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You will love the fresh, earthy flavors of my Creamy Leek Sauce with Chicken! This sauce uses simple ingredients and comes together in just 25 minutes.
You can pair this comforting sauce with more than just chicken - it's delicious with pork chops, steak, chicken breasts, pasta, and veggies! This is a sauce you will make again and again!
Jump to:
- Best Leek Sauce
- Leeks Sauce Ingredients
- How to Make Leek Sauce
- Creamy Leek Sauce Recipe Tips
- Leeks Sauce FAQs
- How to Cut Leeks
- How to Clean Leeks
- What can I substitute for leeks?
- Can you freeze leek sauce?
- What to Serve with Leeks Sauce
- Chicken and Leek Recipes
- Easy Chicken Sauce Recipes
- 📌 Pin it for later!
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Best Leek Sauce
I love using leeks to make a sauce or even as a vegetable base in casseroles and bakes. This simple vegetable can really elevate the flavor of so many savory dishes, and when you make it into a sauce, it adds just the right amount of sharp and sweet onion flavor to any dish!
This is the type of sauce where it is best to use meat drippings as the base. Whether it is pork, chicken, steak, or even vegetables, the lovely golden brown bits on the bottom of a pan transforms this into a crave-worthy sauce.
The second-star ingredient in this sauce is tarragon. Tarragon is a slightly bittersweet herb often compared to fennel, anise, and licorice. When tarragon is cooked, it loses some of its pungent qualities, giving it a slightly sweet depth of flavor and warming quality. There truly is nothing like the fabulous combination of tarragon and leeks!
Leeks Sauce Ingredients
- Juice from half a lemon
- Butter
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Flour
- Chicken stock or chicken broth
- Milk
- Ground mustard
- Sour cream
- Fresh tarragon leaves
How to Make Leek Sauce
The best way to make this sauce is to start with meat drippings. Usually I will pan-sear chicken breasts, pork chops, steak, or veggies (especially portabella mushrooms) in the same skillet I make the sauce in.
After the meat has been seared, I remove it from the pan, make the sauce, then lower the heat and add the meat back in the pan and simmer for 20 minutes (to finish cooking the meat).
If you want to make the sauce without using meat drippings, you can; just make sure you cook the leeks in some form of fat. I typically use 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter!
- If using meat drippings, remove the meat and lower the heat to medium. If not using meat drippings, heat a large frying pan to medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add leeks to the skillet. Make sure to move the leeks around in order for them not to burn.
- While the leeks are cooking add some finely chopped garlic and stir in well. Once the leeks have softened, stir in flour and then gradually add the stock and milk.
- When the broth starts to simmer, turn the heat to low and allow the sauce to thicken, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, you can also add your protein back to the pan to cook it in the sauce.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add ground mustard and sour cream into the chicken and leek sauce.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish by stirring in some fresh tarragon leaves.
Creamy Leek Sauce Recipe Tips
- When you are selecting leeks to use in a recipe, look for ones more white in the middle (the stalk) than green. The dark green parts of a leak (including the leaves) are very fibrous and inedible.
- Always clean your leeks before and after they are sliced. It is important to thoroughly rinse leeks to remove excess dirt and sand.
- This is a fantastic recipe base for other chicken and leek recipes, including chicken and leek pie, leek and chicken pasta, or even chicken and leek soup!
- If not using meat drippings for this recipe, simply substitute 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Leeks Sauce FAQs
A leek is a tall and slender green vegetable with a tightly wound white stalk at the base, which opens up to lush dark green leaves at the top. Leeks are essentially an overgrown green onion, but with a more mild and sweet flavor. The edible part of a leek is the portion of the stalk between the base and fibrous green leaves.
Though similar in look and flavor, technically leeks are a different variety of onions. Typically, green onions are smaller and sold in bunches while leeks are sold individually. The flavor of green onions is sharper and tends to be stronger than leeks, which have a milder and sweeter flavor.
Leeks sauce with chicken is best stored in an airtight sealed container and lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
When working with cream-based sauces, it is important to monitor heat levels and to always keep a whisk close by. You want your heat to be around medium and the sauce should bubble gently (not vigorously). Make sure to fully incorporate the stock and milk into the sauce, taking time to whisk as you slowly add the liquid to the thickening agent.
Tarragon has a very specific flavor when combines with leeks, so the flavor profile won't be quite the same, but if you can't find or do not care for tarragon you can use fresh basil, thyme, or parsley!
How to Cut Leeks
- Place the leek on a secured cutting board.
- Cut the root end of the leek off and discard.
- Look for the cross-section where the dark green leaves at the top of the leek meet the white part of the stalk and cut them here, discarding the leaves.
- Now the tender part of the leek (the edible part) is ready to chop! For easier cleaning, cut the leek in half lengthwise, then thinly slice the leek (creating a "half-moon" shape).
- Some recipes will tell you to simply slice the leek, which will give you round shapes.
Always clean your leeks after chopping!
How to Clean Leeks
Leeks are fantastic vegetables to cook with, but it is important to note they grow deep in the ground, typically in sandy areas, so it is important to thoroughly clean them before cooking with them! Here's how I do it:
- Rinse the leeks under cold water right before using them. Be sure to give them a good scrub on the outside. You may even want to peel a few layers back depending on how they look.
- Cut the leeks according to the above instructions.
- Place the chopped leeks into a bowl and fill with cold water.
- Wait for just a second to allow the leeks to float to the surface.
- Using clean hands, gently dislodge any excess dirt by rubbing the chopped leeks between your fingers.
What can I substitute for leeks?
Leeks are an incredible vegetable packed with wonderful onion flavor! If you can't find leeks in your local produce section, the best substitute I have found is sweet Vidalia onions.
Don't be tempted to use scallions or green onions instead of leeks. The flavor is not quite the same, and they will not cook the way leeks do.
If substituting the leeks for Vidalia onions, simply slice them into rounds and cook them the same way you would the leeks. I use 2 small Vidalia onions in place of leeks in this recipe.
Can you freeze leek sauce?
Cream-based sauces do hold up in the freezer, but it is important to note the freezing process can slightly alter the texture of the sauce. Here is how I freeze creamy sauces like this chicken and leeks sauce recipe:
- After the sauce has cooled completely, add it to a freezer bag or airtight container. Label and date the outside of the container.
- Keep the sauce in the freezer for up to 4 months. When ready to thaw, place the sauce in the refrigerator overnight.
- Gently reheat by placing the sauce in a pan over low heat until completely heated through, whisking occasionally.
- If using a microwave, reheat on high using 10-15 second intervals, stirring each time until heated through.
What to Serve with Leeks Sauce
Chicken leek sauce is fabulous when made with meat drippings, which I simply sear in a large frying pan before I make the rest of the sauce. Then, I like to serve this with a piping hot bowl of mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta! Here are some of my favorite combinations:
- Pan-seared Chicken Breasts
- New York Strip Steak
- Sous Vide Salmon
- Portobello Mushrooms
- Bone-in Pork Chops
- Fresh Vegetable Medley
Chicken and Leek Recipes
Chicken and leeks are a classic flavor combination, and the variety of chicken and leek recipes is endless! I have used this sauce as the base for so many other recipes. Here are a few to try:
- Chicken and Leek Pasta
- Chicken and Leek Pie
- Chicken and Leek Soup (try Chicken and Leek Chili!)
- Chicken and Leek Potatoes
- Chicken and Leek Stew
Easy Chicken Sauce Recipes
- Mushroom and Onion Sauce
- Italian Pink Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Swedish Meatballs Sauce
- Bearnaise Sauce
- Roasted Tomatoes
- Peri Peri Sauce
- White Garlic Sauce
Check out my all-time favorites here: Easy Sauce Recipes
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Leeks Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- 1 kitchen knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Large frying pan
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. Meat drippings optional
- 2 Tbsp. Butter unsalted
- Salt and pepper
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 Leeks quartered length ways and then roughly chopped
- 1 clove Garlic finely chopped or 2 teaspoons of garlic paste
- 2 Tbsp. Flour
- 2 cups Chicken stock or chicken broth
- ½ cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Ground Mustard
- 3 tablespoon Sour Cream
- 1 Handful fresh tarragon leaves optional
Instructions
- If using meat drippings, remove the meat and lower the heat to medium. If not using meat drippings, heat a large frying pan to medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add leeks to the skillet. Make sure to move the leeks around in order for them not to burn.2 Tbsp. Meat drippings, 2 Tbsp. Butter, 2 Leeks quartered length ways and then roughly chopped
- While the leeks are cooking add some finely chopped garlic and stir in well. Once the leeks have softened, stir in 2 tablespoon flour and then gradually add the stock and milk.1 clove Garlic finely chopped or 2 teaspoons of garlic paste, 2 Tbsp. Flour, ½ cup Milk, 2 cups Chicken stock or chicken broth
- When the broth starts to simmer, turn the heat to low and allow the sauce to thicken, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point you can also add your protein back to the pan to cook it in the sauce.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add 1 teaspoon of ground mustard and 3 tablespoon of sour cream into the chicken and leek sauce.1 teaspoon Ground Mustard, 3 tablespoon Sour Cream
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish by stirring in some fresh tarragon leaves.Juice from half a lemon, 1 Handful fresh tarragon leaves, Salt and pepper
Notes
- When you are selecting leeks to use in a recipe, look for ones more white in the middle (the stalk) than green. The dark green parts of a leak (including the leaves) are very fibrous and inedible.
- Always clean your leeks before and after they are sliced. It is important to thoroughly rinse leeks to remove excess dirt and sand.
- This is a fantastic recipe base for other chicken and leek recipes, including chicken and leek pie, leek and chicken pasta, or even chicken and leek soup!
- If not using meat drippings for this recipe, simply substitute 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
- 2 vidalia onions can also be used in place of leeks if leeks are not available to you.
Cheri says
Have made sliced taters & leeks in cream sauce using heavy cream, not sour cream. Finished in tin pan in oven. I added some blue cheese crumble & Gouda cheese (cuz I had some in fridge). It was delicious 😋. Same seasoning as yers but not tarragon . I live in country in the South, groc stores don’t sell tarragon. Used garlic press & mustard pwdr. Yum 😋.
em says
Delicious! That's awesome, Cheri! Thanks so much for trying it out.