A Lamb Rogan Josh is a classic Indian takeaway order, and now you can cook it in the slow cooker and it's just 450 calories. This Slow Cooker Lamb Curry has quickly become a firm favourite in our house, and even has a portion of veggies in it. Cooked low and slow, it takes very little effort and is bursting with flavour.
Super tender chunks of lamb in a creamy tomato based sauce with a little kick of heat and a generous portion of spinach. This slow cooker lamb rogan josh tastes far more indulgent than it is, and it's a delicious alternative to ordering a curry.
Although the word slow in the title gives it away that it isn't a quick meal in terms of cooking time, it is a quick meal to prepare. This slow cooker lamb curry is the perfect weeknight meal.
If you want some more curry recipes, take a look at our tasty Garlic Chicken Curry, easy Slow Cooker Beef Curry or our super quick Chickpea Curry.
Jump to:
Ingredients needed
- Lamb - We used lamb fillet and cut it up, but you can buy ready diced lamb from the supermarket.
- Spinach - To add a green boost at the end. You could use kale instead though, or even add some frozen peas.
- Tomatoes - We used a good quality plum tomatoes as these have slightly less metallic taste than chopped tomatoes. If you use cheap tinned tomatoes, they tend to be too watery.
- Shallots - These add a slight sweet taste to the curry - a normal onion will still work fine.
- Garlic and ginger - The base of any curry. You can use the jars of lazy ready crushed garlic and ginger to save yourself some time.
- Greek yogurt - Makes the rogan josh sauce a little creamier and cools it down a bit. You could use single cream if you prefer.
- Stock - We used a vegetable stock, but a beef or chicken stock will also work. Try to use a low salt stock.
- Spice blend - We used a mix of ground coriander, turmeric, cumin, garam masala and chilli powder. You can also add cinnamon and paprika if you wish.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make slow cooker rogan josh - Step by step
One: Heat the butter in a pan and then add the lamb. Gently cook for a couple of minutes, until browned.
Two: Put the shallots, garlic and ginger into the pan with the lamb and gently cook for 3 minutes.
Three: Add the spices, stir and cook for one minute.
Four: Add the stock and tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
Five: Pour the lamb mixture into the slow cooker, put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 10 minutes before it is finished, stir through the spinach and replace the lid. Before serving, stir in the Greek yogurt.
Six: Serve with rice.
It's time that we get those slow cooker out and let them do the work for us. They cook meat like lamb perfectly, as the slow cooking time allows it to get really tender, and it takes on all the flavour of the herbs and spices that you have thrown in there too.
Variations
This is a really simple curry, so you don't want to over complicate it too much. However, you can add some different vegetables if you want to bulk it out a little, and add more nutrients. We like adding some peppers, aubergine (eggplant) and courgette (zucchini) to it, although that is far from traditional.
Instead of adding spinach, you could stir some kale into it.
For some added protein, cooked lentils or chickpeas are a good addition. If you wanted to make the whole meal in the slow cooker, then you can add a drained tin of new potatoes. It saves having to make some rice to go with it.
Serving Suggestions
Some kind of carb is a must to go alongside a slow cooker lamb curry I think. This time we went with rice as it's simple and hard to get wrong. I like to make this yellow rice with curry, which is really easy because it's just rice boiled with turmeric in the water.
It adds some extra flavour, without extra calories, and adds a pop of colour too. You could add some cumin too. We have a slightly more in depth Turmeric Rice recipe too.
You could also serve it with our Cilantro Lime Rice, Perfect Microwave Rice or Oven Cooked Rice.
Why not go double carbs and make some of our Easy Homemade Flatbread that is perfect for mopping up all that delicious rogan josh sauce from the bowl. Make a big batch and they store well in the freezer. You could make our Easy Naan Bread or Peshwari Naan too.
FAQs
As this is a homemade curry, it is a healthier alternative to ordering a takeaway. You can control exactly what goes in it and make sure it is lower in salt. It has a generous portion of spinach and lamb is a great source of iron.
You don't have to, but we really recommend it as it adds such a depth of flavour. It only takes a couple of minutes and it is worth it.
Basically, you want to trigger the Maillard reaction. It is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour. You don't have to though, and you can just throw everything into the slow cooker and leave it if you are really short on time.
Yes, this curry freezes really well. We regularly batch cook this dish and then portion it out into takeaway type containers to put in the fridge for easy weeknight meals. You can even freeze it with some rice, or just cook that from fresh.
It will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. Alternatively you can keep this in the fridge for 2 days.
Yes, you can swap the yogurt for coconut instead, and it would make this dairy free. It adds some delicious extra flavour that you don't get from the yogurt too, but it does change the nutritional information.
Yes, if you didn't want to make your own spice mix, then you could use a couple of heaped tablespoons of really good quality curry paste. Stir it into the lamb when you are frying it.
Extra tips
• We have added spinach to this dish, however you could use other greens such as kale, cabbage or chard.
• Don't cut the lamb too small, as it will just fall apart and blend into the sauce.
• We used a lamb fillet and cut it into chunks, however you could save time by buying chunks of lamb from the supermarket or butcher. You could even swap the lamb for beef or chicken.
• You can make this a little more indulgent by using single cream rather than the 0% yogurt that we used.
• If you wanted to cut back on some of the meat, you could halve the lamb and then add some mushrooms and red lentils.
• Make sure to cut all the chunks of lamb to the same size (about 4cm cubes) so they cook evenly.
• You could pull the chunks of lamb when cooked, to make kind of a pulled lamb curry, however we like the tender chunks of lamb.
More lamb recipes
If you’ve tried this lamb rogan josh recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
You can find this slow cooker lamb rogan josh in our book - The Healthy Slow Cooker. Order now for 100 easy and healthy slow cooker recipes.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 350 g (12.5 oz) Lamb fillet - cut into chunks
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 6 Shallots - diced
- 1 tablespoon Fresh ginger - finely grated
- 1 teaspoon Ground coriander
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 0.5 teaspoon Chilli powder - (more if you like it spicy)
- 150 ml (0.66 cups) Vegetable stock
- 200 g (1.33 cups) Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 125 g (4 cups) Spinach
- 3 tablespoon 0% Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Butter in a pan and then add 350 g Lamb fillet. Gently cook for a couple of minutes, until browned.
- Put 6 Shallots, 2 Garlic clove and 1 tablespoon Fresh ginger into the pan with the lamb and gently cook for 3 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon Ground coriander, 0.5 teaspoon Ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon Garam masala, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 0.5 teaspoon Chilli powder Stir and cook for one minute.
- Add 150 ml Vegetable stock and 200 g Chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour the lamb mixture into the slow cooker, put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 10 minutes before it is finished, stir through 125 g Spinach and replace the lid. Before serving, stir in 3 tablespoon 0% Greek yogurt.
- Serve with rice.
Recipe Tips
- We have added spinach to this dish, however you could use other greens such as kale, cabbage or chard.
- Don't cut the lamb too small, as it will just fall apart and blend into the sauce.
- We used a lamb fillet and cut it into chunks, however you could save time by buying chunks of lamb from the supermarket or butcher. You could even swap the lamb for beef or chicken.
- You can make this a little more indulgent by using single cream rather than the 0% yogurt that we used.
- If you wanted to cut back on some of the meat, you could halve the lamb and then add some mushrooms and red lentils.
- Make sure to cut all the chunks of lamb to the same size (about 4cm cubes) so they cook evenly.
- You could pull the chunks of lamb when cooked, to make kind of a pulled lamb curry, however we like the tender chunks of lamb.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
khadija says
First I love lamb! I have some among most of the ingredients in my fridge. BUT I don't have a slow cooker, and I have actually been wondering, do I really need one? When I want tender slow cooked meat I just put it in the oven, what do you think. Is there a difference. Also goodluck on the baby guys!
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
I've never made curry in my slow cooker even though I'm obsessed with it this time of year; I'll have to try this as it looks fantastic!
Beth says
This looks like a nice recipe for two. I don't eat meat, but I can see why it's a great recipe!
StressedMum says
Thank you for this, I am currently looking for new slow cooker recipes as it is that time of year I turn more and more to mine, this sounds amazing x
Platter Talk says
I can smell the aroma of your beautiful dish from the pictures. Very nice recipe that is going on the "to make" list. Thanks.
Sheri @ A Busy Bees Life says
I have never cooked lamb in the slow cooker, I would love to try out your recipe. All your pictures make it look so delicious and easy.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I am ALL about letting my slow cooker do the work! I love lamb, but I've never made it myself before. This looks amazing! I love the flavors in here. Definitely perfect for fall!
David @ Spiced says
Welcome, Dave! I love how you guys are tag-teaming the blog now. :-) I can't say that I've ever had lamb rogan josh, but it certainly looks delicious. I'll have to work this into the menu sometime soon. Looking forward to your other dude food meals coming up soon!
Sarah Bailey says
Oh my goodness this sounds amazing! I really need to try slow cooking things as it sounds like a good way to make meals. x
Oven Clean Team says
It doesn't look as appealing but then again we are hardcore fans of lamb so it must taste heavenly, we bet!
Thank you for the recipe!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
When I eat out at an Indian Buffet/restaurant, the Lamb Rogan Josh is what I opt for most times - never ever attempted to make it at home so thanks so much for this recipe. Hope all goes well with y'alls daughters birth and congrats in advance.
Pam Greer says
As our weather is turning cooler, I've been looking for slow cooker recipes!!
Michelle says
I would love some more slow cooker recipes please. We just got ours out of hibination, but I don't really know what to cook in it beyond stews.
Louise says
Love this - thanks for the recipe, I have never actually made this I might just give it a go!
Joanna says
We are having a lamb curry tonight I'm defently going to do it in the slow cooker next time.