Rosemary garlic ground lamb and potatoes all in one skillet (or pot)!
Have you ever found yourself with ground lamb and no clue what to make with it? My usual go-to is some type of ground lamb curry but several weeks ago I found myself wanting something a little different. I happened to have fresh rosemary and fresh garlic at home and those three things obviously go well together so I decided to combine them to make this delicious skillet: rosemary garlic ground lamb and potatoes. And you guys, now I’m hooked – I can’t get enough of this dish! It has become a weekly staple because we all love it so much.
It’s perfect for any time of the day: breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or heck, all three. Maybe top it with a fried egg if you’re eating it in the morning. Serve it with some rice if you’re eating it for lunch/dinner. It’s hearty, filling and so, so flavorful. There’s a bit of a kick to it too – courtesy of the serrano pepper (don’t leave it out unless you must!).
I LOVE the combination of rosemary, garlic and lamb – the flavors go together perfectly. But have you noticed that you really only find this combo when making a “fancy” cut of lamb? Like lamb chops for example (see my broiled rosemary lamb chops or my rosemary balsamic lamb chops as proof, heh). Well, you don’t have to have a special occasion to enjoy this combo of flavors, especially when you’ve got ground lamb. Ground meat is an “everyday protein” and ground lamb is more accessible and more economical, especially when you compare the cost to other cuts. So treat yourself while staying within means!
If you love garlic, rosemary and lamb (who doesn’t) then I am sure you’ll love this recipe. Our favorite way to eat this dish is overtop basmati rice and with a side of greens. Or you could just eat a bowl of this by itself.
Rosemary Garlic Ground Lamb and Potatoes
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 3 (russet) potatoes, cubed
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 Serrano pepper, minced
- 5 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced rosemary (fresh)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet or a dutch oven/heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, then add the ground lamb, potatoes, onion and Serrano pepper and cook for 10 minutes. The meat should be fully browned.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Add the paprika and turmeric and mix well.
Notes
- You can peel the potatoes or leave them unpeeled. It’s delicious either way 🙂
Wow! This was absolutely flavorful! I had ground lamb and didn’t know what to do with it and I came across your recipe. This was so easy and delicious, I couldn’t believe that so few ingredients made this taste like I bought it from a restaurant. This will be a staple in my house! Thanks for sharing!
Lauren, thank you! I’m so happy to hear that you found and liked my recipe 🙂 Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Should I boil the potatoes first or throw them in raw?
Raw – cube them and they will cook in the pan 🙂
Owe thank you it was a great dish i brought ground lamb meat cheap now i can make this often
This was easy and delicious. What cuisine would you file this under?
★★★★★
Should I cook the ground lamb first or throw that in raw?
Lara, you can cook it right along with the potatoes in step 1 (in my recipe card at the bottom of the post). Let me know what you think!!
Beats. Used already diced potatoes and sauted them until they browned and had some body to them then threw them in. Delicious receipe. We also will make this more often and lamb has such a great flavor.
This was absolutely fantastic! My husband said he wanted it for dessert. 😉 I love how quick and easy it is. I used a sweet potato in place of one of the russets. Delicious. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Beth, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂 and LOL love that he wanted it for dessert!! 😂
I added some cumin to mine… we loved it
★★★★★
Kayla, so happy to hear that 🙂
I really like this recipe but next time I would start the potatoes first let them start getting a little soft then put in onions then the lamb I think the next day I’ll be able to taste the flavors more. It certainly a good start for a one pot meal yummy. Thank you
★★★★★
Great idea for a meal, but i’m not sure I could call this a recipe: 3 potatoes?, which could range from anywhere from 1/2 a pound to 3 lbs of potatoes, same with 1 onion. (This recipe would be quite different with 3 lbs of potatoes) A recipe gives precise instructions on how to prepare the ingredients and how they are to be cooked. There are no instructions on chopping the potato or onion, so one must guess what size they would be in order to cook properly in 10 minutes. A recipe relies upon proven cooking instructions, which does not include throwing everything into a pot and cooking for 10 minutes. For example, for this recipe, to cook the potatoes and onions in the rendered lamb fat would be ideal. Instead, this meal suggestion unnecessarily relies on 3 tablespoons of flavorless cooking oil. Interesting spice choices here, though I’m not quite sure why the turmeric was added unless you wanted the yellow coloring. I took your suggestion of an idea and cooked it my way and it was fantastic. My suggestion. cook the meat first seasoning it with salt, pepper, paprika. remove from pot. In the rendered lamb fat, saute’ the potatoes (1-1 1/2 cups, 1″ dice) for about 5 minutes, then add the onion (about 3/4 c – 1 c.) medium dice. As the onion starts to get translucent, add garlic, serrano, and rosemary, saute’ unitl you start to smell the garlic and then add about 1/2 c. of chicken stock (low-sodium, always use low sodium so that you can adjust the salt level to your liking) return the lamb to the pan, raise up to medium high heat and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Continue cooking until you get some nice browning on the meat and the potatoes. Once it has reached it’s desired doneness, remove from heat. Eat and enjoy.
You are an @$$!! You complain about a free recipe?? She is not teaching you to cook, it is a recipe. Get a life! Yours must be pitiful to feel the need to make posts such as this!!
You’re really stretching here. Three potatos in English literally means means three potatoes. One onion is one onion. The recipe was written perfectly by the young lady. Off your meds, perhaps?
Wow, Tommy says a lot of narcissistic control-freak crap here. No one wants to read your version of HER recipe. Go do something constructive like start your own militant cooking blog. Your destructive behavior is unwanted here.
The recipe is lovely as is, quite understandable to us folks who have been cooking creatively for our families all our lives. I am grateful for this entry, as I have a pound of lamb and a hungry family looking to me. Perfect find, let’s do this!
I found Tommy’s suggestions quite reasonable and helpful. As an engineer, I like precise measurements. 😂 We all have different cooking habits. I have a high functioning autistic son with an engineering physics degree who wants measurements so precise, if the recipe says 1/8 tsp pepper, he starts looking for my 1/8 tsp measuring spoon. Yet he’s an excellent cook. I will report back after I make this. One question: Tommy, does using the rendered fat make the dish too oily?
Virginia – I have to agree with you. I too like precise measurements, but as an experienced cook I can figure out what needs to happen to make this recipe work. Although some may benefit from a little more precision, I think Tommy’s narcissistic trolling comments were inappropriate!
I always modify recipes to my tastes so the basic idea was great for me.
★★★★★
This poor guy would have a conniption if he ever read a recipe dating back 100 years or more. A pinch of this a smidgen of that, or take a pullet and slather with a goodly amount of butter.
I have always considered recipes to be a guideline, to start you on the right track so you can create a dish that fits your on tastes.
Really…..if you knew how to cook you would have understood the recipe. It was delicious.
★★★★★
Hey tommy. Happy one year anniversary on this post. Can you please send me a link to all of your other posts? I am cracking up reading people’s comments to your post. Trolls for life!!!!
This was a really delicious meal; thank you! I cooked the onions and potatoes for 1-2 minutes before adding the lamb. I ended up extending the time for covered cooking to 5 minutes before the potatoes were the desired texture, but the rosemary held up beautifully for the extra cooking. The final flavor had just a hint of sweetness, along with all the savory flavors, and I enjoyed it very much.
★★★★★
Jenny, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it so much! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Quick and tasty meal! Thank you.
★★★★★
Diane, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
how many servings will this recipe provide?
I’d say 4 🙂
This was delicious. I skipped the paprika only bc I’m not a fan. I added some crumbled goat cheese on top. Perfect cozy meal!
★★★★★
Jill, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it!! Goat cheese with this sounds like the perfect combo – thank you for sharing!
Wow! I just made this recipe and am out of my mind with pleasure with the results. I doctored mine up with just a touch extra of garlic, black pepper and paprika. Not necessarily because it needed it. Just because I favor those spices. I’m am not exaggerating when I say that I had a hard time putting my fork down and controlling my appetite. This recipe is a keeper!!!
★★★★★
Jeffrey, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I made this minus the potatoes, and put it over rice. Two changes…I put a handful of cranberries, and some Cabernet Sauvignon to simmer up. Just delicious! Thankyou!!
Sounds delicious!!
This is an awesome recipe!!! I’m middle-class white American w Irish roots in our cooking. This is like a hash to me, as in corned beef hash, roast beef hash or red flannel hash (made in New England as a corned beef hash with beets for flavor and color). One can even make hash with left over oysters, if married to a fisherman, but you can also buy some fresh oysters or some in a jar to do this. Hash is when you cube up potatoes, onions and your leftover roast in order to feed your family another meal. I learned a lot about layering spices/flavors and cooking cubed potatoes in rendered lamb fat/lamb flavor by following the recipe exactly as written. Cook this gently. The potatoes and meat will cook together in ten minutes if you don’t overstir nor overheat. Cook on med to low heat and keep an eye on it. Put a lid on, turn the heat to low and steam for a minute if necessary. I used to throw in all of the spices from the get go. I love the freshness of these spices in this recipe that come in mid-way, and the turmeric and papaprika at the end. It’s morning; I put a raw egg on top in one corner and fried it on top of that part of the dish without oil, finishing the egg w the lid. Thank you!!!!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked this dish!! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
Never knew I liked Lamb till I tried this recipe Really thought it would be perfume tasting with the fresh rosemary but every spice played off one another perfectly with the lamb.
★★★★★
Karen, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know how the lamb turned out for you 🙂
This was a delicious dish! Thank you for the recipe. It freezes quite nicely, as well. I added frozen peas, because I love them and voila, a complete meal! Thank you again!
★★★★★
Jennifer, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
This was delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe. The combination of all the ingredients together was just wow! Will certainly be making this again.
★★★★★
Karen, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I used harissa vs the paprika!
Excellent recipe.
Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Mindy, yum! So glad you liked it 🙂
My family really enjoyed this. The entire dish was gone the same night it was made. I was amused that one son turned it into “breakfast tacos” by cooking scrambled eggs and wrapping it in a tortilla with cheese (we live in Texas). The rest was inhaled plain. I cut down the rosemary because I thought a couple of tablespoons was too much. Next time I will add the full amount!
Virginia, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this dish turned out for you and your family 🙂 Love the breakfast taco idea!
I used bacon grease instead of oil but followed the rest and it turned out amazing! We’ve never cooked lamb so we were all worried. But it was so good, even my toddler liked it! Oh and I used bell pepper instead of serrano because that’s what we had.
★★★★★
Candice, I’m so happy to hear that you and especially your toddler liked it! That’s always a big win lol. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Delicious!! My young kids gobbled it up! I really liked how it tamed the strong flavour of the lamb
★★★★★
Sabrina, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you and your kiddos 🙂
I loved this recipe! I also added some grilled tomatoes and feta cheese, but it’s delicious without those too. I’ll definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Jessica, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! Grilled tomatoes and feta sounds perfect with this dish 🙂
I am a sheep farmer with lots of ground lamb. This is the best recipe I have ever tried. I thought the potatoes were taking too long to cook, so I added a splash of Chardonnay to help steam them, fantastic! Thank You.
★★★★★
Kim, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this so much 🙂 Love the addition of chardonnay – sounds delicious!
This recipe was great! I ended up using 1 tbsp of dried rosemary because the grocery store was out of fresh and it turned out really yummy! I added it at the beginning with the potatoes and meat to get a stronger rosemary flavor since I wasn’t using fresh.
Teresa, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you – especially using the dried rosemary! 🙂
I think I will try this with sweet potatoes.
Awesome! I can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
Does anyone know approximately how many garlic cloves would equal the 5 teaspoons of minced garlic used in this recipe?
The flavors are spot on! Except I didn’t use the pepper. I also skipped the potatoes, and cooked the lamb with mushrooms and peas. And topped it with Israeli couscous and tzatziki sauce. I didn’t have fresh rosemary, and used 1/2 tbl spoon of dried rosemary. Definitely making again!
★★★★★
Lisa, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this dish! Thanks for sharing your subs and letting us know how it turned out 🙂
Wow!! What a delicious dish! I made exactly like instructions said, but I didn’t have any turmeric so I used curry powder instead absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Thanks Denise! I’m so glad you liked this!
Tried this the other night and absolutely loved it. I will have to start cooking the potatoes first though, but it was great.
★★★★★
Lorie, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this dish 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Love this recipe! Tweaked it a little bit for my taste and available ingredients.
Used sweet potato, ground dried rosemary (1 tbsp), no paprika, little bit of cayenne, a little more black pepper.
I had some cooking lavender spice so added about half a teaspoon as well.
This is similar to one of my favorite recipe which entails ground pork, onion, garlic, diced potatoes and raisins.
This lamb recipe now trumps the pork recipe.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that you liked this dish! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Made this last night and it was a huge hit! Swapped out the serrano for a pepper I had on hand and it worked just fine. Can’t wait to make this again!
★★★★★
Erin, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
In the steps, you forgot when to add in the onions and the turmeric.
Hi Mary! The onions are in step 1 and the turmeric is in step 4 🙂 Are you looking at the recipe card? It’s at the bottom of the post!
My husband loves lamb and I was searching for a new recipe for ground lamb. I make hot meals to pack for dinner since he can work late and I don’t want him to be eating fast food meals at work. This was a big hit, his meals get a lot of attention from coworkers, this was a favorite. I made recipe as is except I didn’t have the Serrano pepper so I used a red bell pepper. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Sheri, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you and your hubby 🙂
The recipe sounds good thank you! Like all recipes for me it’s a starting point. For some like Tommy more precise instructions are wanted. The recipe with more complete instructions is a reasonable suggestion albeit a little judgmental. But hey the responses were pretty harsh too. Can we all try for a little more kindness?
Swapped out carrot for the potatoes and topped with some feta cheese. Yummy and adaptable to what’s on hand.
★★★★★
Beth, I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 the addition of feta sounds amazing – I’ll have to try that the next time I make this!
I enjoyed this dish ( I fixed it last night), served with steamed broccoli and Italian stewed tomatoes.
I added a bit of homemade sweet chili with curry sauce on what was left over and put it in a pita pocket topped with lettuce and diced tomatoes for lunch the next day.
Teb, that’s great to hear! The way you served it sounds delicious! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Fantastic dish! I added veggies I needed to use up: mushrooms and cabbage. I loved the flavors. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Karen, I’m so glad you liked this so much! Love that you added more veggies to this!
All I can say is, DELISH, DELISH, DELISH! Great recipe start to finish! Didn’t know what to do with my ground lamb but now I Always will…..🙂Thanks Ashley!
★★★★★
Debbie, hooray! I’m so happy to hear that you like this dish!! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Thanks, my husband loved it! I added Kale to mine.
Rhonda I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Love that you added kale – yum!
The dish Is flavorful, but too greasy if made per the recipe. I have tried it a few times and it works best to oven roast the potatoes, brown the lamb and drain it, then go n to assemble the parts. This modification also gives you the crispy crunch from the potatoes, against the luxurious lamb.
What an awesome dish, it was very easy to prepare and tasted fantastic! The combination of the rosemary, turmeric and paprika added so much flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Roman, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I made as written plus added 1/4 minced green pepper as I had part of one left. Everything went well except my paprika added a sour note. I’m not a fan of paprika and maybe mine has gone bad (imported Spanish, waste of money imo). I’ll definitely leave out next time. My ground lamb had almost no fat, so used olive oil, and worked great. I fried up potatoes first as my two russets were large and had larger dice than the picture. Added lamb, onion, everything else in order as per instructions. My 🌶 weren’t very hot, so next time, red chili flakes. I could see how not having precise recipe, sizes, etc., might be a problem, but I’ve made enough hash that this was easily doable.
★★★★
I added a bag of frozen peas and it was delicious!
★★★★
That’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Great Recipe !!! Saw ground lamb on special Googled a recipe because I didn’t know of one and came upon your Rosemary one and it is/was the bomb meal that replaced my own origin signature lasagne recipe. Now everyone requests this meal and say you couldn’t find anything better at a fancy restaurant. I make double recipes and find myself NOT wanting to invite company because I want to eat it as left over for a few days. I do not pair with rice because potatoes are enough carbs but it does go with garlic steamed stir fried spinach. My hats off to you for sharing this outstanding stimulating recipe !!!
Karen, wow, that’s so awesome to hear! Thank you for letting me know how much you like this recipe 🙂
I modified this just a bit and used 1/2 potatoes & 1/2 sweet potatoes and powdered rosemary (my husband doesn’t care for bits of rosemary) – YUMMY! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Laura, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
Loved the recipe. I never follow a recipe completely I added a few extra spices and added peas and ground chicken. It was delicious my whole family enjoyed it.
★★★★★
Jessica, I’m so happy to hear that you and your family liked this! Great to know about the ground chicken and peas 🙂
Could I use pasta instead of potatoes?
★★★★★
Patricia, I’ve never tried this but it sounds like a fun variation! If you do, let us know how it goes 🙂
Absolutely delicious! This recipe was very simple, yet flavorful. I also added peas for color and to add a vegetable, but outside of that, followed the recipe. I’m so glad I was able to use the ground lamb I had sitting in my freezer for weeks. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Ebony, that’s awesome! Happy to hear that!
I am eating out of my freezer due to financial stresses, and not eating out anymore. I found a pound of ground lamb from 2013, and with this recipe, I made a meal just as good as one I woudl have at a restaurant. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thank you for letting me know how this dish turned out for you! I’m glad you enjoyed it – always feels good to clean out the freezer!
I do not have paprika tumeric Serrano or rosemary
So I’m wondering if I could use ground thyme curry
powder chili powder and green pepper? I have two l pounds of ground lamb and eight people to feed I’m hoping that this message reaches you so I can make it for tonight’s dinner…
Hi Amanda, unfortunately changing that many ingredients would make this a completely different recipe… it might still be good but I just don’t know, sorry!
Very helpful recipe. I just added a few things, pine nuts towards the end and feta cheese to top it off. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Love the addition of pine nuts and feta, yum! Thanks for sharing how it turned out for you 🙂
Delicious! I cooked the potatoes for about ten minutes before adding the lamb. Paired with some tzatziki.
Alex, awesome! I’m so glad you liked this 🙂
Holy balls.
I’m here to give this recipe yet another well-deserved 5 star review. I followed the recipe to the T and it was phenomenal!! This was my first time to your site and I’ll definitely be checking out more of your offerings! Thanks very much!
★★★★★
lol!! not often that a comment makes me laugh but thanks for starting yours this way haha. I’m so glad you liked it, thanks Ashley! Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try!
I searched for ground lamb and came across this recipe- meat + potatoes is very midwestern! Loved it and super quick! If I make it again (availability of lamb is iffy even in farm country), I may cut back the Serrano because, midwesterners ☺️ Super dish that will have the addition of rice for the leftovers. Thank you!
★★★★★
Karen, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
This was delicious and hearty. I added a container of baby spinach just after the spices!
★★★★
Karen, glad you liked it 🙂
Thank you for this great recipe! I had a pound of ground lamb and decided to try your recipe, but added 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, and 1/4 cup each of roasted pistachios and dried currants from another recipe I was thinking of trying. It was a delicious combination! I will make this often. Even my very picky husband enjoyed it.
★★★★★
Pam, thank you! That’s great to hear 🙂 Also, LOVE the idea of adding pistachios – definitely going to give that a try some time! Thank you!
Made this for the second time last night and I was so excited to have it for lunch at my desk! I swapped one of the russet potatoes for a sweet potato tried to dial up the heat to complement the sweetness. I also added sour cream on the side. 10/10 starts because it’s super delicious and easy.
★★★★★
Candace, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 Love that you added sweet potato – yum! Also sour cream – brilliant!