These are the best Instant Pot Lamb Shanks braised in rich red wine sauce until the meat is fall of the bone tender! It will be an easy recipe for a family dinner to serve with creamy mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side.
These Instant Pot Lamb Shanks, braised in a rich red wine sauce is out of this world delicious! While this recipe looks so fancy, it’s really easy to make in a pressure cooker. The cooking time is cut in half and the meat comes out juicy and fall of the bone tender!
The recipe is similar to my popular recipes for Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs and Red Wine Braised Short Ribs, where I used red wine to create a rich flavorful gravy.
Why you will love this recipe
- Restaurant style quality. This recipe tastes and looks so fancy, you would think it was cooked for hours and served in a restaurant with a glass of expensive wine.
- Easy to make. A pressure cooker makes this recipe preparation really simple and cuts the cooking time at least by a half.
- Incredible flavors! Red wine does most of the work to create a rich deep flavor and delicious aroma.
How to make it
Trim the lamb shanks of their excess fat.
Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and the lamb shanks. Sear them for about 7-10 minutes on all sides, then transfer to a plate and set aside. I prefer to sear 2 lamb shanks at a time, so they properly fit in your pot.
When the meat is seared and set aside, add 1 chopped onion to the same pot. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the onion is softened and caramelized.
Then add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery ribs, 3 garlic cloves and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups red wine and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the wine reduces in half and evaporates the alcohol.
Then add 1 cup beef broth, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, 2 bay leaves. Stir it in.
Add pre-seared lamb shanks. Try to tuck them in so they are almost covered with the liquid.
Close the lid and set the pressure cooker to manual high pressure for 50 minutes. When done, let the natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then open the lid.
Remove the meat, set it on a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
Press the sauté button again and let the sauce simmer.
Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with ¼ cup water and gradually add it to the sauce until the desired consistency.
Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it thickens.
Tips for best results
- Trim the fat. I would highly suggest to trim the excess fat from the shanks to make sure that your gravy won’t be greasy.
- Searing. I always like to sear the meat before cooking it in a pressure cooker. It helps to develop more flavor in the whole dish.
- Reduce the wine. By simmering and reducing the wine, it will help to evaporate the alcohol and intensify the rich and deep flavor of the sauce.
- Thickening the sauce. 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with water is usually enough to thicken the sauce. If it’s still too thin, just add more cornstarch/water slurry.
Options and Substitutions
- Skip the wine. While the wine provides the most flavor in the sauce, you can skip it if you don’t want to use any alcohol in the recipe. Simply add 2 extra cups of beef broth and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. This last ingredient will add a nice touch and provide some acidity for the gravy.
- Add more vegetables. To make it a truly one pot meal, you can add some baby potatoes, to the carrots and celery, so you can serve it together. You also can add some mushrooms or other root vegetables, like parsnip.
How to serve
My favorite way to serve this meal is with my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe and some vegetables on the side, like Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Green Bean Almondine Recipe and Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan.
And of course you need to serve it with some homemade bread (like Potato Rolls Recipe and Easy Dinner Rolls) to soak it in this delicious gravy!
Frequently Asked Questions
After the recipe is cooled off, you can transfer it to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Yes! I love making this recipe 1 day ahead, refrigerate, and just reheat in the oven or on the stove top before ready to serve.
Use inexpensive but good quality red wine. I like to use Cabernet Savignon, like Decoy (not sponsored).
No, even if you cook this meat a bit longer, the meat will just stay juicy and tender.
Most likely you didn’t trim the excess fat on the meat. To fix it, you can refrigerate the sauce and the fat will emulsify on the top. You just need to scoop it out and reheat the gravy.
More comfort meals ideas:
- Old Fashioned Goulash Recipe
- Chicken Broccoli Ziti
- Dutch Oven Chicken Stew
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Classic Chicken Parmesan Recipe
- Chili in a Dutch Oven
- Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Short Rib Ragu
Instant Pot Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 lamb shanks trimmed from excess fat
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped in large pieces
- 2 celery ribs chopped in large pieces
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Trim the lamb shanks of their excess fat.
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and the lamb shanks. Sear them for about 7-10 minutes on all sides, then transfer to a plate and set aside. I prefer to sear 2 lamb shanks at a time, so they properly fit in your pot.
- When the meat is seared and set aside, add 1 chopped onion to the same pot. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the onion is softened and caramelized.
- Then add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery ribs, 3 garlic cloves and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups red wine and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the wine reduces in half and evaporates the alcohol.
- Then add 1 cup beef broth, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, 2 bay leaves. Stir it in.
- Add pre-seared lamb shanks. Try to tuck them in so they are almost covered with the liquid.
- Close the lid and set the pressure cooker to manual high pressure for 50 minutes. When done, let the natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then open the lid.
- Remove the meat, set it on a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
- Press the sauté button again and let the sauce simmer.
- Mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with ¼ cup water and gradually add it to the sauce until the desired consistency.
- Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until thickens.
Video
Notes
- Trim the fat. I would highly suggest to trim the excess fat from the shanks to make sure that your gravy won’t be greasy.
- Searing. I always like to sear the meat before cooking it in a pressure cooker. It helps to develop more flavor in the whole dish.
- Reduce the wine. By simmering and reducing the wine, it will help to evaporate the alcohol and intensify the rich and deep flavor of the sauce.
- Thickening the sauce. 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with water is usually enough to thicken the sauce. If it’s still too thin, just add more cornstarch/water slurry.
- Skip the wine. While the wine provides the most flavor in the sauce, you can skip it if you don’t want to use any alcohol in the recipe. Simply add 2 extra cups of beef broth and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. This last ingredient will add a nice touch and provide some acidity for the gravy.
- Add more vegetables. To make it a truly one pot meal, you can add some baby potatoes, to the carrots and celery, so you can serve it together. You also can add some mushrooms or other root vegetables, like parsnip.
- How to store. After the recipe is cooled off, you can transfer it to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
I followed the directions completely and my dish was SO delicious. I made it with risotto instead of mashed potatoes. I will make thos again. Yum!!
really good, made it as a family dinner and super easy recipe to follow. I recommend adding a cinnamon stick and 2 star anise for a bit more flavour. also, saute the garlic with the onion to release more flavour.
Hi there if you want to add 2 more shanks do you have to add more liquid.
Wow! My first time making lamb shanks and this recipe was really easy to follow, quick to make and oh so delicious!!!! Thank you so much!
I made the recipe, as is. But only had 2 shanks. I kept the rest of the recipe as written. I made mashed potatoes. Before I thickened the gravy, I removed the bay leaves and used a stick blender on the gravy (I have a person who will pick out carrot etc).
Thank you, Bonnie! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 😉
Why isn’t there any salt?
You can add salt to your liking, Janet.
Only missing ingredient was oregano.., Aaahhhmazzzzing!!
Followed recipe and MySon loved Simple yet sooo VERY elegant! Will definitely make again! With variations as suggested!
We made this on New Year’s Eve and it was delicious! We omitted tomato paste and oregano because we didn’t have them in the house, and we added small potatoes. The sauce thickens up beautifully and it is rich and flavorful
Thank you, Fay! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 😉 Also, great idea to add some potatoes to it, to make a one pot meal!
I have never cooked lamb before as I have never acquired a taste for it but my beau LOVES lamb so I made this recipe for him.
He was over the moon happy with it. He said it was excellent! Savory and tender just as it should be. The only thing I did differently was add a handful of medium size bella mushrooms that needed to be used up.
Thanks for making an easy, delicious, quality instant-pot recipe available for non-lamb cooks like me.
Thank you so much, Andrea! I’m so happy you and your boyfriend loved the recipe 😉
Your recipe turned out good. Probably would have been better but I didn’t have the necessary bay leafs. Not bad for a rookie cook like me. I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken, maybe more corn starch?
Hi Glen! Yes, you would need to use some corn starch (I mentioned it in the notes).
If I were to cut the receipt in half (i.e. 2 lamb shanks and 1/2 of everything else) how long would I pressure cook for?
Hi Jon, the cooking time will be the same. The cooking time depends on the size of the lamb shanks and not the quantity.
This dish is perfect for a cold day like today! My family loved this savory, comforting meal. It warmed us right up!
Thank you so much, Jamie! I’m so happy you liked it!
OMG, that red wine sauce with the perfectly cooked lamb shanks is TO DIE FOR! So much flavor and so easy! Don’t you just love the Instant Pot!?! Two thumbs up.
These lamb shanks are so tender, flavorful and delicious! Love how much easier they were to make in the Instant Pot!
What a wonderful recipe, rustic, rich and delicious. I love my instant pot, every time I cook meat in it turns out tender, and these lamb shanks were not exception.
I couldn’t believe how delicious the lamb turned out. The gravy was perfection and the meat fell off the bone. We had this on Saturday night but it will be made for a special Sunday dinner.
I really love this hearty meal. It’s great that it’s made in the Instant pot too. But the real show stopper is the amazing gravy.
Instant pot will make your life easy in making this dish.
It looks delicious and I will definitely make this for tonight’s dinner. Thank you!
My husband loves lamb, but I never make it. This looks so easy using the Instant Pot that even he could pull it off himself – sending this to him right now!!
That meat is so tender. You certainly know how to ace this recipe!
What a great meal for Sunday dinner. We love lamb. Perfect for the cooler weather that is now upon us. We do love comfort food season.