Leek

37 Leek Recipes That Will Change Your Onion Outlook 

What happens when you taste these sweet leek-packed pastas, tarts, and soups? You melt.
Leek and potato galette with pistachio crust on a piece of parchment paper.
Photo by Shay Harrington

Tender green and white leeks can elevate or perfume any dish that calls for onions, chives, shallots, or even garlic, but these leek recipes really help the allium shine. While there's nothing wrong with a basic white onion, leeks offer a delicate, subtly earthy flavor and freshness to whatever you're cooking, whether you're looking to fry, sauté, roast, poach, boil, or even burn them. Leeks can stand alone and absorb all the attention—think leek soup, cheesy leeks, roasted leeks, and mor). But know this: Before you start cooking, make sure your leeks are carefully cleaned and rinsed of grit. (A salad spinner can be handy for drying them off.) Read on for all the leek recipe inspiration you need.

  • Steamed dinner of eggs leeks potatoes and broccoli in a bowl.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    1/37

    Steamed Winter Veggie Bowls

    Steaming vegetables isn't the flashiest cooking technique, but it truly lets veggies become their best selves. Here, they get a little help from sherry vinegar, honey, and cayenne. File this dish under the best leek recipes to try whenever you get your hands on some nice ones at the market.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Frances Boswell
    2/37

    Braised Leeks, Peas, and Lettuce

    Braising may sound like a winter move, but this delicate spring braise will bring something fresh and nuanced to your table. Have a salad another time, and cook your lettuce with leeks tonight.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Simon Andrews
    3/37

    Spring Greens and Leek Gratin

    The contents of this cast iron skillet demonstrate the best way to eat your greens: with creamy, cheesy leeks, of course! 

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  • Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    4/37

    Glazed Leeks With Pine Nut Salsa Verde

    This is a great side dish to help you get to know leeks more intimately. They're brought to life with a nutty, herby salsa verde and spiked with a little honey-sweetened sherry vinegar. 

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  • Photo by Shay Harrington
    5/37

    Leek and Potato Galette With Pistachio Crust

    Few things go together as well as humble leeks, potatoes, and goat cheese. But the ground pistachios in the crust make this galette truly luxe.  

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    6/37

    Leeks in Vinaigrette with Walnuts and Tarragon

    If you want to show off that you know your way around a leek, make this riff on a classic leeks in vinaigrette. Cooking the leeks in boiling salted water, like pasta, gets you where you want to go: to melty leek town.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    7/37

    Spring Pea Fish Chowder

    What makes this fish chowder sing is its leek backbone. Every bowl is fragrant with sweet alliums, and the broth is infused with their subtle flavor.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    8/37

    Charred Leeks With Honey and Vinegar

    Sometimes you want to burn your dinner on purpose. Alliums (plants in the onion family, such as leeks) are among the group of ingredients that really benefit from a good char on a grill. Their exteriors become potato chip-like, while their interiors become almost creamy.  

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    9/37

    Chicken and Rice With Leeks and Salsa Verde

    This one-skillet meal shows what leeks can do for chicken and rice, but it's the deeply savory anchovy-garlic-caper salsa, and the hit of lemon juice before serving that boosts this dish toward lift-off. 

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  • Photo by Jim Henkens
    10/37

    Leek-Top Baking-Sheet Hash

    This recipe highlights one of the most under-utilized greens: leek tops. If you're trying to get more bang for your buck and cut down on waste in the kitchen, keep this one in your back pocket.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, prop styling by Brian Heiser, food styling by Rhoda Boone
    11/37

    Crispy Potato-Leek Kugel

    If you think about it, kugel is basically a giant tater tot. With the addition of leeks, this one really gives you a reason to celebrate. 

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    12/37

    White Pizza With Shaved Vegetables and Pesto

    The perfect spring pizza has a pesto and ricotta base and thinly sliced half moons of leeks. Add peppery watercress and fragrant basil just before serving.

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  • Photo by Romulo Yanes
    13/37

    Leeks Vinaigrette

    These buttery leeks were designed to be a side dish. The only problem? They often steal the spotlight from the entree.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Judy Mancini
    14/37

    Fall Squash and Leek Bread Pudding

    You can simplify this side dish by using just one cheese, but the blend of all three will earn it (and you!) celebrity status.

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  • Photo by David Loftus
    15/37

    Bubble and Squeak With Stilton

    Leeks add sweetness and flavor to the Stilton-spiked mix of leftover cooked potatoes, leftover cooked carrots, and leftover cooked brussels sprouts.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    16/37

    Creamy Potato and Leek Gratin

    Cutting leeks into large pieces gives them a presence equal to disks of potato, while cooking the vegetables separately before combining—the leeks are braised in butter, the spuds are simmered in milk and cream—preserves their distinct flavors.

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  • 35/37

    Charred Onion Dip

    Broiled shallot, leek, and scallions deliver a triple-onion punch to this creamy buttermilk-based dip. You'll never go back to something that started in a packet.

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  • Michael Spain-Smith
    36/37

    Vegetable Stock

    This all-purpose, all-season stock recipe is a go-to for any vegetarian dish, so make a big batch and freeze it for later. You don't need to peel any of the vegetables; just wash them carefully.

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  • Christopher Baker
    37/37

    Olive Oil-Roasted Leeks

    How good are leeks? So good you only need olive oil to do them justice. This is the definitive dish among leek recipes and an easy add-on to your repertoire. 

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