual learner, there is a video.

Reader’s Review

I’ve used this recipe multiple times for Christmas dinner and my husband always raves over the lamb when he’s normally not a huge fan of it! Using the fat droppings for roasted potatoes was also a wonderful tip! Thank you for this recipe.
Janice Luong

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Ingredients for Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb

You will need only 6 simple ingredients. General rule of thumb is to plan about 1/2 pound of roasted lamb per person.

Boneless leg of lamb, oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Boneless leg of lamb: It is a leg of lamb where bone has been removed and meat rolled, tied or netted into a shape of oval roast. You can find it in many grocery stores fresh or frozen, or in a butcher shop.
Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves make all the difference. I don’t recommend to use garlic powder.
Dried rosemary: Dried rosemary is more convenient. However, you can use fresh rosemary if you wish and it will yield even more flavor.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil goes well with lamb naturally. But you can also use avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
Salt and black pepper: To season and taste.

How to Roast a Boneless Leg of Lamb

Person showing how to stuff boneless leg of lamb roast with garlic and season with olive oil and rosemary.

Prep: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F while you are preparing the roast. Cut garlic into thin slivers.
Make slits in the roast: In a medium roasting pan or Dutch oven (no need for a wire rack but you can use one), place boneless lamb roast and make about 20-30 inserts with a paring knife.
Stuff with garlic: Stick garlic slice into each opening until you run out of garlic.
Season with spices on both sides: Rub the roast with oil all around. Then sprinkle one side with half of rosemary, salt and pepper. Turn around and repeat on another side.

Fat Tip

Fat side up or down? Like with any roast, the best practice is to cook meat with fat side up, so it keeps it moist and juices locked in inside. It acts like a blanket.

Boneless leg of lamb roast seasoned cooking in Dutch oven and then meat thermometer inserted in it.

Bake lamb roast uncovered according the schedule below until desired doneness when checked with a quality meat thermometer.

Meat will keep “cooking” as it rests. Please keep in mind internal temperature will rise while meat is resting after baking in the oven.

Person showing how to remove casing and slice the lamb roast.

Let meat rest: Remove lamb roast from the oven and let rest uncovered for 15 minutes. Do not skip!
Remove casing: Transfer lamb roast on a cutting board. Using a sharp carving knife, remove the casing. I highly recommend to sharpen the knife before slicing, helps a lot not to destroy the roast.
Carving roast: Slice into 1/4-inch slices against the grain. Thin slices of lamb taste better than thick slices.

How Long to Cook Boneless Leg of Lamb?

All ovens vary due to age, electric vs. gas etc. Not to mention convection oven cooks food faster. So check on your boneless leg of lamb roast earlier than later!

My best advice is for 4-5 pounds roast to check internal temperature after 1 hour and go from there. For 2-3 pounds roast, check after 45 minutes. It all comes down to checking often after a certain period of time.

Desired lamb doneness	Internal Temperature	Time
Medium rare	130F – 135F	16 minutes/lb
Medium well	140F – 145F	18 minutes/lb
Well done	150F – 155F	20 minutes/lb

Tips for Best Results

Plan ahead: Just make sure you understand your dinner will be on the table in 2 hours if you roast lamb. I speak from my own experience.
Don’t remove the casing before cooking: Under any circumstances keep netting or rope on. It is what is holding pieces of meat together. If you remove it, meat will fall apart.
Bake roast uncovered: You need meat to brown on the outside, not steam. If you cover it with a lid or aluminum foil, roast will steam instead of roasting.
Adjust for your oven: All ovens vary, I can’t stress this enough! If your oven runs hotter or takes longer to cook, adjust cook time accordingly to avoid overcooked or undercooked lamb. Rule of thumb is to start checking with instant-read thermometer 1/2 hour before end of cook time as per recipe.
If you use a convection oven method: It cooks food faster than regular oven. I recommend to reduce the temperature by 25 degrees F.

To Roast Potatoes in Fat Drippings

This step is optional. Lamb is extremely fatty meat, you will see a lot of fat and pan drippings at the bottom of roasting pan. Take advantage of it to make lamb and potatoes (and other veggies), so good!

Roasted baby potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in dutch oven with metal spoon.

Remove some fat and drippings: Scoop out 1 cup of drippings as it is just too much and roasted vegetables will come out too greasy.
Add veggies and seasonings: I added about 2 pounds baby potatoes, 2 carrots, 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, 3/4 tsp salt and ground black pepper to taste. Then stir to coat.
Bake lamb: At 450 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until fork tender. You can prep the veggies and seasonings while lamb is cooking, so after just pop them in without even turning off the oven.

Sliced boneless leg of lamb roast on a cutting board.

Serving Ideas

Serve sliced roasted boneless leg of lamb on its own, or drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice or fresh mint jelly. We usually have lemon on hand at all times, so it rounds up meat flavors nicely.

Sauces: Aside mint jelly and traditional gravy, chimichurri sauce adds bright tangy flavor to roasted lamb.
Potatoes: Lamb roast would be delicious with mashed potatoes, sweet potato mash, crispy Parmesan potatoes or this genius cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Salads: Look for salads that are bright and colorful like spinach avocado salad, tomato cucumber feta salad or this spinach salad recipe.
Vegetables: Garlic green beans and baked asparagus are just classics.

How to Store

Store: Refrigerate lamb leftovers whole as a roast or sliced in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It tastes so good cold!

Freeze: Freeze leftover lamb sliced or cut into bite sized pieces in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then use as a protein in a salad for lunch or sandwich on-the-go.

FAQs

Can I prepare it ahead of time?

Yes, you can stuff and season roast, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Then let it come to room temperature and roast as per recipe.

Should leg of lamb be cooked covered or uncovered?

This leg of lamb recipe should be cooked uncovered.

Can I cook 2 roasts at same time?

Yes, you can cook 2 lamb roasts at same time if both of them fit into your Dutch oven or roasting pan in a single layer. Also you can use 2 separate Dutch ovens at same time as long as they fit on the same bottom shelf of your oven.