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.
So I’m making this again for my daughter’s 18th birthday at her request. We have loved it every time – even my meat loving son thinks it’s delicious! But I do have a question- the recipe says 1c cashews and 1/2 c water. I’ve followed that each time, but it’s more paste like than milky. So the “bring to boil and thicken” stage never happens. I just put it in and mix it all up. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Suzanne, no your sauce sounds perfect! If you see in our process photos our cashew cream is very thick too. The main thing is that the water from the mushrooms is not creating a watery soup, if it’s thick enough to not make your pastry all soggy, then it’s all working great! 🙂
Thanks! Making it again tonight – the kids absolutely love it and beg for it. We served to company who were vegan as well and they raved over it – nothing left even though I doubled the recipe!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am so glad I found your question Suzanne. I am making this wellington for the first time and found my cashew cream to be super thick. I thought I missed a step and kept reading the recipe over and over to make sure. Nonetheless, I moved forward and there was nothing to bring to a boil and thicken. It’s in the oven now, smells delicious. I am getting anxious to taste this vegan mushroom wellington. I am new to your site Alison and am looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Alison
Thanks so much for this recipes. I’m a long standing vegan living with my carnivorous husband!
We both loved it. I made a couple of minor changes –
* a couple of slashes of red wine
* nutritional yeast
* brown lentils
* handful of baby spinach
Not sure what puff pastry was used for this recipe, but I used 3 standard frozen sheets making 6 portions.
Which is great freezing a portion for another time, I find pastry in the oven the second time the dish is always better!
Thanks again for this really great recipe.
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sharing! 🙂
We are a family of vegan and non vegans, and we all love this recipe. It’s easy to make, tasty and definitely a regular meal in our home ????
Fantastic to hear that Kim! Thanks so much for the wonderful review! xo
This was absolutely DELICIOUS! It will now be a staple. I doubled the recipe and made a huge one. LOVED!
So glad to hear that! Thanks for the wonderful review. xo
I made this the other day and it was super delicious. The recipe is easy to follow. This recipe is simple yet it tasted so yummy. Its like the flavors had been developed for a long time. I will be making this again. Now I know what to make for Thanksgiving dinner this year. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Thank you very much!
Awesome Chrissie, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for the amazing review! 🙂
My wife and I keep coming back to this one it’s great for dinner parties. Had to adapt it a little using ready made oat cream and cornstarch and taking out some of the liquid before adding the cream but it’s delicious. Tried it just using ordinary mushrooms and while it’s great it definitely benefits from using the Portobello ones. I know you say it’s for 6 but we have never gotten beyond 4 it’s so nice.
So happy to hear Clive, thanks so much for the fantastic review. 🙂
i had vegans for dinner and book marked this recipe and made it and it was delicious and so easy.
will make it again. thank you for all your lovely recipes
Wonderful to hear that Shirley! Thanks so much for posting. 🙂
I have made it today. I spent 55 minutes for better color. It is amazing! All of my family members like it. This is my GREAT Work. ? Credit Alison. Thanks for vague-less presentation.
So glad it came out well, thanks for the great review Rita. 🙂
Hi ! Sorry for my bad english but I’m French… I have tested this recipe for my new year’s eve dinner and it was a wonderful surprise ! I’m vegan since few weeks and I’m cooking a lot to find new recipes and I can say that, for the moment, this website is the best for the variety of plates, the precision of ingredient’s quantity and, overall, it’s the best looking website for vegan cooking!
So, this wellington pie is perfect, nothing else to say! It’s also very easy to make and I’m sure I’ll often cook it.
For my new year’s eve dinner, I’ve also made a white cake, so, I’m immediately going to post on it!
Thanks a lot for your website and I wish you a very happy new year 🙂
Thank you so much for the wonderful review of the recipe and our whole blog it is so appreciated! I’m so happy this wellington was a success! Thanks a million for posting and happy new year to you too. 🙂
This was a wonderful main dish for our vegan Christmas dinner! Just delicious and so beautiful and festive too! We also had your pumpkin pie, which was also received with rapture.
Wonderful! So pleased to hear that, thanks Chris! 🙂
Made this as a treat for me. I am all alone and miss the fun we used to have with my family. They are all gone celebrating Christmas with the true child.
Loved it very much although it is too much for me. Rated it 5 stars.
Merry Christmas and God bless .
Thanks Joe! So glad you enjoyed it. Sorry to hear though that it was also a sad occasion. Glad you treated yourself. Thanks so much for the great rating. Merry Christmas! 🙂
Recipe sounds great, only one question. What puff pastry is vegan? I thought they all had butter.
Hi Paul, most puff pastry is surprisingly vegan! Read the ingredients of course to be sure but it’s usually vegan. ?
Love this recipe but my daughter is allergic to nuts. Would soya cream be a good alternative?
Hi Laura, I think it would be fine but you might need to add some flour or corn starch to thicken it up. Cashews thicken it up a lot so without that you may need to add a thickener.
I made it! As soon as I saw this on your blog today I got to work on it. It is amazing! The whole family LOVES it. I like the saucy take on it, it really works great.
Wow, that was fast! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Yes, I think the saucy factor works great in this. Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It looks delectable and I would love to try it, but I’m wondering if there’s any other pastry you could recommend besides puff pastry?
Hi Louisa, I don’t think there is a substitute for puff pastry, but you can make it yourself. I don’t have a recipe, but there is one on Vegan Baking.