Healthy Leek Recipes

Find healthy, delicious leek recipes including chicken and leeks, leek stew and leeks and vegetables. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Frittata with Asparagus, Leek & Ricotta

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In this quick asparagus frittata recipe, asparagus, leeks and ricotta combine to create a tasty meal that's perfect for spring.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Cheesy Zucchini Quiche

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This cheesy crustless zucchini quiche has plenty of leeks and zucchini enveloped in a light custard. Feta and fontina cheeses add a rich depth of flavor. Serve it for brunch or anytime you have extra zucchini on hand.
By Karen Rankin

Potato, Leek & Asparagus Soup

Rather than tossing your potato peels, asparagus stalks and leek tops, cook them down into this soup instead. Once tender, they'll blend right in. Plus, they contain prebiotic fiber to help feed the good bugs in your gut. We reserve the asparagus tips to pan-fry with peas for a bright green garnish.
By Adam Dolge

Spring Green Soup with Chicken

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Sautéing chicken in a little oil first (rather than poaching in the broth) creates some browned bits in the pan (aka fond) that give this green soup a richer flavor.
By Adam Dolge

Vegan Lentil Stew

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This comforting vegan lentil stew is incredibly satisfying thanks to hearty lentils and sweet potato. The leeks provide a savory allium note while the tomato paste, miso and cumin add bold flavor.
By Ali Ramee

Crispy Gnocchi Pasta with Tomatoes & Leeks

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These gnocchi are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside because you sauté them in hot oil. Plus, they leave a little fond (crispy brown bits) in the pan that adds toasty flavor to the tomato and leek sauce, which is cooked in the same pan. Since this easy gnocchi recipe calls for store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi, it's quick to prepare--just 20 minutes, start to finish. Opt for whole-wheat gnocchi to get 2 extra grams of fiber per serving compared to white. This easy and healthy dinner is easy to customize too: see Tips for variations with shrimp, pesto instead of butter, and pork chops instead of gnocchi.
By Adam Dolge

Cream of Broccoli Soup

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This simple and healthy cream of broccoli soup recipe gets its flavor from a mixture of aromatic vegetables, including leeks and celery. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender) gives it a smooth, creamy texture. Enjoy this easy homemade cream of broccoli soup as a comforting appetizer or pair it with a sandwich or salad for lunch or dinner.
By Marianne Williams

Creamy Artichoke Pasta

This creamy artichoke pasta uses lemon zest and parsley to balance the richness of the Parmesan cheese sauce. You can use frozen or canned artichoke hearts in this healthy pasta recipe.
By Karen Rankin

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms & Leeks

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The leeks get silky when they cook down in this luscious, tangy mustard sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes.
By Adam Dolge

Sautéed Leek Mashed Potatoes

In this healthy mashed potato recipe, we flavor the mashed potatoes with leeks lightly sautéed in butter and tangy buttermilk. These mashed potatoes are an amazing side to grilled steak or chicken.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spring Vegetable Minestra with Mint & Basil Pistou

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If you don't already stash Parmesan rinds in your freezer, look for them at a supermarket with a specialty cheese section—ask for them if they're not prepackaged. You'll need six to eight rinds.
By Bill Millholland

Chicken Ballotine with Creamy Leek & Chestnut Stuffing

This traditional French dish is delicious, impressive meal for when you are up for an extra challenge. We're not going to lie—deboning a chicken and rolling it into a ballotine takes time and skill. Our recommendation: get your butcher to debone the bird, then you can stuff and roll it.
By Nora Singley
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Inspiration and Ideas

Crab Bisque
This lighter version of crab bisque is still plenty rich and velvety thanks to lightly thickened half-and-half in place of the more traditional heavy cream. The crab topping with lemon and parsley makes this easy bisque company-worthy while helping to balance the flavors.
Baked Chicken with Onions & Leeks
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Baking pieces of chicken is one of the easiest ways to put a meal on the table for your family. This mustard-glazed chicken is roasted on a bed of sliced onions, leeks and garlic that you can serve alongside it.
Cheesy Mushroom, Leek & Prosciutto Toasts
Creamy Chicken & Asparagus Pasta

This creamy chicken and asparagus pasta is a quick, warming meal all cooked in one pot. The cream cheese adds a silky texture to the sauce, while fresh asparagus and lemon brighten the dish.

All Healthy Leek Recipes

Caramelized Leek Dip

Caramelized leeks, fresh scallions and chives give this French-onion-inspired dip a triple hit of allium flavor. Serve with crudités and potato chips.
By Laura Kanya

Leek & Potato Soup

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Our lightened version of classic potato-leek soup uses just a touch of reduced-fat sour cream to make it rich and creamy.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chickpea Soup

This chickpea soup gets a punch of heat from crushed red pepper as well as cayenne pepper in the Italian seasoning blend. If you want to scale back on the spice, consider omitting the crushed red pepper entirely. Serve with crusty bread.
By Julia Levy

Potato-Leek Tart with Gochujang & Honey

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Puff pastry is the perfect balance of crunchy and buttery for tarts like this one. Serve this potato-leek tart as a first course or alongside roast turkey instead of mashed potatoes.
By Nik Sharma

Chicken with Creamy Braised Leeks

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A touch of heavy cream, a few garlic cloves and thyme sprigs round out the flavor of tender braised leeks with chicken in this recipe. The rich, silky sauce is wonderful over whole-wheat egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Leeks grown in the garden and those that you find at the store can be vastly different in size. Garden leeks tend to be smaller, so if you're using leeks from the garden, make sure you pick enough to fill up the pan.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Bavarian Leek & Cabbage Soup

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This hearty German cabbage soup recipe is made healthy with tons of leeks, cabbage, greens, carrot and celery. If you can't find smoked bratwurst or kielbasa, chicken sausage or ham makes a good substitute.
By Bruce Aidells

Squash & Leek Lasagna

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Grated butternut squash, pine nuts and sautéed leeks in a creamy white sauce are layered with sheets of whole-wheat pasta for this wintery variation on a vegetable lasagna. Any Parmesan cheese can be used in this casserole, but we recommend Parmigiano-Reggiano for its superior flavor.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cauliflower Leek Soup

Turmeric adds color and a depth of flavor in this cauliflower leek soup, while fried leeks provide a textural contrast. Serve with crusty bread.
By Liv Dansky

Roasted Garlic & Leek Bread Casserole

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This stuffing-like vegetable-and-bread casserole recipe is inspired by the vegetable tians of Provence. The soaked stale bread binds leeks, nutty raclette cheese, abundant roasted garlic and thyme. Serve with roast chicken and a green salad to make a swoon-worthy meal.
By Emily Horton

Slow-Cooker Citrus Salmon with Melted Leeks

We've discovered the perfect pairing for this moist, lemony, slow-cooker salmon--slightly chewy leeks. Like other alliums, leeks become sweet and rich when roasted slowly for a long time. When cooked in the slow cooker they "melt," becoming jam-like but still retaining pleasant chewiness. Garnish with fresh sage leaves and thyme sprigs, if desired.

Six-Onion Soup with Parmesan Croutes

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Sixteen cups of sweet onions may look like a huge amount, but they cook way down to create this very aromatic and warming recipe reminiscent of French onion soup. Parmesan croutes are a lighter topping than the traditional blanket of bread and cheese.
By Kathy Gunst

Chicken Saute with Creamy Mushroom & Leek Sauce

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Here is one simple technique that guarantees juicy results every time. First, pound the chicken: making it thinner ensures quick and even cooking. Next, dredge the chicken lightly in seasoned flour, which helps it turn deep golden brown when sauteed. After the chicken is cooked, deglaze the skillet with broth, wine or a little water to make a pan sauce. The liquid loosens the flavor-boosting browned bits from the bottom of the pan, making a tastier sauce.
By Jim Romanoff

Vegan Potato-Leek Soup

This rustic vegan potato-leek soup proves you don't need cream to make a hearty soup. The recipe calls for two types of potato--red potatoes, which hold their shape and add color to the soup, and russet potatoes, which break down slightly when cooked, adding texture and body to the soup. And not only is this comforting soup vegan--it's also gluten-free. Serve with a salad and crusty bread for a healthy dinner.
By Robin Bashinsky

Potato, Leek & Goat Cheese Galette

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This galette recipe pairs very classic French flavors--sweet onions, thyme and tangy goat cheese--with creamy potatoes. A whole-wheat crust adds nutrition and also a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. This whole-wheat galette makes for a delicious light meal or a hearty side.
By Robin Bashinsky

Curried Pork Chops with Roasted Apples & Leeks

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In this healthy oven-baked pork chop recipe, roasted apples and leeks lend a sweet-and-tart note. If you always chop the dark green tops off your leeks, don't discard them this time--they have a delicious flavor and become meltingly tender when roasted.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Scallops with Crispy Leeks

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Herb-crusted scallops served with crispy baked leeks make an easy yet impressive dish to serve to friends. You may have seen “frizzled” or fried leeks on a restaurant menu before, but you might not guess how easy they are to make at home. Here we toss thinly sliced leeks with paprika- and garlic-seasoned flour and bake them until crispy. While the leeks bake you have time to sear the scallops. Serve with: Mashed potatoes and kale sautéed with garlic.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Leek, Asparagus & Herb Soup

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Like a bouquet of fresh vegetables, this light but soothing soup is just the thing on a cool spring evening. It is important to cut the green vegetables into small pieces so they cook quickly, while retaining their bright color.
By Marcy Goldman

Potato-Leek Bisque

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It's hard to believe how rich and creamy this potato-leek soup is even though there's not a drop of cream in it. Croutons topped with anchovy, olives and leek are a crunchy, savory foil to the soup. But skip them if you like and incorporate all the cooked leeks into the soup instead.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Slow-Roasted Salmon with Soy-Caramel Sauce, Carrot Puree & Crispy Leeks

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In this healthy salmon recipe, slow-roasting the fish at a lower heat creates a soft texture that's a nice contrast to the crispy leeks. Use the leftover oil from the leeks for salad dressing or to cook eggs.
By Becky Selengut

Slow-Cooker Carrot-Leek Bisque

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Creamy and delicate slow-cooker carrot soup is a welcome appetizer. The addition of millet--a whole grain similar to quinoa--adds body to the soup as well as protein and fiber. Garnish with additional black pepper, if desired.
By Cooking Light

Vegan Quiche

This vegan quiche looks remarkably like the real thing with melty vegan mozzarella cheese and tofu giving the quiche an egglike texture. Tofu is a blank slate, absorbing the savory flavor of nutritional yeast, and turmeric adds color.
By Paige Grandjean

Turkey & Leek Shepherd's Pie

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The mashed potato-covered shepherd's pie was originally created to use up the leftovers from a festive roast. This version blends peas, leeks and carrots with diced turkey, all in a creamy herb sauce. The dish is a perfect way to create a second meal with the holiday turkey but if you like, use leftover roast chicken, duck or goose.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chipotle & Corn Chowder

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The smoky flavor of the chipotle peppers in this recipe combines with corn to make a bordertown chowder with substance and sizzle; the Southwest at its best!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Veal Scaloppine with Lemon, Capers & Leeks

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This dish is elegant enough for company, yet easy enough to serve on a weeknight. Chicken or turkey cutlets could easily substitute for the veal, if you like.
By Victoria Abbott Riccardi
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