Lamb and Apricot Tagine
Warm-spiced lamb braised with dried apricots and almonds.
Discover smart recipes
Sign up on Homecooked to cook this recipe as the chef intended, with parallel steps and built-in timers guiding you along the way. Stock your pantry to discover more recipes you can cook with the ingredients you have at home.
Join HomecookedIngredients
- 1000 g Lamb shoulder
- 150 g Dried apricots
- 2 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Ras el hanout
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 60 g Almonds
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
Method
- Cube the lamb and slice the onion and garlic.
- Brown the lamb in oil, then soften the onion and garlic and stir in the spices, cooking about a minute until fragrant.
- Add water and braise gently until the lamb is tender, about 70 minutes.
- While the lamb braises, toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat until golden and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Tip onto a plate to cool.
- Add the apricots and honey and simmer until the sauce glosses.
- Scatter the toasted almonds over the tagine and serve.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from ingredients; varies with exact portions and brands.
About Lamb and Apricot Tagine
Lamb and apricot tagine is a signature dish of Moroccan cooking, named for the conical earthenware pot in which such stews are traditionally cooked. It sits squarely in the North African tradition of pairing meat with dried fruit — a combination that gives the dish its defining sweet-and-savory character. Lamb shoulder is slow-braised with onion, garlic, and ras el hanout, the complex Moroccan spice blend, while dried apricots melt into the sauce and honey deepens the sweetness. The result is warmly spiced, tender, and glossy, with the fruit balancing the richness of the lamb.
This version takes its time — nearly two hours — because the lamb needs a long, gentle braise to become truly fork-tender and to let the spices and apricots meld into the gravy. Toasting the almonds separately in a dry pan is a small but important step: it keeps them crisp and fragrant so they add crunch and a nutty contrast against the soft, sweet stew when scattered on top at the end. Tagines like this are traditionally served over couscous or with flatbread to catch the sauce. It's a dish for an unhurried meal, and it only improves if made ahead and gently reheated.
Lamb and Apricot Tagine: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Lamb and Apricot Tagine?
One serving of Lamb and Apricot Tagine has about 702 calories, with 32g of protein, 30g of carbs, 52g of fat and 5g of fiber. These are estimates based on the ingredient amounts in this recipe and will vary with your exact portions and brands.
Is Lamb and Apricot Tagine high in protein?
Yes — each serving delivers about 32g of protein. That's 18% of its 702 calories coming from protein.
Is Lamb and Apricot Tagine gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Lamb and Apricot Tagine has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Lamb and Apricot Tagine take to make?
About 110 minutes start to finish, but only around 36 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Lamb and Apricot Tagine make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.