8 Best Roast Lamb Seasoning Ideas

Achieve dinner perfection with the 8 best roast lamb seasoning blends. Looking to impress your guests at your spring dinner party? Why not try a roast lamb? However, lamb can have a gamey flavor and taste “stronger” and “wilder” if not seasoned properly. If you’re curious about what seasoning for lamb roast works best for you, I am here to inspire you. In this post, you will find the 8 best roast lamb seasoning blends to achieve dinner perfection and impress your guests with bold flavor.

This post is all about roast lamb seasoning.

Classic Roast Lamb Seasoning

Rosemary, garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper are all classic roast lamb seasoning ingredients. Together, these ingredients enhance the savory character of the roast lamb, while adding aromatic complexity to the dish. Rosemary adds a pine-like flavor which plays well with the unique gamey flavor of the lamb. By choosing a classic roast lamb seasoning, you can allow the flavor of the lamb to shine through.

I recommend cracking your black pepper fresh for this classic roast lamb seasoning. This enhances our salivary glands, awakening our palette so that we can appreciate the flavors more fully. For my recommendation for the best peppermill, check it out on my Amazon kitchen must haves list.

Roast Lamb Rub Seasoning

If you decide to do a seasoning rub on your roast lamb, consider using smoked paprika and smoked salt. I recommend ground cumin and ground mustard as well; they will bring warmth and earthiness to the seasoning rub. This combination of spices will give your lamb a subtle smokey flavor, which will complement the robust flavor of lamb. Other spices and seasonings I recommend would be rosemary, oregano, mint, granulated onion, granulated garlic, and dried lemon peel. Adjust the roast lamb rub seasoning to your liking.

Ideally, you would allow this rub seasoning to sit on the lamb overnight or for 24 hours. Leave the lamb uncovered in your cooler so that the cool dry air can circulate the protein. This step works twofold in your lamb production process. The salt will draw out moisture in the lamb, tenderize the meat, and intensify the flavors of the rub seasoning.

Roast Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

Another classic flavor combination to season your roast lamb is garlic and rosemary. Keep it simple by pulling the needles off of fresh rosemary and rubbing and scattering them across the lamb. Keep the woody stems and place them in the roasting pan as well. There are still beautiful essential oils in the stems which will lend themselves nicely to roasting with the lamb.

Use one or two heads of garlic and trim the tops off. Rub the raw garlic on the surface of the lamb, and place the whole heads in the roasting pan. As the lamb cooks, the garlic will caramelize and flavor the lamb with the aroma. Plus, roasted garlic cloves make for really tasty little gems to smear on some crusty bread.

Roast Lamb Overnight Marinade

When seasoning your roast lamb, prepping and marinating your meat overnight can certainly be a time saver! Marinating your lamb overnight will create a more juicy, tender succulent roast. I like to use olive oil when marinating because of the subtle fruity flavor and it is a great carrier for flavor. Using full-fat yogurt is also a great option to marinate your roast lamb. Rubbing it on the surface of the lamb will help tenderize the meat as the flavor infuses.

If you go the olive oil route as your carrier for the roast lamb marinade, try adding slices of citrus; lemon, lime or orange will all work great! You can also incorporate fresh oregano and thyme, bay leaves, and cracked black pepper.

Roast Lamb Honey Marindae

A great roast lamb seasoning technique is a honey marinade. Honey is a fantastic ingredient to marinate your proteins with. It adds a natural sweetness to your dish, that can enhance other flavors as well. There are also enzymes in honey that help tenderize and break down the proteins in your roast lamb, which can help other flavors develop while marinating.

Honey also caramelizes nicely and helps to seal in juices and flavors while cooking. When you roast your lamb, you will see a nice even color develop across the crust. The honey-marinated roast lamb will be very aesthetically appealing in the center of your table.

Other ingredients to include in your honey marinade could be balsamic vinegar, garlic cloves, or soy sauce. Balsamic vinegar will add tartness and richness, garlic cloves will add a savory comforting flavor, and soy sauce will add umami saltiness.

Leg of Lamb Moroccan Marinade

If you want to move away from a roast and prepare a leg of lamb, Moroccan marinade spices can lift the dish and create a unique flavor. Ras el hanout is a seasoning blend with very floral and sweet notes and will give the leg of lamb an aromatic flavor. The aromatics of Moroccan spices contribute to the overall flavor profile of your roast lamb seasoning.

“Ras el Hanout” is an Arabic phrase that translates to “top shelf” or “head of shop”, and is a mixture of the best quality of spices. Leg of Lamb made with Moroccan Marinade should include a spice combination of cumin, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, and pepper, to name a few.

Mix the spice blend with high-temperature cooking oil and rub liberally onto your leg of lamb. If you are unfamiliar with the cooking oils that are safe to use for high-heat cooking, read up on the best cooking tips and tricks. Allow the Moroccan marinade to marinate on the leg of lamb for a minimum of 8 hours. Roast the leg of lamb at a low temperature in the oven. Remove the lamb from the oven when the internal temperature has reached 135°F. Allow the Moroccan marinaded lamb to rest until it has reached an internal temperature of 145°F.

Leg of Lamb Mustard Rub

Using mustard as a rub on a leg of lamb is a fantastic way to impart flavor and tenderize the protein. Mustard is used to allow the rub seasoning to stick to your protein as well. Using a blend of spices and herbs, you can create a fantastic, flavorful mustard-crusted leg of lamb. The mustard rub is a good choice for seasoning your roast lamb because the two complement each other and bring a balance of flavors to the dish.

Prep your leg of lamb by patting it dry with a paper towel before liberally rubbing the meat down with mustard. Use any mustard of your choosing. Yellow American mustard will have very little flavor payoff, while a Dijon mustard will carry that flavor through to the end of cooking.

A combination of seasonings that I recommend for this technique includes paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. You could also truss the leg of lamb and tuck in fresh rosemary, slices of orange, or slices of tomato, but be careful not to incorporate too many flavors.

Leg of Lamb Curry Marinade

If you are a fan of Indian flavors, marinating your leg of lamb with curry is an excellent way to allow the protein to shine. The flavor of the leg of lamb can stand up to the earthy, warming flavors of the curry marinade. The curry marinade is a good choice for seasoning your roast lamb because it can enhance the lamb in many ways.

Lamb is commonly used in various traditional dishes in many cultures, and curry is a staple in cuisines such as Indian, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian. The combination of lamb and curry reflects a harmonious fusion of flavors rooted in cultural culinary traditions.

When using curry as a seasoning for lamb, it’s important to consider the specific type of curry blend you’re using and how much you prefer based on your taste preferences. Experimenting with different curry blends and adjusting the spice level allows you to tailor the dish to your liking.

If you choose to marinate your lamb in curry, make a paste of full-fat yogurt, curry spice, chopped garlic, and chopped ginger. Rub the paste liberally over the leg of lamb, and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 24 hours. The enzymes in the yogurt will help tenderize the protein and allow the flavors of your curry marinade to start to work their way into the leg of lamb.

This post showcased 8 Best Roast Lamb Seasoning Ideas.