These leek and potato cakes are easy to make and you can get the kids involved in cooking this delicious recipe.
Leeks are a little milder than onions, so they are a great option for kids. They still have a lot of flavour and they are the perfect match for potatoes in this easy to make lunch or side dish.
When the end of the month grocery shop falls in the middle of the school holidays there are only two options. You can drag all four kids to the supermarket, or you can scrounge, and scrimp, and make do, until you can find a spare hour to shop on your own.
And because I’d rather have all my toe nails removed with pliers than take all four kids to do the big monthly grocery shop, I’m going with the second option. I am attempting to use up every last food item we have before I give in and do the shopping.
That means I have spent a fair bit of time in the kitchen over the past few days, because while we have plenty of food, it is mostly not of the ‘quick and easy’ variety. It’s more of the ‘make it from scratch’ variety. But that’s ok, I’m up for the challenge!
Here’s another easy lunch idea using leftovers…
Challenge number one – a kid-friendly lunch!
We have potatoes. We also have leeks and lots of herbs growing in our garden, and eggs from our chickens, so let’s combine all of those things and make – leek and potato cakes!
If you like these leek and potato cakes you might also like this delicious mashed potato cake recipe.
Preparing leek and potato cakes for lunch took a little longer than sandwiches or even our favourite bread and yogurt dip, but I roped the kids in to help which at least kept them occupied.
We used a food processor to grate the potatoes and chop the leek and herbs. Even little ones can help by pushing the button on the food processor, and they’ll love watching everything whizz around.
Older kids can help with cracking eggs, mixing all the ingredients together and spooning it into the muffin tin.
I think we filled our muffin pan a little too full so they took a while to cook, but these leek and potato cakes made a great lunch, and I’m pretty sure it was quicker to make these from scratch, than get all four kids in and out of the car, to the shops, and back again, and certainly more fun!
Easy and delicious leek and potato cakes.
Leek and Potato Cakes
Ingredients
Instructions
Please note: this recipe uses Australian measurements and temperatures, if you need to convert measurements or temperatures you can find our printable cooking conversion chart here.
Ooooooo, they look so yummeh. Might have to give them a try here!
What kind of cheese do you recommend for this recipe?
We used mozzarella because that’s what we had and we love, but you could use any kind of cheese that melts/heats well.
Thank you for the tip about the cheese. Did you skin the potatoes or leave the skins on?
I peeled the potatoes, but you could leave the skin on if you prefer.
They look so good! I might try them with sweet potato :-) Toasty cheese sandwiches get a bit same-same every day
Ooh, yummy. These would go down well at my house I think! Pinned to remember :)
Hello love your blog and love these mini cakes, made them for my boys and dad included they gobbled them up! Thought they also might be delicious with some fennel seeds included and would make a nice side for fish.
Thanks for the idea, with love from the UK x
Can I freeze the leeks and potatoes cakes?
I’ve not tried freezing them but I can’t see why you couldn’t freeze cooked ones. Let me know if you try it!
Yes you can. I make these frequently, although a slightly different recipe. I cook the potatoes and mash them. I gently fry the leeks in a little butter. I mix them together with some herbs, sometimes don’t bother with cheese. Add a beaten egg or some milk I just make them into patties, not in muffin pans, although that’s a good idea I might try next time. I freeze them after moulding them into patties and fry them when needed after defrosting them slightly. Sometimes I put them in the oven instead, straight out of the freezer, although they take longer to heat up that way. Use your imagination, there are so many versions – onions instead of leeks, sweet potatoes, just potatoes and cheese. Cook them right away or freeze them. Cook them in the oven or in the frypan or toaster oven.
FINALLY made these on the weekend and they were a hit! So easy and so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I’m going to make these for a brunch next week so I gave them a try yesterday…mmmmm. Very delicious!