We’ve put together a couple of our best vegan recipes that use leek for you to enjoy. One new recipe, our vegan gnocchi and leek bake, and a second favourite, a creamy vegan potato leek soup. Both these easy vegan leek recipes are family favourites and make hearty meals from simple ingredients.
Our easy soup recipe is the best vegan soup we’ve made and is guaranteed to be on our table as soon as the temperatures drop. By the time we get into the winter months, we’re done with the summer salads and ready for more warming foods. Our gnocchi and leek bake is the ultimate comfort food for anyone following a plant-based diet and is the main dish we cover in this post.
Either of these recipes is a great choice for a cozy meal and if you want a go at the best potato leek soup you’ve ever had, scroll down to find an ingredients list and brief instructions, then follow the link to get the recipe card. We’ve included all you need to know, to make a gnocchi and leek bake on this page. From fresh herbs to butter-fried soft leeks, this dish has a depth of flavour that we love and is probably why it’s one of the main meals on our table the week we’re writing this.
VEGAN GNOCCHI AND LEEK BAKE
A couple of notes, not all gnocchi is vegan, you will need to check the packaging before you buy. If you are in the UK then you can get yours from the same place as us, at ASDA it’s made by a company called La Gnoccheria, which is the best name. If you’re living in the USA, look out for a brand called Gia Russa.
The same issues apply to bread crumbs, again for you UK shoppers, we used a supermarket brand from Tesco. If you don’t already have some in your cupboard, you’ll just need to check the packaging for a vegan logo when shopping for breadcrumbs.
Vegan Gnocchi and Leek Bake Ingredients
500 g Vegan gnocchi
100 g Kale (remove the stalks)
1 Vegetable stock cube
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Onion (diced)
2 Leeks (cut into 1 cm coins)
500 g Plant chicken breast (diced into 2 cm cubes)
200 g Mushrooms (roughly sliced)
25 g Plain flour
1/2 tsp English mustard powder
12 1/2 g Nutritional yeast
1/4 Bunch (7 g) fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
Ground salt and black pepper
3 Tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
How to Make Vegan Gnocchi and Leek Bake
1. First thing before starting your food prep you should set a large saucepan of water over a high heat to boil. Then you can start preparing your fresh ingredients. Grab handfuls of kale, then start pulling off the stalks from the leaves, and throw them into a bowl on a set of scales until you have 100 grams of de-stalked kale.
2. Next take a whole onion and peel it, then using a sharp knife, roughly dice it into relatively small pieces.
3. To prepare the leeks you should chop off the tough white root end and the dark green tops, this bit can be a bit stringy if you don’t trim the leaves from the dark green end. Give your leeks a good rinse under cold running water, and then cut your clean leeks into coins about half a centimetre thick. Set the leek and onion aside, you will fry them together later.
4. You can also take a 1/4 bunch (7 g) of flat-leaf parsley and roughly chop it, pulling out any thicker stems.
5. Finally to finish the prep, dice your plant chicken breasts into something close to 2 cm cubes.
6. As soon as the water on your stove is boiling add the 500 g of gnocchi. After a couple of minutes, add your kale to the saucepan of simmering gnocchi, and boil them together for another 2 minutes, by which time the gnocchi should have risen to the surface of the water.
7. The water you’ve cooked the gnocchi in, is packed with starch and perfect for making a gnocchi and leek bake sauce. Ladle 300 ml of water from the saucepan into a jug, stir in a vegetable stock cube until it has dissolved, then set aside. Now you can drain the remaining water from the gnocchi and kale.
8. Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5
9. Take a large frying pan and over medium heat, melt the 1 tablespoon of vegan butter and 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Once melted add the onion and leek pieces to the pan and fry them until they begin to soften, moving them around and making sure they’re all coated in the oil and butter and cooking evenly.
10. Now add the sliced mushrooms and chicken to the pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Keep stir-frying all of the ingredients in the pan until the plant chicken begins to brown slightly.
11. Next you’re going to start making the sauce in the pan. Begin by turning the heat down to medium-low and add the 25 g of plain flour to the frying pan, turning over the vegetables and protein in the flour for a minute until everything has a light coating. Now you can begin to add the vegetable stock slowly, all while stirring to avoid making a lumpy sauce. Once all 300 ml of the stock has been added to the pan you can turn the heat back up to high, bringing the vegetable stock to a boil.
12. Remove the frying pack from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped parsley, along with the nutritional yeast, mustard powder and ground salt and pepper to season. You can also now add the gnocchi and kale to the pan, combining them with the creamy sauce.
13. In a baking dish pour out all of the ingredients from the pan and spread everything out evenly. Then cover with 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, coating the raw bake before placing it into the oven for 20 minutes to cook until it has a crisp golden brown top.
Vegan Leek and Gnocchi Bake
Equipment
- 1 Large Saucepan
- 1 Large non-stick saucepan
- 1 Set of kitchen scales
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
- 1 oven dish
Ingredients
- 500 g Vegan gnocchi
- 100 g Kale remove the stalks
- 1 Vegetable stock cube
- 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter
- 1 Onion diced
- 2 Leeks cut into 1 cm coins
- 500 g Plant chicken breast diced into 2 cm cubes
- 200 g Mushrooms roughly sliced
- 25 g Plain flour
- 1/2 tsp English mustard powder
- 12 1/2 g Nutritional yeast
- 1/4 Bunch 7 g fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
- Ground salt and black pepper
- 3 Tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
Instructions
- First thing before starting your food prep you should set a large saucepan of water over a high heat to boil. Then you can start preparing your fresh ingredients. Grab handfuls of kale, then start pulling off the stalks from the leaves, and throw them into a bowl on a set of scales until you have 100 grams of de-stalked kale.
- Next take a whole onion and peel it, then using a sharp knife, roughly dice it into relatively small pieces.
- To prepare the leeks you should chop off the tough white root end and the dark green tops, this bit can be a bit stringy if you don’t trim the leaves from the dark green end. Give your leeks a good rinse under cold running water, and then cut your clean leeks into coins about half a centimetre thick. Set the leek and onion aside, you will fry them together later.
- You can also take a 1/4 bunch (7 g) of flat-leaf parsley and roughly chop it, pulling out any thicker stems.
- Finally to finish the prep, dice your plant chicken breasts into something close to 2 cm cubes.
- As soon as the water on your stove is boiling add the 500 g of gnocchi. After a couple of minutes, add your kale to the saucepan of simmering gnocchi, and boil them together for another 2 minutes, by which time the gnocchi should have risen to the surface of the water.
- The water you’ve cooked the gnocchi in, is packed with starch and perfect for making a gnocchi and leek bake sauce. Ladle 300 ml of water from the saucepan into a jug, stir in a vegetable stock cube until it has dissolved, then set aside. Now you can drain the remaining water from the gnocchi and kale.
- Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5
- Take a large frying pan and over medium heat, melt the 1 tablespoon of vegan butter and 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Once melted add the onion and leek pieces to the pan and fry them until they begin to soften, moving them around and making sure they’re all coated in the oil and butter and cooking evenly.
- Now add the sliced mushrooms and chicken to the pan and turn the heat up to medium-high. Keep stir-frying all of the ingredients in the pan until the plant chicken begins to brown slightly.
- Next you’re going to start making the sauce in the pan. Begin by turning the heat down to medium-low and add the 25 g of plain flour to the frying pan, turning over the vegetables and protein in the flour for a minute until everything has a light coating. Now you can begin to add the vegetable stock slowly, all while stirring to avoid making a lumpy sauce. Once all 300 ml of the stock has been added to the pan you can turn the heat back up to high, bringing the vegetable stock to a boil.
- Remove the frying pack from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped parsley, along with the nutritional yeast, mustard powder and ground salt and pepper to season. You can also now add the gnocchi and kale to the pan, combining them with the creamy sauce.
- In a baking dish pour out all of the ingredients from the pan and spread everything out evenly. Then cover with 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, coating the raw bake before placing it into the oven for 20 minutes to cook until it has a crisp golden brown top.
Vegan Leek and Potato Soup
Vegan Leek and Potato Soup Ingredients
500 g Potatoes (all-purpose baking potato)
500 g Leeks
2 tsp Minced garlic cloves
600 ml Vegetable stock
400 ml Can of coconut milk
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Whole nutmeg (to grate)
Ground salt and black pepper (to taste)
How to Make a Vegan Leek and Potato Soup
1. To start making your leek and potato soup peel and chop 500 g of potatoes into roughly 1-inch cubes.
2. To prepare the leeks clean them thoroughly under cold running water. Then chop off the dark green parts of the leek leaves (the top couple of inches) and the very end part of the leek (the chopped white part. Next, slice the leeks into thin coins making them easier to blend.
3. Now make 600 ml of vegetable stock and set it aside.
4. Place a stock pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil, your chopped leeks and 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. While stirring cook the leeks and garlic until the leeks begin to soften but without browning the garlic.
5. Next pour in the vegetable stock and diced potatoes, then put a lid on the pot and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes slide straight off a sharp knife if you pierce one.
6. Season the stock and vegetables with a few shavings of nutmeg and freshly ground salt and pepper. After the seasonings, pour 400 ml of coconut milk into the pot and stir everything together.
7. Using an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients down to a soup-like consistency of your choosing, you can leave some chunks for texture or blend it for longer for a smooth soup. Finally, add any extra seasonings to your taste and then serve warm.
You can download the recipe card and read the full blog post for our Vegan Leek and Potato Soup here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are leeks and green onions the same?
While leeks are part of the onion family they are the same genus but are different species. They do not produce a bulb, like a green onion. They also have a much milder taste, although it is still quite onion-like.
What side dish goes well with a gnocchi and leek bake?
Any fresh steamed vegetables with a less strong flavour would work well. Consider some tender-stem broccoli or new potatoes.
