This vegan wellington is perfect for a special occasion. Creamy mushroom filling wrapped in deliciously flaky puff pastry. Simple and gorgeous.
Now that it’s getting close to Christmas I’m starting to think of what to put on the Christmas menu.
A vegan wellington is a great addition to a Christmas menu or indeed any special occasion.
We decided to make this a vegan mushroom wellington, so basically make a filling from mushrooms and then wrap that in pastry and bake it. I mean, you know it’s just got to be delicious!
I’ve been seeing a lot of vegan wellingtons popping up on my facebook feed lately and it made me realize that ours is a little non-traditional, but I would argue that ours is better!
It’s a delicious mix of mushrooms, onions, spices and cashew cream for the filling, and that is wrapped in puff pastry, brushed with melted vegan butter and baked for 25 minutes until golden brown, flaky and perfect.
It looks beautiful and festive and tastes wonderful. Garnish with fresh rosemary for even more festive vibes. You’ll also love our vegan pot pie and our vegan nut roast recipes.
What You’ll Need For This Recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Mushrooms – we use three different types of mushrooms here for maximum flavor. Portobello mushrooms, white button mushrooms and cremini mushrooms (also known as baby bellas or portobellini or brown button mushrooms).
Puff pastry – this makes such a perfect flaky, golden crust for your wellington. Read the label of course, but most puff pastry is vegan. It’s usually sold frozen. Let it thaw in the fridge and use it directly from the fridge.
Raw cashews – the cashews together with a little water and salt are blended up to make the cashew cream. If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix then it’s usually not necessary to soak the cashews first. If you don’t have a high powered blender then place the cashews in a bowl, pour over boiling water from the kettle and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour. Then drain them and add to the blender with the other ingredients.
How To Make Vegan Wellington
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Step 1. Add olive oil, chopped onion, crushed garlic, dried rosemary, coriander powder, dried thyme and oregano to a pot and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Step 2. Add in the sliced mushrooms and soy sauce and sauté until the mushrooms are softened.
- Step 3. Add cashews, water and salt to your blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Step 4. Add the cashew cream to the mushrooms and heat everything together until it reaches a simmer. It will thicken as it heats and create a thick, creamy sauce.
- Step 5. Turn off the heat and leave the sauce to cool as it will thicken more as it cools.
- Step 6. When the sauce has cooled, preheat the oven to 390°F.
- Step 7. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lie the sheet of puff pastry down on top of the parchment paper. You may have to trim your puff pastry sheet slightly to fit your baking tray.
- Step 8. Add the mushroom filling along one side of the puff pastry, leaving a margin at the edge so that when you fold the pastry over you will be able to seal it along the sides.
- Step 9. Fold the puff pastry over the top of the mushroom filling, sealing it along the margin you left along the edge. Use a fork to make ridges in the pastry at the edges and help to seal it in even better.
- Step 10. Brush the top of the pastry with melted vegan butter and cut diagonal slashes across the top of the pastry.
- Step 11. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Step 12. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a sprig of fresh rosemary and serve.
Pro Tips
The filling should be thick. If your filling is too saucy then it will spread too much when you place it onto the pastry and it will be difficult to seal your pastry properly. The cashew cream thickens up really well as it heats, so that’s part of it, the other part is to let the sauce cool before adding it onto the pastry. It continues to thicken when cooled and will be easier to handle.
Your puff pastry should be thawed, but still cold. If it thaws too long at room temperature it gets sticky and becomes hard to handle. It’s ideal if you let it thaw in the fridge and then use it straight from the fridge. If it gets sticky anyway, then flour a surface and your rolling pin and roll it with a sprinkle of flour, that will stop the stickiness and make it easy to handle.
Leave a margin on the side of the puff pastry where you’re adding your filling. You need enough space to be able to fold it over and seal it down (see pics above).
Don’t panic if the filling starts coming out the side when you’re trying to seal your wellington. Just scoop off the overflow and carry on. If you had to trim your puff pastry to fit your baking tray (we did) then you have a little extra pastry to work with and can add the leftover pieces to the edges of your wellington where there was a bit of a filling overflow to strengthen it. You’ll see the middle part of our wellington shows the evidence of a little patching up!
Brush with melted vegan butter. This gives amazing results in a flaky crispy delicious pastry.
Cut some diagonal slashes across the top of the wellington right before baking. This allows steam to escape during baking but also looks super pretty!
Recipe FAQ
Yes, thankfully it usually is. It’s one of those ‘accidentally vegan’ things. Of course read the ingredients as some may not be vegan but it’s very common for puff pastry to be vegan.
The filling can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for 2-3 days and then added to the pastry and baked when you’re ready. That is the only part that can be done in advance. Once it’s wrapped in the pastry it needs to go right into the oven and bake right away.
You can store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for a couple of days, however, there is the possibility of the pastry getting soggy and it definitely loses its flaky crispiness. So this is a dish that is best served on the day it’s made. Hot and flaky and right out of the oven is the way forward for this one.
It’s not suitable for freezing.
More Vegan Holiday Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Wellington
Ingredients
Mushrooms:
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 tsp Dried Rosemary
- ½ tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Dried Thyme
- ½ tsp Oregano
- 2 ½ cups White Button Mushrooms (240g) Sliced
- 2 ½ cups Cremini Mushrooms (240g) Sliced
- 2 Portobello Mushrooms Sliced
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Cashew Cream:
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ½ cup Water (120ml)
- ½ tsp Salt
Assembling:
- 1 Sheet Puff Pastry Thawed
- 1-2 Tbsp Vegan Butter Melted, for brushing
Decorating:
- Sprig of Fresh Rosemary
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chopped onion, crushed garlic, dried rosemary, coriander powder, dried thyme and oregano to a pot and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and soy sauce and sauté until the mushrooms are softened.
- Add cashews, water and salt to your blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to the mushrooms and heat everything together until it reaches a simmer. It will thicken as it heats and create a thick, creamy sauce.
- Turn off the heat and leave the sauce to cool as it will thicken more as it cools.
- When the sauce has cooled, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lie the sheet of puff pastry down on top of the parchment paper. You may have to trim your puff pastry sheet slightly to fit your baking tray.
- Add the mushroom filling along one side of the puff pastry, leaving a margin at the edge so that when you fold the pastry over you will be able to seal it along the sides (see our photos above to see this in action).
- Fold the puff pastry over the top of the mushroom filling, sealing it along the margin you left along the edge. Use a fork to make ridges in the pastry at the edges and help to seal it in even better.
- Brush the top of the pastry with melted vegan butter and cut diagonal slashes across the top of the pastry.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a sprig of fresh rosemary and serve.
Notes
- The filling should be thick. If your filling is too saucy then it will spread too much when you place it onto the pastry and it will be difficult to seal your pastry properly. The cashew cream thickens up really well as it heats, so that’s part of it, the other part is to let the sauce cool before adding it onto the pastry. It continues to thicken when cooled and will be easier to handle.
- Your puff pastry should be thawed, but still cold. If it thaws too long at room temperature it gets sticky and becomes hard to handle. It’s ideal if you let it thaw in the fridge and then use it straight from the fridge. If it gets sticky anyway, then flour a surface and your rolling pin and roll it with a sprinkle of flour, that will stop the stickiness and make it easy to handle.
- Leave a margin on the side of the puff pastry where you’re adding your filling. You need enough space to be able to fold it over and seal it down.
- Don’t panic if the filling starts coming out the side when you’re trying to seal your wellington. Just scoop off the overflow and carry on. If you had to trim your puff pastry to fit your baking tray (we did) then you have a little extra pastry to work with and can add the leftover pieces to the edges of your wellington where there was a bit of a filling overflow to strengthen it. You’ll see the middle part of our wellington shows the evidence of a little patching up!
- Brush with melted vegan butter. This gives amazing results in a flaky crispy delicious pastry.
- Cut some diagonal slashes across the top of the wellington right before baking. This allows steam to escape during baking but also looks super pretty!
- Make ahead: The filling can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for 2-3 days and then added to the pastry and baked when you’re ready. That is the only part that can be done in advance. Once it’s wrapped in the pastry it needs to go right into the oven and bake right away.
- Storing and Freezing: You can store leftovers in the fridge (covered) for a couple of days, however, there is the possibility of the pastry getting soggy and it definitely loses its flaky crispiness. So this is a dish that is best served on the day it’s made. Hot and flaky and right out of the oven is the way forward for this one. It’s not suitable for freezing.
- Prep time does not include the time for the sauce to cool.
- This recipe was first published in December 2018. It has been updated with extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
Love, love your recipes. Do you have a Wellington recipe without mushrooms or tofu? Or could you suggest a substitute? Thank you.
Thank you Karen! Oh wow, I just went searching for a wellington recipe without mushrooms or tofu and it was NOT easy to find! But this one from Karissa’s Vegan Kitchen may be a winner!
This is a great dish I have made a lot, but cooking 101 says don’t add the garlic and herbs/spices at least until the onions are cooked–I actually wait until the mushrooms are nearly cooked through. Otherwise you risk them burning.
Thank you for this recipe though! I have made it weekly since we started moving towards a low/no meat diet.
I made this for Thanksgiving. It was excellent and not very time-consuming. I made my own whole wheat rough puff pastry instead of buying ready-made puff pastry. It turned out very well but that was the only tricky part of it. I just used the cremini mushrooms I had in the fridge but maybe it would even be better with a variety of mushrooms.
So glad it worked out well! Thanks for the great review Tessa!
Loved it! Made it for thanksgiving day. And was asked to make it for Christmas. Everyone enjoyed it. Great recipe!
Wonderful to hear that Irina! Thanks so much for the great review.
This recipe is top notch. Perfect every time and always a crowd pleaser.
Thanks so much Nisha!
This is amazing! My mother and I loved it, wholesome and sooo delicious. Yum!
Thanks Alycia!
What sorcery is this Alison?! I tricked my “mushroom loathing” teen son into eating this and upon declaring “this has mushrooms in it” he went on to have THREE servings! This was very simple to make and unbelievably delicious! The only change I made was to halve the cashews and instead of soaking I ground them to a powder. I didn’t need to add the water also. Served with garlic mash and steamed cabbage. A fabulous five stars from me. Thank you!
Wow that’s fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing Satin, that is really great stuff. 🙂
This sauce is divine. I used white button mushrooms and a handful of wild mushrooms. You can’t even taste cashews in it. Instead of mailing wellington I put the sauce on a dish and covered it with puff pastry so it was more like a mushroom pie. My boyfriend, who’s not vegan absolutely loved it. And so did I.
So glad it worked out great Marta! Thanks for the wonderful review.
I love this mushroom filling although I used a bit of fresh basil as I didn’t have rosemary. I will freeze some of the filling for another time.
I wanted to make something special for Christmas, so I made this. Yum. My husband and I loved it. The best part was, I had some of the mushroom mixture left over, so I froze it. When I went to make the pot pie recipe, I didn’t have any mushrooms. I remembered the leftovers from this recipe. Oh my gosh was the pot pie dish ever good using the Wellington mushrooms. We love your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
We love South Africa and hope to get back again someday soon. We have a good friend that lives outside of Johannesburg. Happy new year!
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thanks so much Liz! So happy you enjoyed the recipes! And so happy you love South Africa too, it really is a beautiful place. 🙂
An extremely tasty dish. I just used all ordinary supermarket bargain mushrooms instead of all the lovely ones suggested and did not put in quite so much of the creamy nut sauce as i thought it might then be too rich for my taste. It still was extremely tasty and much enjoyed. Thank you for this and the many other recipes you share.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Ann!
This is a Five Star recipe! I baked it and it’s Delicious!
The types of Mushrooms you are using add to the taste so choose wisely.
Into my recipe collection scrap book my grandchildren will inherit.
Thank you!
Thanks so much Stefanos!