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You’re going to love this meaty, flavour-packed Lamb Orzo Stew with feta, tomatoes and peppers. Sunshine in a slow cooker!
Packed with those unmistakable Greek-style flavours, this delicious Lamb Orzo Stew sprinkled with feta cheese is a little something extra for your midweek meals.
There really is nothing better than being able to serve up a hearty stew that still feels like you’re basking in the Mediterranean sunshine rather than hiding under blankets.
Slow cooked lamb, with the orzo cooked straight in the slow cooker, complete with your vegetable portions. What more could you want? Oh yes. Cheese on top of course!
This is a Greek-inspired recipe, with flavours I’ve loved from my trips there. It’s loosely based on the Greek dish Giouvetsi (Youvetsi) you can read more about the authentic version of this dish here on MyGreekDish.
Why you’ll love this Lamb Orzo recipe
⭐️ An easy stew that’s a little bit different
⭐️ Packed with flavour
⭐️ Great for leftovers
How we came up with this recipe
A while back I made it my mission to create a collection of slow cooker recipes that were perfect for the summer months to prove that our trusty machines aren’t just great for winter.
Sure, our hearty, stodgier dishes are amazing cooked this way, BUT if you think about it, they really work for hotter days too. No hot ovens or sweating in the kitchen with loads of prep? Sounds good to me!
This Lamb Orzo Stew is just one recipe I created with this in mind.
It has serious Mediterranean vibes and the feta is the finishing touch that lightens and lifts all of those rich flavours.
❗️PLEASE NOTE ❗️
There are a lot of flavours in this dish but it needs it. Sometimes slow cooking can reduce flavours and make them a bit more bland, so trust me on this.
However, do adjust anything you’re not a fan of, and please try not to use herbs that have been in the back of the cupboard for years as they lose their flavour over time and you might wonder why your stew is lacking something!
Lamb Orzo Stew Ingredients Notes
- Lamb – We’re using lamb steak for this recipe as it slow cooker well, is really tender and tasty but stays in tact after cooking for a long time
- Onion and garlic – Feel free to use pre-prepared frozen or fresh for this
- Herbs and spices – You can use the dried variety of oregano, thyme, fennel seeds and ground cumin for this
- Orzo – The dried kind
- Peppers – If you’d rather use a different vegetable, go ahead
How to make Lamb Orzo Stew
- Heat the slow cooker to medium and place the lamb cubes into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes, oregano, thyme, fennel, cumin, salt and pepper, and stir well.
- Place the lid on and cook for 3.5 – 4.5 hours on HIGH (or 6-8 hours on LOW).
- When the lamb is just tender, tip in the dried orzo, peppers and water stir through. Cook for a further 45 minutes.
- When the orzo is just cooked, squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle over the feta and mint and serve.
Substitutions
- Orzo – If you can’t find orzo or don’t want to use it, you could try any dried pasta of your choice. Just cook it separately in a saucepan before adding to the slow cooker instead
- Vegetables – You could try adding any veg of your choice. Green sliced green beans added towards the end of the cooking time would be great
Leftovers
In the fridge The stew will keep in the fridge for 3 days or 3 months in the freezer. In fact, these flavours actually get better with time!
Reheating this dish Orzo can become a little gloopy after you’ve initially cooked it, so add a splash of water or an ice cube before you reheat it to stop it drying out. Use the microwave to reheat until piping hot.
In the freezer Orzo is always at its best when cooked and eaten immediately, but that’s not to say it won’t still be delicious if it’s out of the freezer. The texture can just become very stodgy. See the tip above for reheating.
Top tipS
If your finished dish is a bit sticky
This can happen when the orzo is cooked for a little too long, or depending on the brand of orzo, OR if your lamb hasn’t given out much liquid as it cooked.
If you want a more ‘saucy’ texture, just add a little boiling water or stock at the end of the cooking time and stir thoroughly.
Don’t use out of date herbs
Because they lose their flavour over time, you might find your dish is a little bland if you’re using herbs and spices that are past their best. Buy them afresh and get cooking!
More slow recipes ideal for summer…
Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes
Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Slow Cooker
Simple Slow Cooker Salmon
Slow Cooker
Homemade Doner Kebab {Slow Cooker Fakeaways}
FAQs
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
You don’t need to but if you want to, sure, you can. It maybe adds 5% more flavour to the overall dish?
I’m willing to take this as a short cut though as in this dish there are so many other really tasty flavours.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Greek-Style Lamb Orzo Stew {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Ingredients
To slow cook:
- 600 g Lamb steak, Cubed
- 1 Onion, Diced
- 2 Garlic cloves, Crushed
- 2 x 400 g Tinned tomatoes
- 2 Lamb stock cubes, (No need to dissolve!)
- 3 tsp Dried oregano
- 2 tsp Dried thyme
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To add:
- 400 g Dried orzo
- 3 Red peppers, Sliced
- 100 ml Boiling water
To serve:
- 1 Lemon, Juice
- 100 g Feta, Crumbled
- 10 g Fresh mint, Finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the slow cooker to medium.
- Place the lamb cubes into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes, oregano, thyme, fennel, cumin, salt and pepper, and stir well.
- Place the lid on and cook for 3.5-4.5 hours on HIGH (or 6-8 hours on LOW).
- When the lamb is just tender, tip in the dried orzo (see notes), peppers and water stir through. Cook for a further 45 minutes.
- When the orzo is just cooked, squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle over the feta and mint and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am a huge fan of greek dishes, so this appealed enormously! Cooked this tonight, didn’t leave any ingredient out, but substituted the lamb steaks for a much cheaper cut of lamb neck fillets! It lends itself perfectly for slow cooking. Cooking time was extended to 8hrs on low. The peppers (i used 4, green, orange, yellow& red), orzo & water was added after 5hrs. The fresh mint and feta is a definite must to perfect the overall taste! I tried it without, but it makes a huge difference!
Absolutely delicious!! I used rice instead of orzo and loved the fresh flavour of the lemon, mint and feta. I’ll be doing this one regularly and a nice meal to do for guests that’s hands off and easy.
Hello, I tried the Lamb Orzo recipe yesterday, when we had the family over. All agreed it was delicious, although son in law thought the feta cheese should have been in big lumps , not just crumbled over. (But he loves Greek dishes 😊). For myself, the only thing I found was, that the herbs and tomatoes “drowned out” the flavour of my lovely piece of lamb. However, it all tasted delicious.
Made this today and LOVED it. Definitely worth adding the green beans to up the veg content. Will definitely make again.
I made this with diced beef instead as a little easier on the budget and was delicious! Even my 9 year old who complained about the smell of it and said it looked disgusting wolfed it down and had seconds. I left out the peppers as not many fans of peppers in my house. I did find I had to add more water as it became very thick whilst the orzo was cooking, but I assune this is because the beef doesn’t release as much liquid/fat as lamb. My other half is a vegetarian so I also made him some using Quorn beef, and veg stock but reduced the cooking time for his and he said it was amazing.
You could skip the feta if you’re not a fan, but personally I think the feta finishes it off perfectly.
Had this last night made with beef mince due to lamb mince beeding a bank loan to buy!
Flipping delicious, super quick and eaten by everyone!
Win win, keep them coming Sarah I feel like masterchef lol
Delicious. I used a shoulder joint and cut in up. Amazing meal for an autumnal evening too, not just for summer.
This is my third taming twins recipe in a week and planning the slow cooker fakeaway veggie enchiladas for this coming Friday.
Thanks so much Jo, hope you love the enchiladas too!
Second cook from this website – raging success, absolutely lovely.
You have transformed my feelings towards my slow cooker which I was very ambivalent about before
Would this work in a dump bag? 🙂
Made this last night and it was an instant hit. I halved the recipe to serve 3 and it worked nicely. It tasted amazing and was quick to throw together at lunchtime. My favourite type of dinner; minimal prep, one pot, and has the family’s approval!