Cooked on the hob, this meltingly tender lamb tagine with apricots is the perfect family-friendly meal and ready in just 40 minutes. The delicate Moroccan spiced sauce is complemented with fruity plump dried apricots, cooked whole chestnuts and served with toasted flaked almonds, chopped mint and feta.
The lamb tagine with apricots was the perfect vehicle for introducing new spices to my children. The sauce in which the lamb sits is delicately spiced with ras el hanout, smoked paprika and mild chili powder to create a mouthwatering meal in under 45 minutes.
Jump to:
✔️ Why should you try it?
- Easy to make
- Delicately spiced and not hot
- Freezer friendly
- Uses a ready-made spice mix to save time
- Easy to adapt with other ingredients
🥘 Ingredients
- Lamb – cubed lamb shoulder cut into 3cm chunks.
- Olive oil – a light olive oil for frying the lamb and onion mix is best.
- White Onion – or use a red onion.
- Garlic
- Fresh Ginger
- Ras el Hanout – a popular North African spice mix that is available in most large supermarkets. Alternatively have a go at making your own ras el hanout spice mix with the recipe in the FAQs.
- Smoked Paprika
- Mild Chili Powder
- Tomato Puree
- Dried Apricots – or you could also use dates.
- Vegetable Stock – made from a stock pot or stock cube.
- Chestnuts – whole vacuum packed chestnuts.
- Honey – helps sweeten the spiced sauce.
- Ground Almonds – acts as a sauce thickener.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat the oil in a shallow casserole or tagine and brown the lamb on all sides, Lift out the lamb pieces onto a plate and place the onion, garlic and ginger in the pan to cook for five minutes, stirring regularly.
Two: Add the spices and give it a quick stir, before adding the tomato puree, apricots, vegetable stock and honey.
Three: Place the lamb back in the pan and simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes with the lid on.
Four: Add in the chestnuts and ground almonds and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
Five: Serve with couscous, flaked almonds, mint and feta.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the Moroccan lamb tagine with flaked almonds, mint and crumbled feta, with a side of plain couscous. Plain rice, halloumi couscous salad or roast sweet potato are also tasty accompaniments.
Leftovers can be reheated and spooned onto flatbreads for a quick lunch with salad, or they can also be used as a tasty filling for sweet potato jackets.
📖 Variations
- Use dates instead of dried apricots, or a mixture of both.
- Substitute the chestnuts with cubed sweet potato (cut into 2cm dice), added at the same time as the stock to allow the sweet potato to cook through.
- If you like your food hot, use hot chili powder and double the quantity to two teaspoons.
- Add a drained can of chickpeas to bulk the tagine out and add fiber to the dish.
🥡 Storage
The tagine can be cooked, cooled and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Alternatively, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the freezer for 24 hours before use and thoroughly reheat in the microwave.
❓ FAQS
A tagine is a north African stew of spiced meat and vegetables prepared and cooked in a shallow earthenware cooking pot (known as a tagine) with a tall conical lid. So tagine is a dish and also a cooking pot.
A tagine is the traditional clay cooking vessel for the dish but you don’t need a tagine to make the recipe. You can use another lidded pot (such as a shallow casserole) instead, as long as the lid fits tightly.
You can make your own ras el hanout spice mix by mixing together;
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1⁄2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
The spice mix can be kept in a tightly sealed pot for future use.
Any Moroccan spice mix would work well as many of the ingredients are the same or similar.
Ras el hanout is woody and bitter tasting but also has a sweet edge thanks to the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. It’s a strong and fragrant spice mix but not hot.
😋Related recipes
More family friendly recipes you might like;
- Slow Cooker Beef Goulash
- Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
- Keema Matar
- Pork Bolognese
- Mild Chicken Curry
- Slow Cooker Pulled Beef
- Peri Peri Chicken
Don’t want to miss a thing?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to keep up-to date with the all the latest news from the Effortless Foodie kitchen.
Come over and join the Effortless Foodie VIP Facebook group, where we share recipes, meal planning tips and tricks, and have a good old chat about all things food related.
If you have a question about this recipe, please get in touch using the form on my contact page, or leave a comment on this post.
Grab your free pantry checklist!
A well-stocked pantry is the key to whipping up quick and easy meals, which is an absolute must when you have hungry kids to feed! Download my FREE Pantry Checklist and make sure you have everything on hand, to create delicious, fuss-free family food when time is against you, and the kids are STARVING! You’ll also be added to our mailing list to receive new recipes via email as soon as they are published.
🍽️ More family-friendly recipes
Recipe
Lamb Tagine with Apricots
Ingredients
- 450 g Lamb cubed (use shoulder)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 2 cm Fresh Ginger peeled and chopped
- 1½ tbsp Ras el Hanout spice mix or use Moroccan spice mix instead.
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Mild Chilli Powder
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 10 Dried Apricots
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock
- 1 tsp Honey
- 100 g Whole Cooked Chestnuts vacuum packed
- 2 tbsp Ground almonds
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a shallow casserole or tagine and brown the lamb on all sides, Lift out the lamb pieces onto a plate and place the onion, garlic and ginger in the pan to cook for five minutes, stirring regularly (you may need to add a little more oil).
- Add the ras el hanout, smoked paprika and chili powder and give it a quick stir, before adding the tomato puree, apricots, vegetable stock and honey.
- Place the lamb back in the pan and simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes.
- Add in the chestnuts and ground almonds and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Serve with couscous, flaked almonds, chopped mint and feta.
Notes
- Use dates instead of dried apricots, or a mixture of both.
- Substitute the chestnuts with cubed sweet potato (cut into 2cm dice), added at the same time as the stock to allow the sweet potato to cook through.
- If you like your food hot, use hot chili powder and double the quantity to two teaspoons.
- Add a drained can of chickpeas to bulk the tagine out and add fiber to the dish.
christy
I absolutely love this idea! Nothing beats a good saucy lamb dish and this looks like an incredible one!
Charla
I had my first tagine experience for my birthday a few years ago and it was a Moroccan dish very very similar to this. I’m going to try your rendition as I loved the restaurant experience so much.
Alison
There is such a beautiful melding of fresh ingredients in this dish. It’s warm and comforting, and everything you’re looking for in a hearty winter meal!
Devy
I so love this tagine. It’s so delicious. A perfect choice for the cold winter days. Though I skipped the apricots as I’m not keen on having them in my savoury meals :-). But the Tagine came tasty nevertheless.
Bintu | Budget Delicious
This sounds so tender, delicious and flavourful. What a wonderful dish – I love the addition of the apricots!
Jamie
This looks so incredibly delicious and flavorful! I’m a fan of Ras el Hanout so I’m looking forward to making this for dinner!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
My family is going to love this, thank you for the recipe!
Beth
My mouth is watering! This looks so good and delicious! I could a whole plate of this! So excited to give this a try!
Priya Lakshminarayan
That looks so flavorful..my mouth is watering just looking at the pictures,
Dannii
Apricots are a must when it comes to tagines. This looks super comforting.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Lamb tagine is always such a treat and this one looks delicious!
Sandhya S
Such a delicate and comforting dish! Love the addition of apricots in a tangine recipe.
Kushigalu
What a delicious and flavorful family friendly meal. Thanks for sharing.
Jessie
So many great flavors in this. I am excited to try it. This may be a new family comfort food for us.
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
I love a good lamb dish and this tagine has such bold flavors. The spices are fantastic. My entire family loved it.
Andrea Metlika
This lamb tagine is bursting with so much flavor! I can’t wait to taste it!
Tara
This lamb sounds absolutely amazing paired with the apricots and feta! Definitely perfect for serving alongside couscous. I love the minimal prep too.