Loaded Leek & Potato Bake (Syn Free on Slimming World) (2024)

This syn free dish is the answer to all of your winter food prayers, especially if you’re on Slimming World! With seasonal flavours it’s super warming, not to mention loaded with cheese and bacon…what more could you want? I came up with this dish when I looked in the fridge and realised that I had singularly failed on the food shop and subsequently had no food to take into work the next day! There was a lonely packet of leeks, half apacket of bacon, a few other bits and bobs and of course cheese (I may fail to shop but I am never without cheese!). My first thought was to do a leek and potato soup, as I knew we had a bag of potatoes in the cupboard, which would have been lovely, but I’ve eaten quite a lot of soup in the last few weeks and I fancied something a bit more substantial!

Having decided not to make soup I turned my thoughts to what else I could pull together out of the ingredients I had in the house. I’m also really trying to save money, and I’m trying to be better at using what I have in the fridge before it goes bad! I resolved to stick to my guns and created this absolutely sensational Loaded Leek & Potato Bake…or put in more detailed terms, soft roasted potato and leek bake coveredwith melted cheese and crispy bacon! YUM! This just goes to show that with a bit of out of the box thinking and determination you can use up your leftover ingredients, reduce waste, and enjoy tasty food all at the same time!

If you’re a fan of comfort food then this recipe is probably right up your street! I’m basically a sucker for anything covered in melted cheese and bacon, it’s like they turn into some kind of drug when combined and I just can’t get enough…yes I am basically a cheese junkie!

Not only is this dish syn free on Slimming World (using your Healthy Extra A), cheap to make and really tasty, it’s also really simple! As you can see in the video, it takes very little actual work, just some chopping, boiling, baking and loading up! Another big plus is that the leeks are pretty hidden, but still add a great deal to the dish, so it’s great if you’re trying to encourage your little ones to eat more vegetables or even trying to trick yourself into doing it! In my experience, if you cover something in cheese and bacon it’s easier to eat!

My love of cheese is one of the reasons I’m so glad that I don’t drink tea or coffee (I know, weird right!) because then I’d be forced to use my Healthy Extra A on boring old milk instead of covering all of my meals in melted cheese! I’m also a big fan of the cheese platter, as anyone who’s ever come for a dinner party at my house knows, and BSW (before Slimming World) I could just sit on the sofa and polish off a block of goats cheese watching telly without even realising! OK, so as I type I am realising that my relationship with cheese isn’t necessarily the most healthy relationship I’ve ever had, but that’s one of the joys of being on Slimming World. It has taught me how to measure and limit my cheese intake but I can still enjoy it…win win!

One thing I loved about this recipe was how many textures it pulled together. You’ve got the slightly crunch roasted potatoes on the top, supported by the super soft potatoes underneath (almost like mash!) and the melt in the mouth leeks, all topped with crunchy bacon and gooey cheese. This all makes it a really interesting dish, something which I think is important on Slimming World. It’s key to keep your meals interesting and that doesn’t mean just switching up what you’re eating every so often. Meals themselves should be interesting otherwise they’re going to leave you unsatisfied and underwhelmed and nobody wants that!

This can be eaten hot or cold, perfect if you’re doing some Slimming World meal prep! I enjoyed some for dinner straight after I made it and then took it to work to enjoy cold the next day. Obviously you can reheat it too which is a great option if you have a microwave at work (I don’t!). Hot or cold there is a huge amount of taste in this dish, largely created by cooking the potatoes and leeks in the stock both in the pan and the oven. By parboiling them with stock you make sure that flavour is permeating the potatoes straight away. Similarly by adding the 200mls of stock you keep from the initial boiling to the tray it ensures that the potatoes cook and pull in all of that rich flavour too. It also means that this isn’t just a pan of roasted potatoes, it’s moist underneath which makes it into one continuous dish, instead of individual potatoes and leeks!

I mean, just look at all of that melted cheese, isn’t Slimming World just the best! It’s absolutely to die for and I can’t recommend cooking it enough…and I’m not just saying that because I created it! Leeks are a really great vegetable, they’re super versatile and taste yummy. They work in soups, in stews, in pasta, grilled and of course baked like this. Right now they’re also seasonal, as they’re primarily grown in the winter and what’s more, according to British Leeks, they’re perfect for eating at this time of year as they’re full of cold and flu fighting nutrients!