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Impress your guests with this gorgeous Vegan Wellington! The filling is meaty, satisfying and ever-so-tasty! It's surprisingly easy to make too!
If you haven't tried a Vegan Wellington before, you may want to try it out this year. It really makes a statement! You'll need very simple ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store.
The base of the filling is made with mushrooms and chickpeas that are broken down for a nice meaty texture. Then I mixed it together with perfectly sautéed veggies, mouth-watering seasonings and then wrapped it all in a puff pastry. It's heavenly!
If you want to get crazy, you can make this Vegan Holiday Roast that I posted last week, too. Options are always nice to have!
For sides, you can serve Sourdough Stuffing, Sautéed Veggies, Apple Cranberry Sauce, and a big festive salad. Oh, and you gotta have Savory Mushroom Gravy too!
Is puff pastry vegan?
YES!! Most store-bought puff pastry sheets are accidentally vegan. Can you believe it? You can find them in the freezer section and some are in the refrigerated section.
Pepperidge Farm is the most readily available and can be found at most grocery stores and I believe Walmart and Target carry it too.
Aussie Bakery has cleaner ingredients than most puff pastry brands and it's nice to work with too. However, it's almost impossible for me to find. I purchased at Whole Foods a few times, but I haven't seen it in a long while.
Wewalka can be found in the refrigerated section and it's by far, my favorite puff pastry to work with. It's soft, pliable and can easily be sealed with your hands. The ingredients are fairly clean and I think it tastes the best too. *note: on the package, it says "may contain traces of milk". I called the company and they confirmed that they don't use any animal ingredients in their puff pastry.
How to make Vegan Wellington Filling
(printable version in recipe card below)
STEP 1 - Sauté onion, celery, and carrots over medium heat until softened.
STEP 2 - Add garlic, thyme, sage, and rosemary and sauté for one minute.
STEP 3 - Now add mushrooms and sauté until softened and their moisture is fully released. The pan should be dry.
STEP 4 - Add the tamari sauce and cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.
STEP 5 - Mash chickpeas in a large bowl just enough to break down beans. Leave lots of texture.
STEP 6 - Add the cooked mixture, breadcrumbs, walnut meal, flax mixture, Worcestershire, tomato paste, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Combine well. Taste for seasoning and add more if preferred.
How to wrap puff pastry
If your pastry sheet is frozen, you'll need to thaw for about 30 minutes before beginning. Also, you may need to roll it out to approximately a 10x13 size.
Shape the mixture into a solid log and place it in the middle of the pastry sheet. Pick up one side and wrap it over the loaf and repeat on the other side. Gently press to seal together. *If it doesn't seal easily, just brush a little non-dairy milk in that area and seal.
Roll up each end and press gently to seal. If you have a lot of extra length, trim the dough first before sealing to avoid a doughy texture at the ends. I cut a V-shape out of the top flap of each end (see above photo).
Flip the loaf over so and brush the top and sides with melted vegan butter. Now gently cut diagonal slits across the whole top of loaf about 1-inch apart and repeat in the opposite direction.
Place in the oven until heated throughout and the pastry is golden brown (about 30-35 minutes.) Let sit 10 minutes before gently cutting with a sharp knife. Don't forget the gravy! ENJOY!!
Can Vegan Wellington be made ahead?
Absolutely!! Just prepare it up to the baking point and refrigerate it in cling wrap or a tightly sealed container.
The baking time will be approximately 20-30 minutes longer and I would reduce the heat to 375 °F. You can turn the heat up the last 15 minutes if the top needs more browning.
To reheat fully cooked leftovers, cover the portion you'll be eating and heat in the oven at 375 °F until heated throughout.
Need more holiday dinner inspiration? You'll find so many tasty options in this recipe roundup by Stacey Homemaker. They are all unbelievably drool-worthy!
I'd love to hear from you
If you make this Vegan Wellington, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
Recipe
Vegan Wellington
Ingredients
- 1 sheet vegan puff pastry , thawed if frozen (about 10X13)
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal + 5 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil , or preferred cooking oil
- ½ medium onion , diced
- 2 small carrots , diced small
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced or crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 ounces mushrooms , minced or finely chopped
- 1.5 tablespoons tamari sauce , low sodium (sub soy sauce)
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) , drained well but NOT rinsed
- ¾ cup unsalted walnuts , ground into a course meal (measured whole)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs , more if needed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 tablespoons vegan worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt , more to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper , to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter , melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the ground flax and water in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 min. It will thicken and gel up a bit.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Now add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until softened about 6-8 minutes.
- Add garlic, thyme, sage, and rosemary. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Add mushrooms and sauté until they soften and release their moisture about 5-7 minutes. You want the pan to be dry. Now add the tamari and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add chickpeas to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher. Don't over mash - just mash enough to break down whole chickpeas, but leave lots of texture.
- Now add the cooled mixture, breadcrumbs, walnut meal, flax mixture, Worcestershire, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Combine well with a spatula and use your hands if needed. Taste and add more seasoning if preferred. (If the mixture seems too wet, you can add another ¼ cup of breadcrumbs or rolled oats - You should be able to form it with your hands easily)
- Using your hands, shape the mixture into a solid log that will fit in the middle of the pastry sheet (with a few inches of slack). Make sure log is packed well.
- Unroll puff pastry sheet and lay it over the baking sheet (or a flat surface if you need to roll it first). Place the loaf in the middle of the pastry sheet. Pick up one side and wrap it over the loaf and repeat on the other side. Gently press to seal together (don't force if it doesn't close, just thin & lengthen the loaf or remove some mixture and form again). *If pastry doesn't seal easily, just lightly brush a little non-dairy milk in that area and seal.
- Now roll up the ends and press gently to seal. If you have a lot of extra length, you may want to trim the dough first before sealing. Otherwise, the ends of the loaf will be very doughy. Flip the loaf over so the sealed edges are facing the baking sheet.
- Brush the top and sides with melted vegan butter. Using a sharp knife, gently make diagonal slits across the whole top of loaf about 1-inch apart. Now repeat going the other direction to criss-cross slits (see process photos in post above).
- Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until heated throughout and the pastry is golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before gently cutting with a sharp knife. I felt it was easiest to cut into the slits that were made earlier. Serve with Gravy if desired. Enjoy!
Debbie
Is this freezable before baking please?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Debbie, You can bake the wellington from frozen. Just wrap it in foil and bake it at 375 F. for about 30-40 minutes (or until heated throughout). Then turn the heat up to 400 F and remove the foil to brown the pastry. Cook until golden. 🙂
Alycia
I've made this a few times now and everyone loves it. I have to substitute pecans for walnuts as I'm allergic, and they work great. I soaked for the day to help soften them up first.i also tried butternut squash instead of carrot one time, and it was equally delicious! Thanks for sharing your inspiring and delicious recipe.
Melissa Huggins
You are welcome. I am pleased that you liked it. 🙂
Annette
Hi Melissa,
I have made this before,and it’s delicious,
What I’d like to know is can I freeze the log and then later defrost and wrap in pastry to cook?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Annette, I'm so glad you like the recipe. I haven't tried to freeze it that way before, but I will have to experiment. I have baked the wellington from frozen fully assembled. I wrap it in foil and bake it at 375 F. for about 30-40 minutes (or until heated throughout). Then turn the heat up to 400 F and remove the foil to brown the pastry. Cook until golden. I hope this helps. 🙂
Rachel
Made this recipe as a trial run for Christmas. Came out exactly as pictured, and tastes delicious! Will definitely be making it on the day. Watch out, as other comments say, that prep time is much longer than 20 mins if you don't have a food processor. Other than that, instructions and timings were spot on.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Rachel, it's great that you liked the recipe enough to make it part of your Christmas feast.:) Happy holidays!
Ruth
Love this recipe, can I freeze it before cooking?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Ruth, You can bake the wellington from frozen. Just wrap it in foil and bake it at 375 F. for about 30-40 minutes (or until heated throughout). Then turn the heat up to 400 F and remove the foil to brown the pastry. Cook until golden. I hope this helps.
Jessica Carruthers
Hi what can I use instead of walnuts to make this nut free? Thanka
Melissa Huggins
Hi Jessica, you can replace them with 1/3 cup rolled oats, ground sunflower, or ground pumpkin seeds. This will provide that extra chew that the walnuts provide. I hope this helps.
Karin Lambertz
Thumbs up for this recipe: a trial run for the family get together at Christmas! My daughter turned vegan and Mom wants to spoil her too.
My comment: 20 mins prep time is definitely not enough - I needed 40 mins for the first time with help in chopping walnuts and dicing veggies. And I used less herbs - fresh ones though. The dish looked good, had a bite to it (even for my meat-loving spouse) and will definitely grace our Chistmas table along with the customary turkey.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Karin, I am glad you all liked this recipe. Yes, the prep time may vary but I am glad you got some help. 🙂 Enjoy your holidays.
Ellie
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! Even with me forgetting the Worcestershire sauce even though it was right in front of me... I cheated a little because I had a hard time finding puff pastry so I used Annie's crescent roll dough and made a slightly smaller loaf and then used the small amount left over to make a mini shepherd's pie. The Wellington was so delicious and looked beautiful. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Ellie, you are welcome and whatever subs that works for you is absolutely fine. 🙂 I am glad you all enjoyed the Wellington. Happy holidays!
Louise
It was appreciated even the no vegan
I did not have fluffy dough so I made it whit philo sought. It was very light
Melissa Huggins
Hi Louise, great to hear that everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
Jeannette
Due to not enough time in my life, I’m planning to freeze my vegan Wellington! Need to know if I should thaw before cooking or not, also what temperature do you recommend?
Thanks
Have the mix finished, and it’s already making me Hungary!
Have a great day!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Jeanette, you should bake the wellington from frozen. Just wrap it in foil and bake it at 375 F. for about 30-40 minutes (or until heated throughout). Then turn the heat up to 400 F and remove the foil to brown the pastry. Cook until golden. I hope this helps. Thanks for giving it a try. 🙂
Olivia
Heya! What would you recommend in place of the walnuts? Tree nut allergy in the household! Thank you.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Olivia, you can replace them with 1/3 cup rolled oats, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds. This will provide that extra chew that the walnuts provide. I hope this helps. Thank you for stopping by.
Catherine Murphy
It was delicious, will definitely be making it again. It was a lovely summer dinner with a feta cheese salad.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Catherine! We're so happy to hear that you loved the wellington 🙂 Thanks for giving it a try!
Angela Brown
Can I make this without mushrooms?
Cathy
Made this for our vegan night. One of my sons is vegan so his brother, father and I try to do a vegan night once a week. I chose this and it turned out great. Even for us meat eaters it was de.icious. we are a family that cooks and we all are foodies so we try to be inclusive and diverse. Always try something once you never know how good something is unless you try it. Great recipe. Made your mushroom gravy too. Yummy.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Cathy! We love hearing that you and your family enjoyed the wellington and that you love to cook and try new things! That's wonderful 🙂 Thank you for giving it a try!
Jen
I have made variations of this three times. My last effort was to omit the pastry, put it in individual pie dishes and top with mashed potato, as a shepherds pie. When discussing it with my man a couple of days later he had no idea it wasn’t meat 😂 thank you for a delicious recipe.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Jen! We are so glad to hear that you both enjoyed the recipe and have made it multiple times! Thank you for stopping by 🙂