This is such a decadent vegetarian main course that’s ideal if you’re looking for something a little special to substitute meat on a roast dinner. After a lot of testing and perfecting, here is my delicious but easy Mushroom Wellington recipe.
If you prefer not to eat the usual turkey for your Christmas Dinner, or you’re cooking for vegetarian guests for the big day, this Mushroom Wellington recipe is perfect as the main event for your plates.
Light, flaky (and shop-bought, obviously) puff pastry is stuffed with delicious roasted portobello mushrooms and a creamy leek and garlic filling, making this vegetarian Christmas dinner recipe a great option.
Why? Well it’s something a little indulgent AND you can make it in advance for convenience!
In fact, you can even do these delicious puff pastry parcels way ahead of time and freeze them, giving you precious time when the kitchen gets busy.
Why you’ll love this Mushroom Wellington recipe
Perfect vegetarian showstopper for special meal
Can be made ahead to save time later
Delicious, decadent flavours make it a bit EXTRA
How we came up with this recipe
So many of you have asked for a vegetarian roast dinner main course that felt a bit special, and I also wanted to offer a vegetarian Christmas dinner option to add to our festive recipes this year.
I had this idea of making a wellington with mushrooms, but I wanted to use them whole inside so that there was something to slice through that felt like a centrepiece.
This turned out to be harder than expected! We tested this recipe TEN times before it came close to being perfect.
In case anyone is interested in alterations you could make, we tested various combinations of:
Spinach and leek filling
Just spinach filling
Goats cheese/blue cheese fillings
Fresh, fried garlic/garlic granules
Dried thyme instead of fresh
With walnuts/cashews in the filling
I think we got it in the end! The epiphany came with a roasted bulb of garlic – it’s SO good! Hope you’ll love it.
If you want to make any of the tweaks that we tested above, they are all good and maybe you’ll prefer, but this is the combo we think is best. You do you though.
Mushroom Wellington Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Garlic – A whole bulb
- Portobello mushrooms – Use x 2 per person. We tested this with flat, regular, field mushrooms (not Portobello) and we felt it wasn’t as good. Please do try to use Portobello mushrooms as they have so much more flavour!
- Leeks
- Salted butter
- Fresh thyme – leaves only
- Cream cheese – Garlic and herb soft cheese
- Ready-rolled puff pastry
- Egg
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Mushroom Wellingtons
1. Trim the garlic bulb and place in foil on a baking tray with the mushrooms. Drizzle over oil and season.
2. Add the leeks, thyme and butter to an ovenproof dish and cover tightly. Put the mushrooms and the leek dish into the oven.
3. When partly cooked (see recipe below) drain the liquid from the mushrooms, turn over and put back in with the leeks for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool then add the garlic into the leek mixture, and the cream cheese. Season well and combine.
4. Cut your puff pastry sheet into strips of thirds, position a mushroom at one end, add 1/4 of the leek mixture, and then put another mushroom on the top (face down). Repeat for all 4 mushrooms.
5. Brush beaten egg around each mushroom, then fold the pastry over the top of each and use a fork to press the two edges of pastry together.
6. Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining egg. Bake (as per the recipe below) until the pastry is golden.
Substitutions
- Alternative wellington fillings – See the list in the notes for tried-and-tested combinations that we know work really well too
How to make in advance & Storing
Follow the recipe up to step 5 of ‘making the wellingtons’, then cover the wellingtons and store in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.
You may need to bake it for 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe says if it’s come straight out of the fridge and into the oven.
Freezing
You can also follow the recipe to step 5 of ‘making the wellingtons’ and freeze the wellingtons, uncooked, and keep frozen up to 3 months in advance.
When you want to cook them, defrost thoroughly in the fridge and bake as above.
Top tips
Pastry hack
We’re using my go-to hack of using ready-rolled puff pastry (if you want to make your own pastry, go ahead, but using this kind is more than OK).
Make sure you take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before working with it in the recipe.
Garlic
This recipe roasts a whole bulb of garlic. How strong this tastes will depend on how big the bulb is, the flavour of that particular bulb and also your personal taste.
You may want to add HALF of the roasted bulb to the mixture, taste the leek filling and then decide if you want to add the rest (I always do but I LOVE garlic).
If you don’t use the whole bulb, you can save the rest in the fridge for 3 days to use in another dish.
Pastry quantities
Really annoyingly, 1 sheet of puff pastry is enough for 3 mushrooms, so you will need 1 and 1/3 sheets for 4 mushrooms (if you want to make 4, that is).
You can freeze the leftover pastry for another time, or make some puff pastry mince pies with the rest!
FAQs
Yes, I have lots! You could for a more traditional main that would work as an alternative to a Sunday roast-style meal, such as Vegetarian Cottage Pie or Cheesy Vegetarian Pie.
Or you could go for Courgette Fritters, Cauliflower Cheese or Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne.
Sure! They will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. For best results, reheat them covered in the oven, or in the microwave thoroughly.
Yes, you’ll just need to use gluten free puff pastry as an alternative.
Yes! You’d need to use vegan pastry and vegan cream cheese. Substitute the butter for a dairy free spread. Substitute the egg wash for a dairy free milk.
If you’re having this for your Christmas dinner, ALL the meat-free trimmings! If it’s a regular meal, you could go for something similar, with roast potatoes or parmentier potatoes, carrots and parsnips and red cabbage.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Mushroom Wellington {Easy Veggie Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Garlic bulb
- 8 Portobello mushrooms x2 per person
- 2 Leeks Halved and sliced into 0.5cm pieces
- 30 g Salted butter
- 10 g Fresh thyme Leaves removed from stalks
- 200 g Garlic and herb soft cheese
- 650 g Ready-rolled puff pastry x2 325g packs
- 1 Egg
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Cooking the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 180c (fan).
- Trim the very top off of the garlic bulb and sit it on a small piece of tin foil. Put the mushrooms on to a baking tray, drizzle the olive oil over the mushrooms and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic up in the tin foil and sit on the tray next to the mushrooms.
- In a separate ovenproof dish add the leeks, thyme and butter. Cover tightly with foil (or a lid if your pan has one).
- Put the mushroom tray and the leek dish into the oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, remove the mushroom tray from the oven (leave the leeks in there) and carefully drain off any liquid from the mushrooms. Turn the mushrooms over and cook both the leeks and mushrooms for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms, garlic and leeks from the oven and allow to cool.
Making up the wellingtons:
- When the leeks are cold, take the garlic bulb and squeeze the contents out of the papery skin into the leeks (see notes below). Add the soft cheese and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix well, mashing the garlic, until well combined.
- Use a sharp knife to cut your puff pastry into thirds (See notes below).
- Take one pastry 1/3 at a time, position a mushroom at the end of the pastry, add 1/4 of the leek mixture, and then put another mushroom on the top. Repeat for all 4 mushrooms.
- Beat your egg and using a pastry brush brush around each mushroom. Fold the pastry over the top of each and use a fork to press the two edges of pastry together. (Use clean hands to smooth the pastry gently over the upturned mushroom.)
- Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining egg. (Use the pastry offcuts to decorate if you like).
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden.
Notes
- Spinach and leek filling
- Just spinach filling
- Goats cheese/Blue cheese fillings
- Fresh, fried garlic/garlic granules
- Dried thyme instead of fresh
- With walnuts/cashews in the filling
Nutrition
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