The Best Vegan Leek Tart Recipe - thinlyspread.co.uk (2024)

This easy cheesy vegan leek tart will tantalise your taste buds, one slice will almost certainly lead to another!

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There is nothing I enjoy more in my kitchen than creating a plant-based recipe that easily stands up to its dairy-based alternative. This recipe for leek tart replaces eggs and dairy in one fell swoop without compromising taste or texture.

Prepare your senses for a savoury, creamy and utterly delicious culinary delight with a vegan twist!

Essential Ingredients for a Vegan Leek Tart

For a full, printable recipe please scroll to the bottom of this post. For more in-depth information, tips and tricks, read on!

Using Leeks in a Savoury Vegan Tart

The unique and delicate flavour of leek adds a mild onion-like taste to dishes. They offer a subtle sweetness and a hint of earthiness, making them a super versatile ingredient.

I use leeks in curries, soups, stews, pies and quiches. They taste fab, braised, as a side dish or in a creamy sauce with pasta.

Leeks often take a back seat in recipes, boosting the flavour profile of the main turn, here they are the star of the show.

They complement the richness of this tart filling, making them a perfect choice for this recipe!

Plant-Based Pastry Crust Options

Homemade vs Shop Bought Pastry

You can make it easy on yourself (as I do more often than not) and use ready-made shop-bought shortcrust for this tart. It works well as a pastry shell for both sweet and savoury recipes. Most pre-made shortcrust is vegan but do check the ingredients list to be sure.

However, if you have a bit more time, experimenting with homemade crusts can be very rewarding! Making your own pastry allows you to control the ingredients and tailor it to your personal tastes.

This particular vegan tart is lifted to a higher plain if you make your own thyme flavoured shortcrust. Full of herby flavour it pairs really well with those delicious leeks.

Creamy Vegan Tart Fillings

There are lots of ways to make a creamy filling for vegan tarts and quiches.

• Cashews, soaked and blended to a thick cream are fabulous in savoury or sweet vegan treats.
• If you want a soy-free filling you can use gram flour to make a chickpea batter. This one works well with ripe tomatoes and summer veg – I’ll write that particular recipe up soon!
• Hummus makes a super quick and easy tart filling whether you use a shop-bought tub or make your own. You can see it in my Hummus and Carrot Tart with Caramelised Onions.

For this recipe, I have used silken tofu. Rich and sumptuously creamy, it is the perfect pairing with leeks and cheese.

Vegan Cheese Choices

There are so many vegan cheese options available now – long gone are the days of rubbery cheese substitutes that smelled like old socks!

I think it is important to use a cheese alternative that you like in this recipe so use your favourite or try the flavour of a new one before committing it to your tart.

I used grated Vegan Cathedral City which has a punchy flavour but Applewood smoked vegan cheese would be another of my favourites for cooking.

You could also add a bit of vegan cream cheese to the tofu as I did for my mushroom quiche, I used Violife for that one but you could really push the boat out and make your own cream cheese as I do at Christmas!

Extra Flavours

I didn’t want to overwhelm the lovely leeks in my tart so I chose fresh thyme, wholegrainmustard and a little nutmegto enhance their flavour without taking over completely.

I also only used a little grated cheese – if you want a cheesier vegan tart add more to taste! Of course, the beauty of an eggless savoury tart is that you can taste the filling before cooking and adjust to taste!

Some alternative flavours are:

• a little chopped sage, dill, tarragon or parsley
• some chopped chives to up the oniony flavour
• nutritional yeast to boost cheesiness
• crushed garlic

Tips and Tricks for Making a Leek Tart

Pastry

The method for making a successful vegan shortcrust is exactly the same as the method for its dairy-based alternative.

Full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post but these tips will help you make a crisp pastry shell with no soggy bottom!

• It is super important to make sure your plant-based fat is well chilled. I freeze mine for 30 minutes before use.
• It’s also important that you handle the pastry as little as possible as you bring it together into a dough. Hot hands can be a problem so run them under a cold tap and dry well if necessary.
• Let your pastry rest before using it, and again after you line your tart tin. This helps prevent shrinkage when you cook it.
• Baking a pastry shell ‘blind’ simply means that you bake it before adding your filling. This helps to avoid that soggy bottom!

Leek Filling

• Leeks hang on to the soil they grew in, hiding it between their lovely layers. Make sure you wash them well by trimming off the root end and the very top of the green leaves. Slice them lengthways and rinse them under running water.
• There is lots of flavour in the green tops so use all but the very tips of the leek in your filling.
• Gently sauteing them in a little plant-based butter and then popping the lid on and letting them steam gently in their own juices releases all that lovely sweetness and makes them silky soft for this dish.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning in the filling before baking – you may like more salt than I do and I usually add more mustard than this recipe suggests because we love it! Add more if you do too.

FAQs

Can I Freeze Leek Tart?

Yes, you can. Ensure it is well-wrapped to prevent freezer burn and label it with the date for easy reference. When ready to eat, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven until warmed through.

How Long Will a Vegan Quiche or Tart Stay Fresh?

The tart is best enjoyed within 2 to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. However, be aware that the crust may lose some of its crispness over time.

You Might Also Like

If you are in a tarty mood you might also like these recipes:

• Easy Vegan Quiche with Mushrooms
• Aubergine Pizza with Peppers and Tomatoes
• Vegan Tart with Roasted Veg and Smoked Garlic
• Hummus and Carrot Tart with Caramelised Onions

And if you have more leeks than you can shake a stick at you might like these recipes

• Leek and Mushroom Pie
• Butter Bean Stew
• Vegan Fish Pie

Serving Suggestions for Leek Tart

This richly flavoured leek tart is delicious as part of a hot meal or cold for a summer lunch or picnic. Serve it with buttery new potatoes and new season’s peas as I have or with a crisp, refreshing salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette.