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    Home » Recipes

    Oven Baked Lamb and Rice Dish

    Published: Apr 1, 2022 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

    • 74
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    This Mediterranean oven baked Lamb and Rice dish is a one pot wonder!! I love making this dish at home for big holidays like Easter. In my native language (Albanian), we call this dish “Pilaf me mish qingji ne furrë“. I’ve kept the below recipe simple, but there are so many variations to this old fashioned recipe that I have added some suggestions below on how you can spruce it up as well:).

    Baked lamb and rice on a Dutch oven, lid is on the side and a towel on the other side of the dish.
    Baked Lamb and Rice Dish

    What Type of Lamb Can Be Used With This Dish?

    There are so many options you can use. I highly recommend that you use pieces of lamb that have some bone in. The bone will give so much more flavors to the whole casserole.

    My favorite cuts are loin chops, shoulder chop, lamb shank, lamb leg with bone in etc etc. Lamb rack does have bone in, but I prefer grilling the chops from the lamb rack instead of baking them with rice.

    Ingredients need to cook the lamb/rice baked casserole: lamb chops, rice, olive oil, rosemary, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, peppercorn.
    Ingredients

    Rice For Baked Dishes

    I love baking rice with other ingredients. One of my most visited recipes is this Baked Chicken Drumsticks with Rice Casserole. Usually I use white rice for baking, I tend to alternate between basmati or jasmine rice.

    I don’t use brown rice for baking because balance of picking the right amount of liquid is a bit more delicate. Also, I don’t use short grain rice for this dish either.

    A blue dutch oven with a lamb/rice casserole shown next to a big, colorful salad and a tzatziki bowl.
    Lamb Casserole with Side Dishes

    How To Serve Baked Lamb and Rice?

    I love serving this baked lamb and rice dish with mostly Mediterranean side dishes. Pick a salad with lots of vinegar or lemon as well as yogurt side dishes. Both yogurt and acidity from salads help cut through the grease from lamb. These side dishes will balance the meal and flavors.

    In Albania sometimes we serve a small bowl of yogurt, plain yogurt as a side dish. It’s very commonly used across the country.

    An oval platter served with lamb meat, rice, salad and a tzatziki small container on the side of the platter.
    Platter with Lamb, Rice, Tzatziki and Salad

    Variations for this Casserole Recipe

    My goal with this blog is to record some old fashioned recipes that I learned from my mom and grandparents to hand over to my kids one day. Some of these recipes have evolved with time and have gotten more sophisticated with more ingredients and different cooking methods.

    You can add these ingredients to the casserole:

    • onions or leeks
    • carrots
    • green peas
    • more seasonings to taste
    • Several Greek recipes include 1-2 cloves when you boil the lamb

    Also, you can cook the rice in stovetop instead of baking. Cook lamb like you would normally cook it. Then reserve the stock to make the rice with it. You can proceed to just broil the lamb briefly to give it some color on the outer layer. Then serve together with the rice and regular side dishes.

    Additional Tips & Notes

    There are some additional tips I would like to add in addition to recipe instructions below.

    • If you are using white rice, like basmati or jasmine, you need to use double liquid quantities to amount of rice.
    • Make sure to not use a too small baking dish to bake this casserole. Rice grows in volume, so it can spill over if you use a small dish.
    • Cook the lamb in low heat for a long time. This is not grilling where most people cook the lamb medium rare etc. You want to cook the lamb to the point where it looks like it will fall from the bones. Slow cooking is best! If you don’t cook it long enough, lamb meat can be like leather.
    • Lamb stock can be too flavorful for some. I love it and use all of it in rice, however some people find it too strong. In that case use half lamb stock and half water to create the liquid you would need to bake the rice.
    Browning lamb meat in dutch oven
    Browning Lamb Loin Chops
    Slow cooking lamb meat in dutch oven
    Slow Cooking Lamb Meat
    Browning and Cooking Lamb
    A blue, oval Dutch Oven showcasing a baked casserole with lamb and rice.

    Oven Baked Lamb and Rice Dish

    Sonila
    This Oven Baked Lamb and Rice Dish is a favorite Mediterranean, one pot meal!! I use a Dutch oven to cook the lamb then bake the rice and lamb together.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 35 minutes mins
    Cooking Lamb 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Albanian, Mediterranean
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 1018 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Oval Dutch Oven 5.5 Qt

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 lbs lamb loin chops
    • 2 cups white rice most commonly used are basmati or jasmine
    • 4 tbsps olive oil, divided extra virgin
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 10 peppercorn
    • 2 sprigs rosemary
    • 5 cups water more if needed later
    • 1 tbsp oregano
    • 1 tbsp Mediterranean Sea Salt
    • 0.5 tbsp black pepper
    • 4 garlic cloves

    Instructions
     

    • Season lamb on both sides with salt and pepper, be generous. If you like a lot of garlic you can add some minced garlic in this step in addition to the one you'll use below.
    • Add about 2 tbsps of olive oil on the Dutch Oven, heat and then add the lamb loin chops. Brown lamb on both sides, few minutes each side.
    • Add 5 cups of water to lamb once it is browned. Add oregano, rosemary, peppercorn, bay leaves. Turn heat to low once the water boil and cover the pot. I usually let cook in low heat for over an hour. You want the lamb meat to look like it's falling off the bones. Don't increase the temperature to speed up the process. It has to slow cook in the Dutch Oven.
    • Once lamb is cooked, remove lamb pieces with a slotted spoon and place on a platter. Pour the stock through a metal strainer and reserve the stock on the side, discard the pieces stack on the strainer. At this point also start preheating oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Add remaining 2 tbsps of olive oil in the Dutch oven, place it on stovetop in medium heat. Add garlic cloves and saute until they become golden and aromatice. Add rice and toast it with garlic and oil until it is all translucent.
    • Remove from heat. Use measuring cups to add lamb stock to the dutch oven. If you added 2 cups of rice, then you need to add 4 cups of liquid. Measure the lamb stock and add over rice. If you have 4 cups of lamb stock, that's great. If it's not enough, then supplement with water until you add 4 cups of liquid to Dutch Oven. Add more salt if needed.
    • Finally add lamb loin chops back over rice and stock, nestle them in. Bake for at least 30 minutes, check at that point that all liquid has been absorbed. Serve with your favorite side dishes.

    Video

    Notes

    • If there are leftover, you can store in refrigerator to reheat again in few days. Use an airtight container with lid. 

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Oven Baked Lamb and Rice Dish
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 1018 Calories from Fat 630
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 70g108%
    Saturated Fat 28g175%
    Monounsaturated Fat 32g
    Cholesterol 168mg56%
    Sodium 1304mg57%
    Potassium 584mg17%
    Carbohydrates 51g17%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 42g84%
    Vitamin A 21IU0%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 79mg8%
    Iron 5mg28%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 1018kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 42gFat: 70gSaturated Fat: 28gMonounsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 168mgSodium: 1304mgPotassium: 584mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 21IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 5mg
    Keyword baked lamb and rice, lamb and rice, lamb recipes, mish qingji me pilaf
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save the below image to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or feel free to tag me in social media with your pictures of this recipe of variations of it:).

    Thank you!!

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    A blue, oval Dutch Oven showing baked lamb and rice casserole. The lid on the side and on the other side there's a kitchen towel.
    Baked Lamb and Rice in Dutch Oven

    Other Lamb Recipes

    I grew up in the Mediterranean and we love lamb meat. I also lived for a little while in New Zealand and lamb meat there is amazing as well. So no wonder I tend to cook it occasionally for my family too (hopefully one day my kids would love it like I do).

    • Baked Lamb and Yogurt (Albanian Tavë Kosi)
    • Cast Iron Grilled Lamb Chops

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    • 74

    Filed Under: Albanian, Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes Tagged With: Lamb, rice

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mark

      October 17, 2023 at 4:25 pm

      Is it necessary to bake the rice? Can it be done on the cooktop?

      Reply
      • Sonila

        October 18, 2023 at 5:49 pm

        Hi Mark, you can cook same recipe over the stovetop. This is just a variation typical in the Mediterranean. Another variation would be to cook rice in the stovetop and bake just the lamb then serve them together. It’s up to you which one you like to cook based on what’s easier.

        Reply
    2. Jason Argon

      November 02, 2022 at 1:39 pm

      You are great!!According to my late Greek mother this is a “crash test” dish for cooking abilities ,because you are not supposed to add water -as we do with orzo-during cooking and the rice must be come out moist from the top to the bottom of the pan.She was using also arborio rice and dill. At the end she was adding ghee from sheep.
      She was making it also with kokoretsi and plenty of fennel.The rice was tasing better than the kokoretsi!

      Reply
    3. Jaclyn

      September 21, 2022 at 7:25 pm

      Have to leave a comment because I absolutely love this dish! My husband is Albanian and this just transports him to being back home. Such an easy to make, simple and delicious dish. Thanks for this!

      Reply
      • Sonila

        September 22, 2022 at 9:13 am

        Thank you so much Jaclyn!! I really appreciate your comment:))). It does the same for me, it reminds me of back home. All the best and thank you again for the feedback:)

        Reply

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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