A lamb tagine is the dish I make when I want to cook something that fills the kitchen with a smell unlike anything else — the warm, slightly sweet, slightly exotic combination of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric blooming in hot oil with caramelised onions and deeply browned lamb.

The tagine is the North African cooking vessel that gives the dish its name — a wide, shallow base with a conical lid that traps steam and returns it to the food during cooking, keeping the meat extraordinarily moist.

I cook this in a deep casserole or a wide, heavy-based saucepan rather than an actual tagine, and the result is virtually identical. The technique — the spiced lamb braised slowly in spiced stock with onions, dried apricots, preserved lemon, and honey — gives the same deep, fragrant, complex result regardless of the vessel.

This is the dinner party dish that looks more difficult than it is, tastes completely extraordinary, and is made entirely ahead. I have never served it without someone asking for the recipe.

Table of Contents

Ingredients for Mary Berry Lamb Tagine

For the Tagine

1.2kg lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm chunks — bone-in pieces if available give more flavour
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, halved and finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp tomato purée
400ml good quality chicken or lamb stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
150g dried apricots, halved
1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded, rind rinsed and finely chopped — or zest of 1 unwaxed lemon if preserved lemon is unavailable
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp rose harissa paste (optional — adds depth and warmth)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Finish

50g toasted flaked almonds
Large handful fresh coriander, roughly torn
Seeds of ½ pomegranate (optional — gives vivid colour and slight sharpness)

To Serve

Couscous — fluffy, buttered, and seasoned
Or flatbreads for scooping
Natural yoghurt alongside

How to Make Mary Berry Lamb Tagine

Step 1 — Brown the Lamb

Season the lamb chunks very generously. Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over a medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in batches — three to four minutes per batch — until deeply browned on all sides. Do not crowd the pan. Remove each batch and set aside.

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The browning step gives the tagine its depth. Properly browned lamb gives a sauce that is dark, complex, and rich. Pale, barely browned lamb gives a flat, one-dimensional sauce. Take every minute the browning needs.

Step 2 — Cook the Aromatics

In the same casserole, add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook the sliced onions for twelve to fifteen minutes until completely soft, golden, and slightly caramelised. Add the crushed garlic and grated fresh ginger — cook for two more minutes.

Add all the ground spices — cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ground ginger, paprika, turmeric, and cayenne. Stir for two minutes until the spices are fragrant and completely coating the onions. The smell at this point is extraordinary.

Add the tomato purée. Stir for one minute.

Step 3 — Add the Liquid and Braise

Add the harissa if using. Pour in the stock and tinned tomatoes. Stir to combine — scraping up any golden residue from the base of the pan. Add the dried apricots, preserved lemon rind, and honey. Season generously.

Return the browned lamb to the casserole. Stir to coat everything in the spiced sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Cover tightly and cook on the lowest possible heat — or in a preheated 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3 oven — for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until the lamb is completely tender and falling apart when pressed.

Step 4 — Finish and Serve

Taste and season assertively — the tagine should be warmly spiced, slightly sweet from the apricots and honey, slightly sharp from the preserved lemon, and deeply savoury from the lamb.

Scatter the toasted flaked almonds over the surface. Tear fresh coriander generously over the top. Scatter pomegranate seeds if using.

Serve with fluffy buttered couscous and natural yoghurt alongside.

My Top Tips For Perfect Mary Berry Lamb Tagine

Brown the lamb properly — every surface deeply golden. This instruction appears in every braised meat recipe on this site and it is always equally important. The Maillard reaction on the surface of the lamb gives the sauce its depth and complexity. Pale lamb gives a flat tagine. Deeply browned lamb gives something genuinely extraordinary.

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Bloom the spices in the oil with the onions. Two minutes of stirring the ground spices in the hot oil with the onions — before any liquid is added — develops the aromatic compounds in the spices and gives the tagine a depth and complexity that simply adding spices to liquid does not achieve.

Cook the onions for twelve to fifteen minutes until genuinely caramelised. The onions dissolve into the sauce during the long braise and give its sweetness and body. Undercooked onions give a slightly raw, slightly sharp note that persists throughout. Properly caramelised onions give sweetness, depth, and the specific character of a great tagine.

Make it the day before. Lamb tagine improves dramatically overnight. The spices deepen, the lamb becomes even more tender, and the sauce becomes more concentrated and more complex. I always make it the day before a dinner party — it requires only reheating when the guests arrive.

The preserved lemon is worth seeking out. Preserved lemon gives a specific, slightly salty, intensely lemony note that is different from fresh lemon and completely characteristic of Moroccan cooking. It is available in most supermarkets now, in jars in the world foods section. If unavailable, the zest of one fresh unwaxed lemon gives a reasonable alternative.

Serving Suggestions

With fluffy buttered couscous — the most natural pairing. With flatbreads for scooping. With natural yoghurt and a drizzle of harissa alongside. As a dinner party main course — it looks and tastes genuinely spectacular.

How to Store Mary Berry Lamb Tagine

In the fridge: Store covered for up to 4 days. The flavour improves significantly overnight. Reheat gently with a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much.

In the freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently. The lamb becomes even more tender on defrosting and reheating.

Mary Berry Lamb Tagine Recipe

Mary Berry's lamb tagine is a fragrant, slow-cooked Moroccan-inspired stew with warming spices, dried apricots, and tender lamb.

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 45

Total Time 2 10

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 480

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Lamb Tagine:
1.2 kg lamb shoulder in 4cm chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions halved and finely sliced
4 garlic cloves crushed
3 cm fresh ginger finely grated
2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander
1 tsp each ground cinnamon ground ginger, sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp each ground turmeric and cayenne pepper
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp rose harissa paste optional
400 ml chicken or lamb stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
150 g dried apricots halved
1 preserved lemon rind only, finely chopped
1 tbsp runny honey
Salt and pepper
To Finish:
50 g toasted flaked almonds
Large handful fresh coriander roughly torn
Seeds of ½ pomegranate optional
To Serve:
Fluffy buttered couscous natural yoghurt, flatbreads

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Method

Season lamb — brown in batches in hot oil over medium-high heat until deeply browned all over. Remove each batch.
Add remaining oil over medium heat. Cook onions 12–15 minutes until golden and caramelised. Add garlic and fresh ginger — 2 minutes. Add all ground spices — stir 2 minutes until fragrant. Add tomato purée — 1 minute.
Add harissa if using. Add stock, tinned tomatoes, apricots, preserved lemon, and honey. Season. Return lamb — stir to coat. Bring to gentle simmer. Cover tightly — cook on lowest heat or in 160°C oven 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours until lamb is completely tender.
Taste and season assertively. Scatter toasted almonds and fresh coriander. Add pomegranate seeds if using. Serve with couscous and yoghurt.

Notes

Brown lamb deeply on all sides — every minute of browning gives the sauce its depth and complexity.

Bloom spices in hot oil with the onions — develops the aromatics before any liquid is added.

Cook onions 12–15 minutes until genuinely caramelised — gives the sweetness and body of the sauce.

Make the day before — the tagine improves dramatically overnight.

Preserved lemon gives a specific character that is worth seeking out — in supermarkets, world foods aisle.

Freezes for up to 3 months — the lamb becomes even more tender on reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use lamb leg instead of shoulder?

Shoulder is the better cut for slow braising — it has more fat and connective tissue that breaks down during the long cook and gives a richer, more tender result. Leg is leaner and can become slightly dry over 2 hours of braising. Shoulder is strongly recommended.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes — complete steps 1 to 3 on the hob. Transfer everything to the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. The result is virtually identical.

Can I add chickpeas?

Yes — one tin of drained chickpeas added in the final 30 minutes of cooking gives additional substance and a slightly more complete, more substantial dish.

Can I make this vegetarian?

Yes — replace the lamb with butternut squash and aubergine, both cut into 3cm chunks. Reduce the braising time to 45 to 55 minutes. Use vegetable stock. The spiced sauce works beautifully with robust vegetables.