This is a delicious, vegan Wellington with roasted butternut squash wrapped around in sautéed rosemary walnut-mushroom filling baked in a puff pastry shell. It is an absolutely elegant and spectacular main course for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any holiday!
Let’s talk main course meals for the holidays! Besides this awesome Vegan Mushroom Wellington, you can try our the best juicy Vegan Lentil Loaf or our Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with light veggie stew topped with mashed celeriac-potatoes or our Portobello Vegan Pot Roast our Vegan Pot Pie with gluten-free vegan pie crust or crispy sliced potato crust.
⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES HERE! ⇐
Have you seen our FAVORITE Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Menu or our FAVORITE Vegan Christmas Dinner Menu? You can download both menus for FREE in the form of a printable e-book with a shopping list.
How to make Wellington vegan?
Originally, Wellington is made of beef fillet surrounded by an aromatic sautéed mushroom filling then wrapped in ham sometimes and baked in a puff pastry.
To make it vegan you have to ask yourself whether you want to mimic the original dish or whether you want a dish that is rich, fragrant, smells and tastes absolutely delicious. We for one don’t want to add any mock meat or store-bought processed meat to this fantastic dish, but rather we want to add real whole foods and real veggies.
We saw Vegan Wellington recipes that uses beetroot, butternut squash or large portobello mushroom caps in the place of beef. Our recipe was inspired by Lazy Cat Kitchen’s Vegetarian Wellington as her recipe was the first Meatless Wellington recipe we ever made. And the butternut squash in the middle was fantastic. So we made our own mushroom filling and pastry shell, but we kept the roasted butternut squash in the middle.
We will show you now how to make these 3 parts to end up with a fantastic holiday dinner:
- Roasted butternut squash
- Sautéed walnut mushroom filling
- Puff pastry
See the step-by-step photos below on how to make vegan wellington or flip through this quick slideshow (this is our first ever Google Web Story).
Butternut squash instead of beef
Let’s prepare butternut squash for our vegetarian Wellington. First wash it and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Then, cut the neck off and peel it as that is the only part you will need (photo #1).
(You can use the other part to make a delicious Baked Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake where I show you have to make roasted butternut squash puree from scratch instead of a regular canned pumpkin puree. It is delish!)
Now, cut it length-wise in half (photo #2). Take an oven-safe dish. Brush the butternut squash halves with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and add a couple of fresh rosemary leaves on top (photo #3). Pre-heat the oven for 395 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and bake them for 30-35 minutes until they are almost tender.
Making walnut-mushroom filling
While our vegan “beef substitute” is roasting in the oven you can prepare the sautéed rosemary walnut-mushroom filling. I am sure you’ll love it as I think that is the best part.
Best mushrooms to use
Any fresh mushrooms can be a good candidate. Start with whatever you have on hand or find in your local store. You will most probably able to buy button mushrooms being the most common type out of all. As the different mushrooms have subtle differences in taste and texture. The result will be even better if you mix the different types. Especially delicious if you add a bit of wild mushrooms. Our favorite ones are…
- white/brown button mushrooms,
- portobello mushrooms,
- shiitake mushrooms,
- oyster mushrooms,
- porcini mushrooms,
- other wild mushrooms.
Other names for button mushrooms -> If you don’t find button mushrooms in your local store, try to look for cremini/crimini, or small portobello, or baby bella, or Italian brown, or champignon, or chestnut mushroom. They are practically the same both in taste and texture.
Sautée the filling
Peel and chop onion and garlic. If you have walnut meal you can use that otherwise use a food processor to finely chop the walnuts (avoid making nut butter).
Gently wash any dirt off of the mushrooms by using a colander* or a sieve*. Dry them with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth. We never peel mushrooms, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or too hard. Chop them finely (not puree) using a food processor.
Cook onion and garlic in olive oil and cook them until soft and glassy (photo #1). When they are ready, add chopped walnuts and mushrooms (photo #2). Add the seasoning: dried ground rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper (photo #3). Stir continuously and cook on low/medium heat until all moisture is absorbed (photo #4). It will probably take approx. 30 minutes.
Vegan and gluten-free puff pastry
Making a vegan AND gluten-fee puff pastry is not something I venture to do. Mainly because it can be quite time-consuming. However, if you are interested in making it from scratch Gluten-free on a Shoestring has a long-standing and loved recipe using a homemade GF flour mix.
I usually use Schar Puff Pastry Dough but here are other store-bought brands that is vegan AND gluten-free depending on where you are. Let us know in email or in comments if you find more alternatives.
- Sadly, the GeeFree gluten-free puff pastry contains egg.
- If you are in the UK, you can buy Jus-Rol chilled gluten-free puff pastry sheets. Sadly, the Genius gluten-free puff pastry contains egg.
- If you live in Australia, you might find Stacey’s post about Coles vs Simple Wize gluten-free puff pastry useful. They are both vegan fortunately.
Baking vegan Wellington
Pre-heat the oven to 395 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Take a non-stick backing sheet or a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the ready rolled puff pastry sheet on it (photo #1. Spread half of the walnut-mushroom filling in the middle (see photo #2 for placement), but make sure to leave the borders empty. Place the roasted butternut squash halves on top (photo #3). Cover them with the other half of the filling (photo #4).
Gently roll the puff pastry over both longer sides (photo #5). Press the sides to seal the edges. We usually go over the edges with a fork just to make sure (photo #6). Cut off the excess dough and decorate it with leftover puff pastry or cut light criss-cross lines with your knife (photo #7). Let you creative juices flow! Brush it with a bit of dairy-free milk or melted vegan butter or aquafaba (photo #8). Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry shell is golden brown.
What to serve with Wellington?
Now you have a beautiful Wellington with roasted butternut squash surrounded by an aromatic walnut mushroom filling baked in a crispy golden brown puff pastry. So what’s next!
Serve it hot! The more you wait, the more the puff pastry will loose its crispiness. Sadly, the mushroom filling will still be juicy, so the moisture will soften the puff pastry as time goes by. It is delicious the next day for sure, but the puff pastry will be soft.
So don’t wait too much and serve it with one the following sides, sauces and condiments:
- Oven-roasted Asparagus, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, beets, sweet potatoes or other root veggies etc.
- Sautéed Carrots with Maple Thyme Glaze, green beans or other veggies etc.
- Mashed Potatoes with Celery Root, or other mashed veggies like cauliflower, carrot etc.
- Green beans casserole,
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes,
- Vegan Mushroom Risotto,
- Vegan Onion Gravy, mushroom gravy, red wine gravy
- Green Peppercorn Sauce,
- Cranberry Jelly or sauce,
- Fresh salads
What is your favorite combination? Let us know in the comments.
Have you seen our FAVORITE Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Menu or our FAVORITE Vegan Christmas Dinner Menu? You can download both menus for FREE in the form of a printable e-book with a shopping list.
This Vegan Wellington recipe is meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets. It can also be WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you cook the onion and the garlic in water or veggie broth and skip brushing the butternut squash with olive oil.
⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES HERE! ⇐
Have you seen our FAVORITE Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Menu or our FAVORITE Vegan Christmas Dinner Menu? You can download both menus for FREE in the form of a printable e-book with a shopping list.
More vegan dinner recipes
You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out
See more vegan gluten-free recipes →
Vegan Wellington
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 oz Puff pastry vegan & gluten-free if needed
- 1-2 Tbsp Dairy-free milk for brusing
Roasted butternut squash
- ½ Butternut squash at least a 4-5 inches (10-11 cm) long neck part cut in half
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 sprigs Rosemary (fresh)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Walnut-mushroom filling
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 3-4 cloves Garlic
- 18 oz Button mushrooms
- ½ cup Walnut chopped
- ½ tsp Rosemary (dry)
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Flip through this quick slideshow with step photos to get you started.
Roasting butternut squash
- First wash it and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Then, cut the neck off and peel it as that is the only part you will need. Now, cut it length-wise in half.
- Take an oven-safe dish. Brush the butternut squash halves with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and add a couple of fresh rosemary leaves on top.
- Pre-heat the oven for 395 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and bake them for 30-35 minutes until they are almost tender.
Making walnut-mushroom filling
- Peel and chop onion and garlic. If you have walnut meal you can use that otherwise use a food processor to finely chop the walnuts (avoid making nut butter).
- Cook onion and garlic in olive oil and cook them until soft and glassy.
- When they are ready, add chopped walnuts and mushrooms. Add the seasoning: dried ground rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir continuously and cook on low/medium heat until all moisture is absorbed. It will probably take approx. 30 minutes.
Baking vegan Wellington
- Pre-heat the oven to 395 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
- Take a non-stick backing sheet or a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the ready rolled puff pastry sheet on it.
- Spread half of the walnut-mushroom filling in the middle.
- Place the roasted butternut squash halves on top and cover them with the other half of the filling
- Gently roll the puff pastry over both longer sides and press the sides to seal the edges. We usually go over the edges with a fork just to make sure and cut off the excess dough. Let you creative juices flow and decorate it as you want.
- Brush it with a bit of dairy-free milk or melted vegan butter or aquafaba. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry shell is golden brown.
- Serve it while hot as the moisture from the mushroom filling will soften the puff pastry as it is waiting.
Notes
- Instead of egg wash? -> You can brush it with a bit of dairy-free milk or melted vegan butter or aquafaba.
- How to fold the puff pastry? -> There is really no right or wrong answer. You can fold it as an envelope in half so there is only one seam at one side. Or you can fold it like we did but flip it over so the seam is at the bottom. You can pierce it with a fork or cut lines in it. I think it looks lovely either way. Even if it leaks out a bit, the juicy can make it even more appetizing.
Mary D
Excited to try this for Christmas dinner. Any idea if it’s possible to make ahead of time, freeze, then bake at a later time?
My Pure Plants
I haven’t tried freezing it to be honest. I read it here that it is possible if you freeze it as already baked, then without thawing, bake it again in the oven. I guess the concern would be whether the pastry will go soggy or not. That is why it makes sense not to thaw it too long as the mushrooms will release moisture that will ruin the pastry for sure. I hope it helps.
Mika
This was so good and surprisingly easy to make. I didn’t have butternut squash, but substituted with a large sweet potato. It turned out great!
Thank you for the recipe I will be making 2 of these for our Christmas dinner 🙂
My Pure Plants
We are so glad you liked it. Sweet potato is a great alternative. I am so happy to worked perfectly.
Corina Blum
I think it’s a fantastic idea to have butternut squash inside a vegan wellington. It sounds delicious and those slices are so eye-catching as well.
Kate
Love this idea – the butternut squash is a delicious alternative to beef, this would be fantastic centrepiece for the Christmas dinner table! Yum
Gina
This is such a great plant based idea for the holidays! Love squash and no better way to showcase it then in a dish like this!
beth sachs
Perfect for my newly turned vegan daughter! Thanks for the recipe.