Vegan Wellington
The flavor of this vegan wellington is out of this world. Beef Wellington, who?! This recipe is nut-free, made without mushrooms, and perfect for a holiday dinner.
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If you have heard of Gordon Ramsay, you probably know about the famous Beef Wellington dish that he serves at his restaurants. Or rather, you probably have memories of him yelling at Hell’s Kitchen contestants about how they totally screwed up the beef wellington. Except he says it with plenty of expletives.
Beef Wellington is essentially a cut of beef, like filet mignon, rolled up in a puff pastry with some seasonings.
I had big, big dreams of making a beef wellington before I went vegan, and I never got around to it. But who says we can’t make a vegan wellington?
Ingredients
The filling is completely nut-free. I noticed that many vegetarian or vegan beef wellington recipes contained walnut or pecans (alongside mushrooms). Instead of nuts, we’ll get that same texture from sunflower seeds and lentils.
- Puff pastry: See the section below.
- Carrots and celery
- Vegan butter or oil
- Lentils
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce
- Seasonings: Vegetable bouillon, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sage, thyme, black pepper and soy sauce.
- Kale
- Sunflower seeds
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Non-dairy milk
Is Puff Pastry Vegan?
MOST store-bought puff pastry sheets are totally vegan! Just make sure to read the label. My grocery store carries the Pepperidge Farm brand. It comes pre-rolled in a 10×15 sheet which just makes life easier. If you find one that is not pre-rolled, roll it out to about that size if possible.
Tips
The process of making a vegan lentil wellington is much less complicated than I anticipated – we are going to make the filling in one pot, roll it up in puff pastry, and then bake it.
Perhaps the most complicated (but it’s not really complicated at all) part of this is rolling up the filling in the puff pastry. I recommend using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to pack the filling tightly, then forming it so it’s wide enough to take up the center third area. Leave about an inch of room on the ends. Fold up the sides. They should overlap about 1/2 an inch or so. Use a little water to help seal the seam.
Then, pinch together the ends of the puff pastry. I like to tuck them in like you would wrap a gift. Again, use some water to help seal so the filling doesn’t sneak out.
Flip the puff pastry over so the seal is down. Place on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
How to Score Puff Pastry
Scoring is a simple method that 1) allows steam to escape while cooking and 2) looks pretty. To score mine, I basically just drag a knife diagonally across the pastry to make shallow slits, about 1 inch apart. Then, I go down the opposite way. This creates the diamond shapes. If you don’t want to get super fancy, you can just cut 3-4 slits across the pastry.
To create a golden crust without an egg wash, I brush non-dairy milk all over the top. Then, just pop your wellington in the oven and bake until beautifully golden brown!
Make Ahead
Yes, you can make this wellington ahead of time! Follow the instructions up until the baking part. Wrap in plastic wrap or store in a large container in the fridge for up to a day. Bake as instructed, but keep in mind it might take some extra time.
It’s best to eat right after baking, of course, but I still really enjoyed the warmed-up leftovers the next day.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Please leave a comment and a ⭐ star review below!
Vegan Wellington
Ingredients
- 1 frozen puff pastry sheet
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 large celery stalk chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil
- ⅔ cup dry lentils green or brown
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce see notes
- 1½ teaspoon vegetable or “no beef” bouillon see notes
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sage
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- soy sauce or salt to taste
- 2 cups chopped kale loosely packed
- ½ cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Set the puff pastry out to thaw.
- In a medium-sized pot, sauté the carrots and celery in vegan butter until tender.
- Add in the lentils, water, bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder, vegan Worcestershire sauce, paprika, sage, thyme, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and have absorbed the liquid. Add some salt or soy sauce if needed.
- Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner. Stir in the kale and sunflower seeds. Cover the pot for about 5 minutes, or until the kale has wilted.
- Mix in the breadcrumbs. Let the lentil mixture cool until just warm, no longer hot. If the mixture is too hot, it will melt the puff pastry.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400℉.
- Once the puff pastry is thawed and pliable, you can start assembling your wellington.
- Scoop the lentil mixture in the center third of the puff pastry in the shape of a log. Leave an inch of room on the edges. Make sure it’s packed tightly.
- Fold the sides of the puff pastry over the top of the lentil mixture, tightly. There should be about a half an inch of overlap. Pinch, seal and tuck the edges. Use water to help create a more secure seal.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place the wellington on it, seam-side down.
- Score the pastry (directions in the post above) and then brush with the non-dairy milk (this will create a golden crust as an egg wash would.)
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes, then use a serrated knife to cut slices.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Dinners to Try:
This looks amazing! Last year I purchased a store bought vegan roast which, as my family called it, stuffing, stuffed into stuffing , stuffed into soy. It was horrible, and sat like a rock in your stomach. Next year we will try this recipe! Thank you for the nearly breadless roast!
I struggled with the puff pastry. My store did not have the Pepperidge Farm type that you used. Mine came in all those thin sheets and I really didn’t know how many to use. I ended up using five. Hopefully that’s the right amount. I’ll be upset if I ruined it. I never worked with puff pastry before (and my never again!) LOL!
Oh no! I hope it worked out!
I made a double batch on Christmas and the meat eaters devoured it. I just made it again tonight. It is nothing short of amazing.
This is genuinely the first vegan recipe I’ve made in the past two years that non-vegans also LOVE. Made on December 20th for a birthday party and had three requests from relatives to make again for Christmas Eve. Did not and would not change a thing. Thank you!!!
What can I substitute in place of the sunflower seeds? We have nut and seed allergies in our home. Can I just leave them out?
You can leave them out!
Loved it! I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out great. There was a little bit more filling than I needed but I would rather have too much than not enough. Served with vegan gravy. Very tasty and it reheated well too. Thanks for such an awesome recipe.
This sounds delicious and not too difficult for an inexperienced cook like me! I appreciate the well written recipe that details every step. I also do not like mushrooms and this is the first Wellington recipe I’ve seen without them. I’ll definitely be making this over the holidays!
My husband and I made the change to WFPB six weeks ago. I made this for us to have as our main course for Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out great. I did end up using cashews roughly chopped instead of sunflower seeds only bc my super market didn’t have unsalted. It tasted great and add a little texture. Even our meat eater family members tried some and said it was delicious. Thanks for this recipe.
This is an awesome recipe, we made this for thanksgiving dinner and the pumpkin pie recipe also. They were both fantastic
I highly recommend these and subscription to Karissa email list. I love her cheesecake recipe and have made it several times and each time I get comments like” this cannot be vegan, it’s better than my cheesecake “
Thanks Karissa
I’m excited to find this recipe! I was looking for a Wellington recipe without mushrooms for my mushroom hating family members. I’m going to make the filling the night before then assemble right before baking and also serve with some vegetable gravy. It’s so fun to have a vegan main dish that doesn’t look like a consolation prize. I’m hoping the meat eaters will want to try it, too. Can’t wait!
Va I replace the lentils for plant based ground?
Yes, substitute about 2 cups of the ground.
Recipe looks great, my son and i have been vegetarian for almost 18 months and have recently removed the remaining animal by products from our diet. I wanted to make this for my son for Xmas with my family. Hoping i can make it look super appetizing and maybe some of my carniverous family will try some.
Thanks will update after we’ve had it.
Hi, can’t wait to try this as all the Wellington recipes I find always have mushrooms in it! Wondering about the bouillon – I don’t have it. Can I use vegetable stock instead or would something thicker like a gravy work better? Granules or made up? I imagine the bouillon is thicker than stock?
I would recommend using vegetable stock in place of the water and leaving out the bouillon.
PF puff pastry has hydrogenated oil and fructose syrup. Read ingredients.
I read the ingredients. The ingredients are vegan.
I am not vegan, but I regularly cook for vegan friends and family. ‘Tis is scrumptious.
One thing: I serve with the NYT make ahead mushroom gravy now because it is requested.
Another thing: I’m making it just now. I have baby spinach, but no kale. Will that work?
Yes, spinach will work!
i would like to serve it with a gravy any suggestions and use mushrooms in the mix to make more savory ?
Where can you get puff pastry that does not contain butter?
Pepperidge Farm brand is vegan.
Wondering about your calorie count. 1/6 of the puff pastry alone is 230 calories. Yet you have only 222 calories per serving. Did you leave out the puff pastry when you figured the calories? Looks very yummy anyway.
Hey, Mike! Good spot. I use a nutrition calculator and went back through to manually calculate. The calculator got the amount of puff pastry wrong. I’ve changed the nutrition facts to reflect the re-calculation. Thanks for the comment!
Made this for Christmas dinner – it was beautiful and super tasty! Thanks!!
I made this to bring to a potluck. In the end, it was delicious and well recrived. However, I believe the recipe should read to allow the filling to cool before adding it to the pastry. My filling was still warm and the pastry disintegrated under it. It was messy and nearly impossible to save without a second sheet of pastry.
Thank you for the input. I am glad it still turned out okay.
Can’t wait to make it! Can you use canned lentils? I’ve not much experience with dry lentils, do they soften that quickly? (15/20mins). Thank you! 🙂
Sure!
Can I make this a day before or the morning of (xmas dinner). I’ll be having a 22lb Turkey so won’t have room or the time. Also, can I use my red lents instead l (what I have at home).
Hey Monica! You can assemble the wellington ahead of time, stick it in the fridge, and then bake it when you are ready to eat it. You may need to add a little more time to the baking time since it will be cold when you put it in the oven. I don’t recommend baking it ahead of time because the puff pastry texture will not be as light & flaky reheated. Unfortunately, red lentils will be too mushy for this recipe, they kind of disintegrate when cooking – green or brown lentils will remain firm which is the best texture for this recipe.
How much water when cooking the lentils ?
It’s in the recipe
Have you added mushrooms to this? Thinking of adding some because I love mushrooms!
I haven’t, but you definitely could!
Looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
Sounds yummy and easy!!! Great main dish. Thanks for no nuts!! Too many vegan recipes use cashews.
I’m not a big fan of kale. Any other suggestions? Spinach, perhaps?
Sure!