Indulgent vegan beef wellington recipe

Wrap pretty much anything up in pastry and you’ve won my heart. I am a big pastry fiend, so I especially love it when we start getting into the cooler season and I have an excuse to eat it on the regular. Be it in pies, as a tart base, or in something like this magnificent vegan beef wellington recipe.

It is hearty food that warms up the soul. And your insides too!

So it is no surprise that I also love a good wellington. I first made one as a teenager (pre-vegan) from my Jamie Oliver cookbook. It was made with a beef fillet and wrapped up in a crepe, mushroom duxelles, and puff pastry. I remember making everything from scratch. It was a complete faff, but the end result was just so amazing.

It was perfect for dinner parties, Christmas dinners, roast dinners, and pretty much any other special event in between. It wows guests and leaves everyone feeling a little bit happier.

So what about now that I am vegan? Well, there is at least one less faff – we don’t need to think about getting the ‘beef’ filling cooked properly because our vegan alternatives won’t kill anyone 😉 But the results are still just as amazing. It looks great sitting in the middle of the table and will please any kind of guest, be it vegan or not.

So, let’s really tuck into this vegan beef wellington recipe!

What is beef wellington?

Beef wellington is a baked pastry dish comprising a fillet of beef wrapped up in ham, mushroom duxelles and puff pastry. It is based upon a similar French dish of filet de bœuf en croûte. 

Whilst it bears the name ‘wellington’, it isn’t actually known if the dish was named after the Duke of Wellington or not. But what we do know is that it has been a very popular dish here in England for some time.

It is a dish that has been made popular by many British chefs including Gordan Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. Therefore it is often seen to be a quintessentially British dish.

Thankfully, in more recent years it has had a bit of a glow-up in the vegan scene. More on that below…

How do you veganise beef wellington?

There are a few different elements within a beef wellington that need to be changed in order for it to be suitable for vegans. You’ll need to replace the meat with a vegan alternative, be it vegetable or fake meat. Then you need to create a vegan version of mushroom duxelles to wrap it in. This then needs to be covered in a vegan puff pastry which is glazed with a vegan ‘egg’ wash.

See also: my guide on how to veganise your favourite dishes

Take a look below for more details on each step to veganising a beef wellington.

1. Replace the meat

To start off with, you’ll need to find a vegan meat alternative that replicates beef. Some people choose to use vegetables like beetroot, or they’ll use portobello mushrooms. These are great alternatives that are really easy to use. If you are looking for something a little bit meatier though then you’ll want to use fake meats. You can use seitan to create a large chunk of fake meat, but if you don’t cope well with wheat gluten (like me) then you can use vegan mince meat, like this one from Meatless Farm. This is what I’ve used in this vegan beef wellington recipe!

If you want to wrap the vegan beef in something like ham, then you’ll also need to find a vegan ham alternative. I love this pea and soya-based vegan ham by M&S.

2. Veganise the mushroom duxelles

Mushroom duxelles is a finely chopped up mix of mushrooms cooked in butter with plenty of fresh herbs and seasoning. It is often also cooked using white wine and a dash of cream.

So you may have picked up on a few things there that aren’t all vegan-friendly. First off, you’ll need to replace the butter with vegan butter, like this one from Flora. Secondly, you’ll need to make sure your white wine is vegan-friendly. And last of all, if you are using cream (which I don’t in this recipe), you can either buy this, like this one by Oatly, or you can make a silken tofu cream sauce base.

3. Choose vegan-friendly pastry

For this dish, I really recommend buying your pastry pre-made as it helps to save quite a lot of time when making this already quite complicated dish. That being said, you need to be careful when buying pastry as a lot of it contains milk or egg.

One of the most popular brands of pastry has many vegan-friendly options including this vegan puff pastry block which I use myself in this vegan beef wellington recipe.

4. Create a vegan egg wash

If you want your vegan beef wellington to glisten and shine whilst you show it off to all your guests then you’ll need to give it a vegan egg wash.

The traditional method is made with a beaten-up egg but you can easily replicate this by using either aquafaba or vegan milk mixed in with a bit of maple syrup.

What do you serve with vegan beef wellington?

A vegan beef wellington is really rich and warming so I would recommend serving it up with ingredients that you’d normally add to dishes like these. For instance, roast potatoes and braised cabbage work perfectly. But you could also serve it with roasted carrots and mashed potato.

When it comes to a sauce, I like to pair my vegan beef wellington with a creamy vegan wholegrain mustard sauce or an onion gravy.

If you have any leftovers then you can keep it cold and serve it up with a salad the next day.

How do you make vegan beef wellington?

This vegan beef wellington recipe may look a little bit daunting but it is relatively simple. It just takes some time to put together so you may want to start in the morning to make this for a Sunday lunch, or you can even prep it and keep it in the fridge overnight to be cooked up the next day.

Follow the below handy steps or jump straight to the recipe here.

1. Create the vegan beef filling

You’ll want to start by mixing together the vegan mince with cooked puy lentils, tomato paste, mustard and plenty of seasoning. This can then be wrapped up and left in the fridge for a few hours, or even overnight if you want to be extra prepared.

Before you start cooking the rest of your dish you will want to brown the vegan beef mix in a frying pan so that all the edges are golden.

2. Make the mushroom duxelles & wrap

Cook some finely chopped up mushrooms in plenty of vegan butter and fresh thyme. Cook off all the butter and then add in some white wine which you’ll cook off until the mushrooms form a more solid paste. Take off the heat and allow it to cool.

Lay out the vegan ham slices on some cling film and spread the mushroom duxelles on top. Wrap it around the vegan beef.

3. Roll out the pastry

Cut off 1/3 of the pastry block and roll it out into a long rectangle that is a few centimetres bigger than the wrapped vegan beef on each side. Lay the wrapped up vegan beef on top.

Roll out the remaining pastry so that it is the same thickness as the bottom. You’ll find that it is a lot bigger on each side which will allow you to wrap the top of the wellington.

4. Wrap it in pastry

Drape your rolled out pastry top over the bottom half with the vegan beef sitting on it. Then really gently push all of the air out of it so that it is firmly wrapped around the vegan beef.

Push down the edges around the outside of the vegan beef and with a small paring knife, cut the edges so that there is about 1cm left around the outside. Squeeze the edges together so that the bottom and top pastry bind together. If they don’t stick, try using a dab of vegan egg wash.

5. Give it a vegan egg wash & score

Glaze the top of the pastry with your vegan egg wash and then using a knife, score the top of the pastry. Make sure not to go the full way through the pastry, you’ll want a thin layer remaining to create a nice-looking pattern on the top.

6. Bake the vegan beef wellington

You can either bake it straight away or you can put this into the fridge and leave it to cook the day after.

You’ll want to cook it for at least 40 minutes at 180 degrees (fan oven). Once cooked, use a few spatulas to lift it up and place it onto a serving plate.

Ready to get started with your very own vegan beef wellington? Then make sure to follow this recipe below to get more thorough step-by-step instructions on the cooking process along with all the necessary ingredients.