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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
Doner Kebab RECIPE {Slow cooker & Air Fryer}
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.
Beautiful really loved this recipe – so easy to make!
We have just had this for dinner and it was absolutely devine! Sarah you are becoming quite the celebrity in our house!! This is probably the 10th recipe of yours that we have done and every single one is amazing !! Thanks again for making the family think I’m a brilliant cook
Delicious, everyone loved it. So simple to make with lovely flavours
Tried this last night and we loved it, thanks. I’m thinking adding roasted vegetables would be tasty and make the meat go even further!
Ordered lamb mince by mistake. Still tasted delicious & whole family approved Used a slow cooker liner (by toastabags from Home Bargains) which prevented orzo from sticking and made clearing up a breeze!
Delicious! Made lunch in the garden with family – so nice having the slow cooker on and not be slaving at the stove. Good enough for socialising!! Also I swapped the lamb for beef as Waitrose had run out and couldn’t get it anywhere! but still tasted delicious x
Delicious! All the family loved it- including 2 year old granddaughter. Highly recommended! 😋
Made this for tonight’s dinner and it was delicious. Easy and a nice summery taste for a slow cooker casserole style meal!
I added mushrooms too which was nice.
How much water do you dissolve the stock cubes in?
You don’t 🙂
Could you do this with a lamb shoulder if you cubed the meat ?
I’ve just made it with shoulder and it was delicious!