Indulgent vegan beef wellington recipe

Lucy the founder of Edible Ethics vegan food blog eating vegan noodles in a plant based restaurant

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Beef wellington used to be one of my favourite meals. It may sound and look a little pretentious but it is delicious. Lovely savoury flavours wrapped inside rich mushrooms and flaky pastry. I have since created this vegan beef wellington recipe which lives up to these positive memories!

Cooked vegan beef wellington with vegan creamy mushroom sauce

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!

The cooked vegan beef wellington
A cooked vegan beef wellington

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…

A close up of a slice of vegan beef wellington
The inside of a vegan beef wellington

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.

Vegan beef wellington served up with other vegan food
Served up with roast potatoes, braised cabbage and a creamy mustard sauce

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.

The vegan beef wellington inside wrapped up ready to chill made with Meatless Farms

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.

The vegan beef ready to be rolled up in mushroom duxelle and vegan ham

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.

the vegan beef wellington half wrapped up

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.

The vegan puff pastry on top of the vegan beef 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.

Glazing the vegan beef wellington

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.

Close up of the cooked vegan beef wellington

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.

Cooked vegan beef wellington with vegan creamy mushroom sauce

Vegan beef wellington

My vegan take on this classic rich dish using vegan mince meat, mushroom duxelles and puff pastry
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 6 slices
Author: Lucy Johnson

Ingredients
  

Vegan beef

Vegan mushroom duxelles

Wellington

Vegan egg wash

  • 1 tbsp Aquafaba - or use vegan milk & maple syrup

Instructions

Prepare the vegan beef filling

  • Get a large mixing bowl and add all of the vegan beef ingredients
  • Using your hands or a wooden spoon, mix together all of the ingredients until they form a firm meaty mix
  • Roll the vegan beef mix into a large sausage shape and then cover tightly in cling film
  • Put it in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients, or leave overnight if you want to prepare everything the night before
  • If you are ready to start cooking your vegan beef wellington, turn your oven on to oven fan180 °C

Make the vegan mushroom duxelles

  • Clean your mushrooms using a kitchen towel
  • Finely chop the mushrooms, you can do this with your knife or a food processor. If you are using the latter then make sure to only pulse it gradually so you avoid turning it into a paste
  • Put your frying pan onto a medium-high heat
  • Add your 50g of vegan butter and 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil into the pan and heat through until the butter melts
  • Add in your mushrooms, a pinch of salt and the sprig of thyme
  • Cook on a high heat for about 10 minutes, until the butter and oil have evaporated. Make sure to stir often to stop it from burning or sticking
  • Pour in your white wine and cook for another 10 minutes, until the wine has cooked off and the mushrooms have formed a paste
  • Take the mushrooms off the heat and scoop them into a bowl to cool down

Brown your vegan beef

  • Using the same pan as your mushroom duxelles, pour in a small amount of rapeseed oil and heat up on a medium heat
  • Unwrap your vegan beef and carefully place it into the pan
  • Fry off each side of the sausage until it has browned, this should only take about 6 minutes to do
  • Remove your vegan beef from the pan and set aside to cool

Roll out the pastry

  • Cut off 1/3 of your pastry block and using a well floured rolling pin and work surface, roll it out into a thin and even rectangle shape. Move it onto a baking parchment lined baking tray
  • Roll of the remaining pastry so that is the same thickness as the bottom, but it will be a lot wider so that you can wrap it over the top of the vegan beef. Set it aside on a well floured work surface

Line the vegan beef

  • Get a piece of cling film on your work surface and place the vegan ham slices 2 by 2
  • Spread over the vegan mushroom duxelles
  • Lay your vegan beef on top in the middle
  • Using the cling film, wrap the vegan ham & duxelles around the vegan beef

Build the vegan beef wellington

  • Place your wrapped vegan beef into the middle of your pastry base
  • Drape the top half of the pastry so that it lays evenly over the top of your vegan beef
  • Using your hands, press down on the top of the pastry so that it wraps tightly around the top of the vegan beef and meets the edges of the base pastry layer
  • Using a paring knife, cut the excess pastry around the edges, leaving about 1cm around the edge
  • With your hands, squish together the edges of the pastry so that the bottom merges with the top of the pastry
  • Brush over your vegan egg wash and score the top of the pastry
  • Place the tray with your vegan beef wellington into the oven and cook for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden all over

Serve your vegan beef wellington

  • Once your vegan beef wellington is out of the oven, transfer it over to a serving plate
  • You can either cut it into slices before serving or allow people to cut their own slices straight from the plate
  • Serve it with roast potatoes, a creamy mustard sauce, and some cooked greens

Notes

You can prepare this vegan beef wellington the day before. Just stop once you’ve wrapped up the wellington with pastry, cover it up and put it in the fridge. You can leave it there overnight and take out 30 minutes before cooking.

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