Italian Style Lamb Shanks in the Slow Cooker (Slimming World Friendly)
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If you are looking for another slow cooker recipe, why not try these Italian Style Lamb Shanks? This tasty dish is quick and easy to prepare and smells amazing as it slowly cooks during the day. This recipe is also Slimming World friendly and a great alternative to a Sunday roast!
I’ve got lots of great Slimming World Recipes for you to enjoy – right-click and open these other recipes in a new tab so that you can read them after this one.
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Italian Style Lamb Shanks
The dish is so delicious and full of flavour – if you enjoy eating lamb you simply have to make it!
It is so ridiculously easy to make as all the ingredients literally get thrown into the slow cooker and left to do its thing for several hours. You don’t even have to worry about browning off the meat first – meaning you can have this dish cooking in next to no time and get on with your day.
The longer you cook the meat the more juicy and tender it becomes. If you don’t have a slow cooker the Italian lamb shanks can be cooked in a conventional oven too.
The lamb is cooked with a variety of vegetables and we served it with some steamed cauliflower and green beans on the side. If you fancy potatoes, I would recommend mashed.
This recipe for Italian Style Lamb Shanks serves 4 and is Free when Food Optimising.
What Are Lamb Shanks?
We don’t often eat lamb because it’s one of those meats that is on the expensive side, so it is something we tend to cook for a special occasion (usually Easter) or if we have guests over for dinner.
However, lamb shanks are one of the more affordable cuts of lamb and they are perfectly portioned so that you serve one shank per person – great for dinner parties!
The shank is cut from the front or back legs of the animal (foreshank or hind shank) and is also one of the leaner cuts of lamb – but can be tough. They are best cooked slowly (roasting, stewing, or braising) so that the tender meat just falls from the bone.
There is a paper-thin membrane and a thin layer of fat on lamb shanks which you will want to remove as much of the visible fat as possible when using in this Slimming World recipe.
You could do this yourself with a sharp knife – or ask your butcher to do this for you.
Ingredients used in this recipe
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
I highly recommend reading the recipe all the way through before starting to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
Any of the more specialised ingredients you will need for this recipe have been linked below to Amazon for your convenience.
- Lamb Shanks – if following Slimming World, remove all visible fat to ensure that it stays FREE.
- Low-calorie Cooking Spray – such as Frylight
- Vegetables – onions, carrots, celery (I didn’t use celery in my version as I do not like them! But will include them in the recipe card), plus cauliflower and green beans to serve
- Fresh Rosemary – or you could substitute with dried rosemary if you can’t source fresh
- Fresh Thyme – or you could substitute with dried thyme if you can’t source fresh
- Bay Leaves – I always use dried
- Canned, Chopped Tomatoes
- Lemon – unwaxed as the zest goes into the dish
- Lamb Stock or
- Chicken Stock – you can use stock cubes, bouillon, or ready-made stock. If following SW ensure it is FREE or count the Syns.
Slimming World Food Diary Printable
If you follow Slimming World, you will know that one of the crucial things to your success is keeping a Slimming World Food Diary.
I’ve got a free printable Slimming World Food Diary & Meal Planner here which now includes a diary for Extra Easy SP.
More Slimming World Friendly Recipes
Want a few Slimming World recipes to try next? Here are some of our favourites:
- Slimming World Moussaka – A Low-Fat Version of a Greek Classic!
- Slimming World Southern-Style Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges & Slaw
- Slow Cooker Sausage Stew with Roasted Peppers & Chickpeas
How Do I Make Slimming World Lamb Shanks?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, any pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Lamb is often eaten around Easter, and I’ve got a collection of Easter Recipes that you might like to try out – right-click and open them in a new tab to read next.
Italian Style Lamb Shanks
These slow cooker Italian-style lamb shanks are cooked in a herby tomato sauce and tastes absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
- Low-calorie cooking spray
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 lean lamb shanks, visible fat removed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
- 2 large sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (400g/14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 chicken or lamb stock cube crumbled into
- 225ml/1 cup water
- 4 strips unwaxed lemon zest
- Steamed cauliflower, to serve
Instructions
- Place the onions and carrots into the slow cooker pot and place the lamb shanks on top.
- Sprinkle over the fresh rosemary and thyme leaves and throw in the bay leaves.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, stock cube and water, and lemon zest.
- Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours.
- Skim any fat from the sauce before serving.
Notes
To cook in a conventional oven, follow recipe as above but place the ingredients in an ovenproof casserole dish with lid and slow cook at 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 2-3 hours or until the lamb is cooked through and tender.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 409Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 218mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 40g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes.
Disclosure: We are not affiliated with Slimming World. This recipe may have been adapted from a Slimming World magazine or book. Please check with your consultant, in your member pack, or online at Slimming World’s website for full and up-to-date details about the plan, as it may be updated from time to time in line with the latest nutritional information. We are not doctors or dieticians or providing medical advice and hold no responsibility for the complete accuracy of calorie counts and nutritional information, and where applicable, Syns in Slimming World-friendly recipes. We advise you to check your own resources if you are using recipes to lose weight. All weight-loss programs should be followed on advice from a doctor.