Flaky puff pastry is stuffed with a sweet and savory mixture of mushrooms, butternut squash, pecans and rice to make this mouth-watering vegan vegetable Wellington. This stunning holiday main dish will please vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike!
This recipe is carb-o-riffic. But hey, if there's a day when you can go all out on the carbs, it's got to be Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or any of the year-end holidays really.
Vegan holiday recipes certainly take the cake (ha ha! Um, sorry.) when it comes to carbing things up. This one is puff pasty stuffed with carbs. And it's SO good.
This dish is kind of based on beef Wellington, but it's also kind of not. I've wanted to create a vegan beef Wellington (or at least a vegan beef Wellington-inspired dish) forever, but didn't know where to start. See, beef Wellington is basically a big piece of meat and a few other fixings wrapped in puff pastry. Great! So I'll wrap some vegan food in puff pastry. But the challenge was in deciding what foods would work best.
I decided to give up on the idea of using any filling that resembled beef, and instead to combine a bunch of sweet and savory fillings, including a whiskey-spiked mixture of mushrooms, butternut squash, pecans and herbed brown rice.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Brown rice. You could substitute another type of rice, but I like the grainy texture and nutty flavor of brown rice best in this recipe. Also, you may need to alter the cook time and amount of liquid you cook it in. Refer to the package directions for guidance.
- Vegetable broth.
- Dried herbs. We're using thyme, rosemary and sage. Prefer fresh herbs? Just double the amounts!
- Olive oil. You could substitute another type of high-heat oil if you'd like.
- Butternut squash. Another sweet variety of winter squash could be substituted here, such as acorn, kabocha, or delicata squash. Sweet potatoes are another option.
- Mushrooms. We're using cremini mushrooms, also known as baby portobellos or baby bellas. Regular portobellos or button mushrooms could be substituted.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Whiskey. This adds a wonderful flavor to the filling, but it can be left out if you prefer to cook without alcohol.
- Pecans. Walnuts or hazelnuts would make good alternatives if pecans aren't your favorite.
- Salt & pepper.
- Flour. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour.
- Frozen puff pastry. Accidentally vegan puff pastry is surprisingly easy to find! Always be sure to check the ingredients for things like butter. I used Pepperidge Farm brand.
- Vegan butter. Look for brands such as Earth Balance and Miyoko's near where the regular butter is sold at the supermarket.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by roasting your squash and mushrooms. Dice them both up and toss them with a bit of olive oil.
- Arrange the diced squash and mushrooms on separate baking sheets and roast them until they're tender.
- While the squash and mushrooms roast, combine your broth, rice, and herbs in a small saucepan. Heat the broth to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pot and let the rice simmer until the broth is fully absorbed.
- Let the pot sit with the lid on for a few minutes, then uncover it and fluff the rice with a fork.
- Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add diced onion. Sweat the onion for a few minutes until it softens up, then add the garlic and cook it briefly with the onion.
- Lower the heat and carefully add the whiskey to the skillet. Let it simmer with the onion and garlic until it reduces a bit.
Tip: Always be super careful when adding alcohol to a hot cooking vessel. If it heats up too rapidly, it can catch fire!
- Add your cooked rice, squash, mushrooms and pecans to the skillet. Toss everything to combine, and give the mixture a quick taste-test. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. It's important to taste-test and season the filling before adding flour, which shouldn't be eaten until fully cooked.
- Now sprinkle in the flour and stir the mixture up to combine everything.
- Use a rolling pin to roll your puff pastry to a large square. Transfer the dough to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then arrange the fillings in a long strip down the center.
- If you'd like to braid your dough, cut it into 1-inch strips along the sides, then pinch alternating strips together over the fillings. Alternately, you can simply fold the dough over the fillings and seal it together. Either way, you may find that you need to stretch the dough a bit in order to fit it over the fillings. This is totally fine!
- Brush the pastry with melted vegan butter. This will help to crisp and brown the pastry since we're not using a traditional egg wash.
Tip: It's a good idea to move the pastry before filling it. As you can see in the photo above, I didn't do that! Moving your Wellington can be tricky once it's assembled. I like to recruit a helper and use a couple of spatulas.
- Bake the Wellington until it's golden brown and puffy.
- Use a sharp knife to slice it up. I find a serrated knife works best.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tip: I like to serve my Wellington with spiced wine cranberry sauce or doused in vegan gravy.
Make-Ahead Option
The filling for this vegetable Wellington can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Assemble and bake the Wellington according to the recipe on the day of serving.
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan Wellington is best eaten right away, since puff pastry loses its crisp, flaky texture over time. If you do have leftovers, they'll keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
More Vegan Holiday Main Dishes
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Vegan Vegetable Wellington
Flaky puff pastry is stuffed with a sweet and savory mixture of mushrooms, butternut squash, pecans and rice to make this mouth-watering vegan vegetable Wellington. This stunning holiday main dish will please vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike!
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 cups diced (½-inch) butternut squash (Note 1)
- 8 ounces diced ½-inch) cremini mushrooms (about 3 cups of mushrooms)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup whiskey (Note 2)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 sheet (about 9 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed (Note 3)
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
Instructions
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Place the rice, broth, thyme, sage and rosemary into a small saucepan and set it over high heat.
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Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Allow the rice to simmer for about 40 minutes, until the liquid is fully absorbed.
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Remove the pot from heat and allow it to sit with the lid on for at least 5 minutes before uncovering.
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While the rice cooks, preheat the oven to 400°.
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Toss the squash with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and and toss the mushrooms with 2 teaspoons of oil. Arrange them separately on the baking sheets.
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Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake until the squash and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
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Remove the baking sheets from the oven but leave the oven on.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic and sauté another minute, until very fragrant.
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Lower the heat and carefully add the whiskey (Note 4). Raise the heat back to medium, bring the whiskey to a simmer it simmer for about 2 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
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Add 1 cup of the cooked rice (Note 5), squash, mushrooms and pecans to the skillet. Stir a few times to mix everything up.
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Taste-test the mixture at this point (careful, as it will be hot) and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
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Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to incorporate. Remove the skillet from the heat.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it to about a 12-inch square. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
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Pile the filling on the puff pastry, forming a long rectangle extending down the center of the puff pastry sheet. Shape the filling with your hands and pack it in. It should seem like a lot, but you can remove some if it's way too much.
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Option 1: Braid the dough. Use a knife to cut approximately 1-inch strips down either side of the rectangle, stopping about a half in from the strip of filling. Starting at the bottom, fold the strips inward at a slight diagonal, over the filling, pinching opposite strips together.
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Option 2: Simply fold the top and bottom ends of the puff pastry over the filling, then wrap the sides overtop to form a log shape, pinching tightly at the seams to form a seal. Poke a few holes in the dough to allow steam to escape.
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Brush the pastry with the melted butter.
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Bake the log until golden and puffy, 30-35 minutes.
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Allow the vegetable Wellington to cool just for a couple minutes, then slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
- You'll need about 14 ounces or half of a medium butternut squash.
- The whiskey can be omitted if you prefer to cook without alcohol. Simply skip step 11 of the recipe.
- Pepperidge Farm brand puff pastry is vegan.
- Alcohol is flammable, so always be careful when adding it to a hot cooking vessel.
- You'll probably have some leftover rice. Save it for another use or make a snack of it.
If you are alcohol free or a recovering alcoholic do not eat food cooked with alcohol. It is a myth that it cooks out. Yes, you can get drunk eating food made with alcohol. YouTube/New Scientist If you've ever been told that cooking "burns off" any alcohol in the food you're eating, be forewarned: That's entirely untrue. ... As it turns out, many popular foods cooked with wine or liquor still contain alcohol.Jun 11, 2016
Can food cooked with alcohol make you drunk? - Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com › can-fo...
Can I come live at your house for the month of November? I think this will be somewhere on our holiday menu this year. Keep it up!
Lol. I could certainly use some help getting rid of all the Thanksgiving dishes I've stashed away in the freezer! I hope you enjoy this!
you are my "go to" place for the best recipes and ideas for my kind of dishes. Thank you for always presenting the very best!
Aww...thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that!!
What can I use for the whiskey? I cannot have any because of a family who needs to avoid alcohol.
You can simply leave it out. :)
I added Apple juice instead! It was lovely :)
Do you think you could use whatever blend of veggies desired as long it totals 6 cups? I was thinking mushrooms, carrots and peas. Or mushrooms and sweet potatoes!
Yup! Just about anything will work! Just keep in mind that softer veggies will roast quicker, or in some cases (like with peas) might not require roasting at all. Enjoy!!
I bet this would be great in a spring roll wrapper!!!
I love that idea!
I would like to make this into small mini puffs for a party....more like mini appetizers. Have you done that? How did it turn out. This sounds delicious.
I haven't, but I think it would work well! You could use this recipe for guidance on filling and baking: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-spinach-puffs/
A couple of things: the written portion of this recipe says ‘roast squash and rice’.... I guess you mean squash and mushrooms which is pictured,..? Also, what is the baking temp? I must have missed it somewhere.
I am making and bringing to non-vegan house for Thanksgiving - should be a hit... nothing bad here!
Thank you!
Thanks for catching the "squash and rice" thing! I just corrected that! The baking temp is 400° - step 4 says to preheat the oven to that temp and then step 7 says to leave the oven on after the squash and mushrooms come out. I hope you enjoyed the dish!
About how many oz of mushrooms are needed to get to three cups diced?
About 8 ounces should do it!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I wowed my non-vegetarian friend, she was very impressed! I didn’t have any whiskey, but I subbed in apple juice and I think it worked in a similar way! And I’m allergic to nuts so I added seeds instead. It was amazing! You’re amazing! Thanks again :)
Yay!! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much Natalie!
Would you recommend some sort of gravy with this, or is it moist / hearty enough on its own?
We ate it without gravy and loved it, but I think it would be great with gravy as well! This one would work nicely: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-gravy/
I’m wondering if I can add some cooked French or black lentils to this to up the protein? Maybe instead of the mushrooms?
I think that would work very nicely. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
This dish is amazong. I made it with a friend to see if it would be appropriate for Christmas and it definitely fits the bill! Imwas wonderingmif it's possible to assemble the whole thing in the morning and refridgerate until ready to bake and serve so i dont need to be preparing while after guests arrive.
I'm so glad you like it! I think assembling it in advance should work out fine. :)
This was a delicious and photo-worthy Christmas dinner. This will be a new tradition for the family. Thanks so much!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Holy moly, this was good. I’m vegetarian and volunteered to make the main dish for my family’s Christmas dinner—they’re omnivores and picky so I knew I had to make something savory and homey! This was labor intensive but a smashing success. I added chopped carrots to the squash and mushroom pan, toasted the pecans a bit before adding them in, and mixed in Parmesan cheese at the very end. SO tasty, they all loved it! Thanks for your recipe, it definitely saved Christmas!!
Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks so much Daphne!
Made this for Easter and my non vegetarian family members loved it. I made it earlier in the week and froze it until Easter Sunday. Made my prep time very easy.
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Ann!
How much longer did this take to cook after being frozen or did you defrost before cooking?
I have always thawed Wellingtons out in the fridge for an hour or two before baking - otherwise the pastry will look brown but the inside will not be hot.
This is amazing! Any thoughts on how to make the filling into a stuffing for Thanksgiving? I have carnivore family members. Wondering how to use this filling in different ways because it's that's good :)
I'm so glad you like it! The only modification I might make to the filling is to leave the flour out. I think it should work just fine as stuffing!
What are your thoughts on adding some dried cranberry’s for Christmas? It tastes bland (I’m not a cook so I suspect it’s me and not the recipe ... highly suspect)
I think that would work well! Have you tried just adding more salt? That often does the trick! Good luck and enjoy!
We made this for Christmas dinner -- It was absolutely amazing -- as an app we did a butternut squash ravioli with a vegan version of a maple cream sauce -- we used the left over maple cream sauce and put it on top of the wellington when it was done cooking -- it just completed the wellington --
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The butternut squash ravioli sounds delicious! Must have been a wonderful meal!
Great recipe. I halved it though as there is only two of us, just needed to trim the pastry a bit as used ready rolled. Needed to add a bit more liquid to the rice when cooking. Flavours were lovely and it turned out really well, it looked impressive on the table. Thanks
I don’t use refined oils when I’m cooking. I know that the puff pastry already has oil in it, so I would really like to avoid any more oil. I can do all the veggies just fine without, but how will the puff pastry do if I don’t brush it with vegan butter? Will it still get golden and crispy?
You can skip the butter if you'd like! It should still get crispy - it just might turn out a little lighter colored than if you used butter. You could also try using non-dairy milk instead of the butter. That sometimes helps with browning.
What do you use for puff pastry? I have a rough time finding vegan versions in Canada.
I usually buy Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, but I'm not sure if it's available in Canada. You could try making your own. Here's a recipe that I bookmarked a while back: https://heartofabaker.com/how-to-make-vegan-puff-pastry/. Another option would be to substitute phyllo, as most phyllo brands I've come across have been vegan. You'll just need to layer the sheets (maybe 10 or 12 of them) with some oil or vegan butter before wrapping your wellington.
This is such a good recipe! I look forward to making it again this year.
Wow this was fantastic! My mother in law has turned vegan so we are trying new dishes so we can cook a vegan Christmas dinner! This is now a strong contender for the main dish! Love your recipes and how your instructions are clear and easy to follow! So pleased we found your site!
Absolutely phenomenal! I brought this to family dinner today so I could have a main course and also to share with my non vegan family. I used wild rice, added parsnips and used puff pastry and oh my word… I can’t wait to make it again! I’ve never done anything like this and I even went for the fancier braid look. Everyone loved it and wanted more! I think next time I might add raisins to the mix after I pull it from the heat and before the bake. Thank you for an absolutely wonderful recipe.