Baked Lamb Chops

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Tender and flavorful baked lamb chops with potatoes and rosemary, this is one of my favorite dishes in spring.

Lamb Chops in the Oven

Baked lamb chops with potatoes and rosemary, quick and delicious dinner for the family or for guests. A great Easter lunch idea as well, if you are not keen on cooking a whole leg of lamb, which is always amazing but a tad too much if you only have a small family.

I love lamb, I love its distinctive flavor, the tenderness, the stickiness of a slow-cooked shoulder, I like the fact that it celebrates spring, that it reminds me of my teenage days, of bright and breezy spring days, of spring flowers and so on.

I cook lamb fairly often, not as often as chicken, beef or pork, but often enough. It is usually a leg or a shoulder of lamb for Easter or for guests, a nice lamb stew whenever my son remembers it and wishes me to cook it again and from time to time these amazing lamb chops with potatoes in the oven.

Not that any of the other recipes are difficult to make, but they do require more time, a lot more time than I need to make these quick chops. And they are, of course, much more expensive.

How to bake lamb chops in the oven?

This recipe is super easy, super quick and not overly expensive.

What do you need?

Lamb chops:

There are 3 types of lamb chops:

• The rib chops: expensive, very small and very tender. You can recognize them by the long thin bone extending from the very small amount of meat. I have only eaten those in restaurants, as they would make a super expensive and insufficient family dinner.
• Loin chops: still rather pricey, but less than the above-mentioned. Full of flavor and utterly delicious! They are the ones I buy most of the time.
• Shoulder chops: less expensive and delicious as well, I think they have the most flavor of them all. They are less tender and require a slightly longer cooking time and a few minutes resting time before serving.

To make today’s recipe I have successfully used both loin chops and shoulder chops, never rib chops.

Other ingredients: potatoes, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and some spices.

Steps:

Marinate the chops:

• The lamb chops will be marinated for about 1 hour at room temperature.
• They should be at room temperature before baking, so there will be no need to refrigerate them during this hour.
• However, if for some reason you cannot cook them after one hour, then do refrigerate them and let them come to room temperature again before baking.
• Mix together the olive oil, chopped rosemary, grated garlic and some salt and pepper in a large dish.
• Place the chops in the marinade in one layer and turn a few times in the liquid to coat all over.
• Turn a couple of times during the marinating time.

Bake:

• Start with the potatoes as they will need a longer cooking time.
• Cut into wedges, rub with olive oil, paprika, dried rosemary, salt and pepper and place on a large baking tray in a single layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven until half-done, about 15-20 minutes.
• Add the meat and continue baking.

How long to bake lamb chops?

• The lamb chops you will need are pretty small, about 150 g/ 5.3 oz each, about 1 cm/ 0.4 inch thick.
• The size is important for calculating the right baking time.
• If they are smaller reduce the roasting time if they are larger increase it slightly.
• For pink lamb chops bake for 15 minutes.
• For well-done chops, add 3 to 5 minutes to the baking time.
• If your lamb chops are thinner, check them sooner, you should not overcook them.

To make sure that you cook the lamb chops to your liking, it is best to use a digital meat thermometer. This is especially important if your lamb chops are cut thicker or thinner than mine.

• Rare: 48 degrees Celsius/ 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Medium-rare: 52 degrees Celsius/ 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Medium: 55 degrees Celsius/ 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Well-done: 62 degrees Celsius/ 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

What to serve?

Well, the potatoes are already included in the recipe, so you will not need any other starchy side dishes.

As you can see in the picture, I love serving the lamb with Brussels sprouts either cooked in salted water (don’t let them become mushy) or roasted as well (if your oven allows it).

Green beans are always great to pair with any kind of lamb dish. Try a healthier green bean casserole or French-style green beans. So good!

Roasted carrots or cauliflower or a simple chopped salad with mint are great choices as well.

More potato and meat recipes?

One-Pot Chicken and Potatoes – Incredibly creamy one-pan chicken and potato gratin using only three main ingredients: chicken quarters, potatoes and cream.

Potato Moussaka – A delicious, typical Romanian recipe: potato moussaka cooked with only two main ingredients: potatoes and ground meat.  

Baked Pork Chops and Potatoes – Quick and delicious: spicy and tender baked pork chops and potatoes – a perfect sheet pan meal after a long and busy day.

Pork and Potato Stew – A hearty and comforting Hungarian goulash with pork, potatoes, red bell peppers and lots of paprika powder.

Roasted Chicken Thighs and Potatoes – The easiest way of roasting crispy chicken thighs in the oven.