If you have a smoker you have to try this easy smoked leg of lamb roast. It’s rubbed with herbs, stuffed with garlic and smoked to perfection. The result is a tender and delicious lamb roast that’s perfect for Easter or a special spring dinner! And this is a naturally low carb dinner so it will be great for those on a Paleo or keto diet.
You might also like this smoked salmon recipe.

My husband just bought a new smoker as his finally bit the dust and he smokes meat quite often. So when I saw some lovely lamb roasts at the grocery store I thought this would be the perfect recipe to try on his new smoker.
OMG it was so delicious! Sincerely this easy smoked leg of lamb roast was one of the best I ever had. I stuffed it with slices of garlic (like my grandma used to do) and then rubbed herbs and spices all over it. The garlic and herbs cut down on the gamey flavor and them smoking just added even more flavor.
The smoker added a bit a smokey flavor and just cooked it’s perfectly. The meat was moist and tender and so full of flavor. I’m going out today to buy another roast!
The type of lamb roast and smoker we used.
I found a 5 pound boneless leg of lamb roast at Costco and you can see what it looks like below. This size of roast can feed about 8-10 people. We had it for dinner and then ate the sliced leftover piece of meat which I will share with you in another post to come.
This roast had an almost 3 hour smoking time. If you have a bone in leg of lamb it will take a bit longer to smoke. To learn more about cuts of lamb, check this article from Jamie Oliver.
A leg of lamb usually has a layer of fat (fat cap) on the outside of the roast. Some people trim it a bit but we kept it on because it mostly melts during the cooking process and adds lots of flavor.
My hubby’s new smoker is an electric wood pellet smoker which is a different from his propane one that used wood chunks and wood chips. Unfortunately it just died. However what is nice about this new one is that it was able to maintain a consistent temperature more accurately than the old one.
But this recipe would work with any smoker. You just have to make sure you gauge the tempeature of the meat.
How to make smoked leg of lamb roast.
- First take the netting off the roast if there is one. Slice the raw garlic into slivers. Cut holes in the entire roast and stuff them with the garlic slivers. Do this all over the roast.
- Mix the olive oil, salt, basil, rosemary, thyme and black pepper to make a marinade. Brush or rub this all over the lamb and place the roast into a large ziplock bag. Refrigerate over night if you can or at least for a few hours.
- Take the roast out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature (about 30 minutes.) Place on the grill of the smoker and smoke at 225-250°F for about 2-3 hours or until the leg of lamb registers an internal temperature of 140-145°F when using a meat thermometer. My husband uses this thermometer probe in the meat and can read it from the outside. IIt keeps you from having to open the smoker and thus losing heat during the smoking process.
- Take the roast out of the smoker when it reaches the right temperature and give it about a 10 minute rest before slicing.
We ended up cooking this 5 lb roast for almost 3 hours at 250°F to an internal temp of 142°F. It was a medium doneness when we sliced it. If you want it a bit more rare maybe take it of at 140°F. Cooking time will vary depending on how size of your roast and the smoker that you use.
If you have leftovers store them in an airtight container. (Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.)
I really think the stuffed garlic and the smoky flavor from the smoker gave this roast so much extra flavor. It was one of the most tender lamb leg I’ve ever eaten and I’m not sure if it’s from the slow cooking or the meat was just unusually good.
What to serve with this roast and what to do with leftover lamb.
You can serve this roast with any of your favorite vegetables. We had roasted potatoes and steamed snap peas. Since this is a naturally low carb dinner you can skip the potatoes and just serve with cauliflower rice or green salad.
We had leftovers of this flavorful meat because this was a 5 lb roast so my husband sliced it really thin with our meat slicer and we made a delicious spicy stirfry (recipe coming soon.) However you could also make gyros.
Just pan fry thin pieces of meat and place the in pita or naan bread. Make a quick tzatziki sauce and top with lettuce and tomatoes.
More delicious and easy lamb recipes to try.
I have quite a few of low carb lamb recipes that you might also like. I have made a leg of lamb and lamb shoulder in the slow cooker, air fryer, Instant Pot as well as grilled lamb chops and burgers.
I loved this easy lamb roast dinner because it’s naturally low carb and the additional smoke flavor of the meat made it extra special. I hope you give this one a try if you have a smoker already. And if you don’t, you might want to think about it. Enjoy!
Easy Smoked Leg of Lamb Recipe
This easy smoked leg of lamb roast is juicy, tender and full of flavor. Studded with garlic and rubbed with delicious spices for the perfect lamb dinner.
Ingredients
- 5 pound leg of lamb, boneless
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon basil, dried
- 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, dried
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
Instructions
- Take the roast and cut slivers all over and stuff the garlic slivers into them.
- In a small dish, add the olive oil and spices and mix together. Rub all over the roast and then place it into a large ziplock bag. Refrigerate over night for best results but you can do it for an hour or so.
- Take the lamb out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
- Set the smoker to 250° then place on the smoker and cook until the internal temperature registers between 140°F-145°F for medium rare to medium. Let the lamb rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 612Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 211mgSodium: 573mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 58g
sara
This would be so good for Easter. I saw my grocery shop has leg of lamb on sale this week, but I have never made it before. Your recipe seems easy to follow so I am going to add it to my list! Thanks!!
Liz
We have a smoker setting on our traeger. This sounds like a great meal to make for a crowd this spring and summer! Will have to give it a try!