Air Fryer Roast Lamb Sandwiches

Learn how to perfectly cook a leg of lamb in the air fryer and then make some delicious leftover lamb sandwiches then next day. Using spice rub full of Middle Eastern flavors makes tasty leg of lamb roast for dinner. Couple with roasted peppers and ciabatta bread or use some tzatziki sauce with naan bread for yummy air fryer roast lamb sandwiches.

You might also like this slow cooker lamb leg roast recipe.

We usually only have lamb on a special occasion. However lately we’ve been having it a lot because there have been good sales on lamb roasts in the grocery stores, before and after the Easter season. So today I wanted to use a Middle Eastern rub and roast the lamb in an air fryer.

The roast came out perfectly and with the tasty spices it the leftovers made delicious sandwiches for us the next day. So these air fryer lamb roast sandwiches are great for leftover lamb but I’ll share with you how I first cook it in the air fryer.

Air frying has really been helpful in cooking dinner for my family. Please check out all my air fryer recipes. I’m developing quite a collection!

Using the Meater Plus meat thermometer for perfect roast cooking.

Today I tried out my husband’s Meater Plus meat thermometer to cook the roast in the air fryer. I was so happy with the ease and the results that I am highly recommending it to my readers. My husband used it mostly for his smoker but I think it would be great for any kind of roast you want to make.

You add the probe to the meat and place it in the air fryer. There is an app you put on your phone which walks you through what you are cooking, what degree of doneness you want and how long it will take. Then you can monitor the roast with just your phone.

It tells you how it’s cooking with out checking on it. And it tells you when it will be done and how long to rest it. You can see below when I made the air fryer lamb roast.

Middle Eastern spices I used for this lamb rub.

The simple ingredients I used to season the meat with were were cinnamon, salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, chili, sweetener and onion powder.

This blend of spices created a Middle Eastern spice rub with bold flavor. It makes a lot and you might not use it all but you can use the extra spices on chops, burgers, steaks, etc.

Another important part of the seasoning is the garlic. I first cut a few cloves of garlic into slivers and then studded the roast.

How to make air fryer roast lamb for sandwiches.

Note that it helps if you take the roast out of the refrigerator about a half hour before cooking it so it can come to room temperature. It will quicker. Also preheat air fryer while preparing the roast.

Step 1: Prepare the leg of lamb by cutting the garlic cloves into slivers. Then using a sharp knife cut little slits all of the roast and stuff with the garlic slivers.

Step 2: Next mix the spices together in a little bowl. Then rub the spice mixture in all over the meat. I kept the netting on because I wanted the meat to be all together so it would be easier to slice when it was done.

Step 3: Add the Meater Probe if you have one and place the prepared lamb into the basket of the air fryer. Then cook at 360°F on the air fryer for 15-20 minutes per pound. I had a 3 pound boneless lamb leg and it took 1 hour and 15 minutes. I used the app for the Meater digital meat thermometer to know when to take it out.

Step 4: When the roast reaches the about 5 degrees from the degree of doneness you want, take it out of the air fryer and let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes. It will continue to cook and as you can see below from my readings from that app that mine cooked an additional 9 degrees while it was resting.

See below for the degree of doneness chart and more tips.

When taking the internal temperature of the lamb with a digital meat thermometer, here are guidelines for the degree of doneness. (source) NOTE: You want to measure the temperature at the thickest part of the roast.

Rare: 125°F
Medium-Rare: 130°F to 135°F
Medium: 135°F to 140°F 
Well-Done: 155°F to 165°F

A quick note about the Meater Plus meat thermometer app: Screen 1 is towards the end of the roasting process. The internal probe read 101°F and it told me I have about 14 minutes to go to reach medium rare degree of doneness.

I was surprised when it told me to take it out of the air fryer when it reached 121°F but I did it and kept the probe in the roast. It said it would take 16 minutes of resting to reach 130°F but it took just 10 minutes to reach the target temp of 130°F and it was perfectly cooked for us.

Step 5: Once the roasts has rested, slice for dinner or if you are going for the sandwiches, slice them as thinly as you can. We have this meat slicer which is great for leftover roasts. It really is easy to slice it thin and makes the BEST sandwiches.

What we did was have a roast dinner with some parmesan potatoes and green beans. Then used the lamb leftovers for sandwiches. 

Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to the view the printable recipe card.

Now let’s talk about our lamb sandwich options. The first is a homemade gyro since we use the Middle Eastern spice rub this worked great.

The second was actually my favorite because the ciabatta rolls that I got at Aldi just went perfect with the lamb and roasted peppers.

Sandwich #1 – A gyro with leftover roasted lamb.

As I mentioned about it’s best if you use thinly sliced meat for this so if yo have a meat slicer that’s great other wise use a sharp knife and do your best. You could even chop it up a bit to make it easier to eat on the sandwich.

The other ingredients where romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red onions, tomato slices, naan bread and a quick yogurt sauce.

The yogurt sauce is like tzatziki. I used 1 cup of Greek yogurt and mixed with 1 clove of crushed garlic, 2 tablespoons of minced fresh mint, ½ teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of good olive oil. You can use other fresh herbs like parsley, chives or even rosemary. You can also add some cucumbers.

I love naan bread for sandwiches and flatbreads. If you prefer you can use pita bread instead. I just find pita bread to be a bit dry and the naan is a bit more chewy which I like.

You can of course put whatever you want on your gyro.

Sandwich #2 – Roasted peppers and lamb on ciabatta roll.

Below you can see the second sandwich which was slices of lamb and roasted pepper sandwich on ciabatta rolls. You can also use a piece of baguette. Either way you want to use a hearty bread for this sandwich.

I also used some arugula and baby spinach. The arugula is peppery so it adds a lot of flavor. Then I used red onion and spread I made with equal parts Colman’s spicy mustard and mayonnaise.

First you can toast the rolls by slicing and adding to the toaster. If they don’t fit you can toast them in a nonstick pan. Spray the sides with a bit of cooking spray and place them face down in the skillet until they are golden brown. Watch them so they don’t burn but they should toast in just a few minutes.

Next spread the mustard mixture on the top bun. Layer the pieces of meat, then the roasted peppers, sliced onion and greens. You could add some cheese to this sandwich if you want. Maybe a good sharp cheddar cheese or even some provolone cheese. 

You can get Colman’s mustard at most big grocery stores as well as the roasted peppers. And the onion, ciabatta rolls and arugula spinach mix I found at Aldi.

Below you can see the finished sandwich. It was so tasty! You could add some cheese to this sandwich if you want. Maybe a good sharp cheddar cheese or even some provolone cheese. 

Of course these sandwiches are just my own personal preference. I just wanted to give you some ideas of flavor combinations you could use with the leftover meat.

Another recipe to try with leftover lamb meat.

I just wanted to mention this spicy flank steak stir fry recipe that we often make with leftover lamb meat. You can make it the same way even though the lamb is already cooked. You want to get that nice crusty edge on the meat for maximum flavor.

Well I hope you enjoy this air fryer roast lamb recipe along with the lamb sandwiches with the lamb leftovers. You can get a couple good meals out of this roast!

And if you know someone who loves to grill or smoke meats, try the Meater+ digital meat thermometer. It’s a great product and would be a good gift!