Vegetable loaded Lamb Ragu
Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten Free, Iron rich, Nut free, Protein rich, Soy free
About the recipe
This slow-cooked lamb ragu is rich, hearty & packed with hidden veggies, perfect for family dinners & easily adapted for babies and toddlers.
This slow-cooked lamb ragu is a nourishing twist on a classic comfort meal. With lamb shoulder simmered until tender and lots of vegetables in every bite, it’s a beautiful way to serve up iron, flavour, and fibre in one family-friendly dish.
We love that this meal ticks the “one pot, one family” box—you can serve it chunky over pasta or mashed potato, blended smooth for babies, or in strips of with vegetables or pulse pasta for baby-led weaning. It’s freezer-friendly, veggie-packed, and the kind of meal that only gets better with time.
The slow cooking brings out incredible depth of flavour, and the lamb becomes melt-in-your-mouth soft making it a great introduction to meat for little ones.
We aren’t advocates for hiding vegetables, and encourage serving them in their whole form often, however, its also OK to incorporate them in blended form, which can be a great way to keep vegetables in a toddler’s diet who might be riding the ‘beige train.’
Age suitable:
Suitable from around 6–8 months+
For BLW, serve soft strips of pasta and shredded lamb with sauce. Slow-cooked lamb shoulder is ideal for early meat eaters—it’s tender, soft, and easy to break apart into baby-friendly portions.
For purée stage, blend a portion of the sauce once the meat is soft and tender.
Serving suggestions:
Serve over soft-cooked pasta (choose a shape that suits your child’s age), or couscous, or mashed potato.
For toddlers, stir the ragu through small pasta shapes like shells or spirals.
For babies, blend or mash the sauce and serve on a pre-loaded spoon or mixed through mashed root veggies or couscous.
Storage tips:
Fridge-friendly for up to 3 days.
Freezer-friendly for up to 3 months. Freeze ragu separately from pasta if storing.
Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water or broth to loosen the sauce.
Ingredients
Olive oil for frying
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large brown onion, finely diced
1 carrot, grated
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 fennel bulb, finely diced
1 zucchini, grated
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 handful parsley leaves and stems, finely chopped
500 grams lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm chunks
2 tins tomatoes
2 cups bone broth or stock of choice
Salt and pepper to taste
Pasta of your choice, to serve (we love pulse pasta for added protein and iron)
Method
Heat a heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, then sauté the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and fennel with a couple of pinches of salt until soft and fragrant.
Add in the grated zucchini and chopped parsley, cooking for a few more minutes until softened.
Add the diced lamb shoulder and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges are golden.
Stir in the tomato paste and allow it to caramelise slightly—this adds beautiful depth of flavour.
Pour in the tinned tomatoes and bone broth or stock. Stir well, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.
Cover with a lid and simmer for around 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is soft and the sauce has thickened.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with cooked pasta.
Slow Cooker Method (Optional):
Start by sautéing the garlic, onion, celery, carrot and fennel in olive oil over medium heat until softened and fragrant—this step is optional but adds beautiful depth to the flavour.
Add the sautéed vegetables to your slow cooker along with the grated zucchini, parsley, lamb shoulder, tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and broth or stock. Stir everything together well.
Cook on low for 7–8 hours or high for 4–5 hours, until the lamb is fall-apart tender and the sauce has thickened.
You can shred the lamb directly in the pot before serving. If the sauce needs thickening, leave the lid off for the final 30 minutes or reduce slightly on the stove before serving.
Serve over pasta, or blend a portion for younger babies.
Ingredient swaps and additions:
Use any combination of veggies—capsicum, mushrooms, or even a handful of baby spinach stirred in at the end.
For dairy-free, gluten-free or allergy-friendly, simply pair with a suitable pasta. We love pulse pasta for babies and toddlers as its higher in iron and protein.
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