Juicy mushrooms take center stage in this vegan mushroom wellington - a fun spin on the classic beef wellington.
My Mushroom Wellington is a firm Christmas favourite. Not just with me, but you, my wonderful readers.
I first published this vegan wellington recipe all the way back in 2011 and I felt the very old and embarrassing photos deserved an update.
So a little history about how this recipe came to be.
Back in 2011, I was asked by the Australian Mushroom Growers Association to join their Mushroom Masters Tournament of Taste.
The Tournament of Taste was an annual competition between select Australian, Canadian and US bloggers who shared delicious recipes with mushrooms as the key ingredient.
Don't forget to check out my Vegan Thanksgiving Cookbook for more delicious holiday recipes ideas that are fit for a holiday feast!
I racked my brain for a while over what to make, when one day (I think after seeing a cooking show on tv) I came across a beef wellington and thought wonderfully meaty portobello mushrooms would wonderfully fit.
So my Mushroom Wellington was born and it just so happens that it went on to win!
It also went on to become THE most popular recipe on the blog.
I've slightly updated my vegetable wellington recipe (only slightly) to make it dairy free, given I can't tolerate dairy very well these days. And it just so happens that now makes it a vegan mushroom wellington too!
The secret to a deliciously juicy yet flaky Mushroom Wellington is to pat everything dry and make sure it is completely cold before wrapping it in your vegan puff pastry.
Skip this step and your pastry is not only going to be soggy, it will tear when you try to wrap up your wellington.
Can't find a good quality vegan puff pastry? You can find my vegan puff pastry recipe here.
You want 3 to 4 large portobello mushrooms for this recipe. Try to pick mushrooms that are about the same diameter so you don't end up with a lumpy bumpy portobello wellington.
The mushrooms are then layered with cooked baby spinach (chard works well here too) and caramelized onions.
A tip here, don't use store bought caramelized onions as they are far too sweet for this recipe.
Take the time to slowly cook your own onions and you'll be rewarded with the most delicious flaky and golden vegetarian wellington imaginable.
Looking for the perfect side dish for my Mushroom Wellington?
Look no further than my Crispy Roast Potatoes! Golden, crunchy and spiked with herbs these potatoes are nothing short of addictive. So make extra as they will disappear fast!
Don't forget to check out my Vegan Thanksgiving Cookbook for more delicious holiday recipes ideas that are fit for a holiday feast!
Just for fun here's one of the original photos from back in 2011. 🙂
The photo just didn't do the recipe justice. Did it?
And if you're loving this vegan mushroom wellington, be sure to check out my other meatless wellington recipes - this vegan vegetable wellington and this vegan beet wellington!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large portobello mushrooms stalks trimmed and cleaned
- 3 large onions peeled and chopped
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 300 g baby spinach (10 ½ oz)
- 4 sprigs of thyme leaves picked
- 1 vegan puff pastry
- 1 tbs dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
VEGAN EGG WASH
- 1 tbs aquafaba (chickpea water)
- 1 tbs almond or cashew milk
- 1 tsp neutral flavoured oil
- ½ tsp maple syrup or brown rice syrup
Instructions
- Place a large frying pan over a low to medium-low heat. Add the 1 /2 tbs of olive oil followed by onion and reduce heat to low. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are golden brown. Keep an eye on the onions to make sure they don't catch.
- Remove the onions from the pan and return the pan to the heat. Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from the baby spinach from the pan and leave to cool.
- Increase the heat to medium/high and return the pan to the heat. Add the remaining olive oil and place the mushrooms, top side down. Cook until lightly golden (about 5 minutes) before turning over and cooking for a further 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from the heat, and drain on paper towel top side up as they will release a lot of liquid as they cool. Transfer the onions, spinach and mushrooms to the refrigerator and cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit). Place a sheet of baking paper on the baking tray and then place the puff pastry sheet on top. Spread half the caramelised onions over the middle third of the pastry, making sure to leave an extra 2cm (¾ inch) border at the edge of the pastry. Top with half of the baby spinach. Spread the dijon mustard over the mushrooms and season well with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on top of the spinach. Top the mushrooms with thyme and the remaining baby spinach and onions.
- Very carefully roll the pastry over the top of the mushroom mixture until you have a log. Press down to seal the edges. Roll over the log so that the seam is facing the bottom.
- To make the vegan egg wash whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Very lightly coat with the vegan egg wash. Place the pastry in the freezer for 10 minutes before repeating with another layer of vegan egg wash and freezing the pastry for a further 10 minutes.
- Place the pastry back on the baking sheet and tray and place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden and flakey.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see! Share your photo on Instagram and use the hashtag #deliciouseveryday for a chance to be featured or share it on my Facebook page.
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Looking for more vegan mushroom recipes? Here are some of my favourites:
Thank you to Australian Mushroom Growers and Tastespotting for sponsoring this vegan wellington recipe.
jane @ littlesugarsnaps says
My best friend is veggie and she get's sick and tired of second rate freezer food offered up whist the rest of the table tucks into something hearty at family gatherings. This is going to the top of my must make list for her.
Rachel Jensen says
When you said that it's best everything is cold...do you mean cook it completely then put it in the fridge and then once it's cold, place it in the pastry puff?
Ellanor Aquitaine says
I think I'm possibly going to try this for my Christmas dinner as something new. We usually have stuffed portobellos, but this looks so delicious as a centrepiece ...
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I hope you enjoy it Ellanor 🙂 I'm making one for Christmas too!
Noelle says
Do you think I could make this and freeze it?
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Hi Noelle. Given the filling (the mushrooms, onions and spinach) contain a lot of water I wouldn't suggest freezing. You can, however, make all the components a day ahead (you could even do the onions 2 to 3 days ahead) and then assemble them on the day before baking. I hope that helps 🙂
Julie says
I made this for christmas dinner and it was amazing! I'm not vegan, just vegetarian, so I used regular egg wash and added brie cheese inside the pastry and skipped the dijon mustard, because I didn't have any. I followed the rest of the instructions exactly and it turned out a beautiful gold color like in the pictures and super tasty. I will be repeating this dish.
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Julie! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.
Chrisy says
Yum this looks great, I can't wait to try it!One question - the pictures make it look like the pastry edges are joined at the side but the recipe says roll it over so the join line is on the bottom - which is better? Thanks!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Good question Chrisy. Really, you can do whatever you like. I had the join running along the side length for this photo as I wanted to do some decorative crimping. But you can do whatever is easier. You can also make two separate pieces and join the top to the bottom (I did this when I made individual wellingtons at Christmas). If making two seperate pieces just make sure to cut the top bigger than the bottom to allow room for it to go over the filling. I hope you enjoy this recipe Chrisy, and I'd love to hear how it turns out. If you share a photo on Instagram tag it #deliciouseveryday so I can see. 😀
Amy Morris says
I made this tonight along with your Crispy Roast Potatoes. Pretty darn delicious, but I had a couple questions. How did you get your onions so caramelized in just 15-20 minutes over low heat? I went at least 30 minutes and increased the heat to medium-low but never got close to the gorgeous color yours had. Second, could you verify the prep time? 10 minutes for prep, as listed, seems too short for anything but building the Wellington itself; and can't include the cooking and cooling of the onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Tasted great, though, and I would never have tried dijon mustard on mushrooms. Oh, and those potatoes? AMAZING!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Hi Amy 😀 Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I'm so glad you enjoyed the Wellington and roast potatoes. Now as to your questions. My gas burner stove perhaps runs a little hotter than your stove. Maybe next time you might try cooking them at an almost medium heat and see how they go. Another tip is to add a little brown sugar and a splash of balsamic if you want lovely burnished onions. I don't do this, but it is a good shortcut when you are running low on time.For the prep time, I include any time that is required to prepare ingredients such as chopping. In this case, only the onions need to be chopped and the other task is assembling the wellington ready for baking. Cooking time is listed separately to prep time. You are right, though, perhaps 10 minutes is a little short. As I've made this recipe so many times it doesn't take me long, but probably requires 20 minutes prep from someone who hasn't cooked it before. I'll amend the recipe appropriately. Thanks again for your feedback and I'm SO happy to hear you enjoyed both recipes. If you have a spare moment I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave a comment on my roast potato recipe post here so that others can see you've tried it. 🙂
Megan says
I am having a party Sunday. Today is Friday and I'm doing most of it. The onions, mushrooms and all that and leaving it in the fridge. I'm also using a puff pastry I bought. Can I assemble it on Sat and let it chill in the fridge till Sunday lunch party?
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Hi Megan 🙂 It's best to assemble the wellington at the last minute as the moisture from the mushrooms and onions will make the pastry soggy. To ensure you get a crispy bottom on your wellington preheat your baking tray before placing the wellington on the baking tray. Enjoy and I hope your party goes well 🙂
Bea says
Just wanted to say I'm a veggie recently gone vegan and my meat loving husband made this for us both this week. IT IS DELICIOUS!! We both scoffed it down and even went back for seconds. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Lina says
One quick question. Do you slice the mushrooms or leave them whole.
Nicole says
I prefer to leave them whole, but you can slice the mushrooms after cooking them if you prefer.
Alia @ Everyday Easy Eats says
Hi Nicole! Your Vegan Mushroom Wellington looks superb! I love mushrooms and I love a good twist on a classic! Great photos too! I just pinned this to my vegan recipes board - can't wait to try it! 🙂
Nicole says
Thanks so much - I hope you give it a try!
Kirsten says
I have to say that this is now a Christmas dinner tradition in our house. I make most of the insides the day prior so it goes together that much faster! One Our favorite meals by far and I have yet to have guests try it and not ask for there recipe! I can’t say enough for how much we love this recipe.
Nicole says
Thank you so much for sharing. It makes me incredibly happy to know other families are sharing this for their Christmas dinner!
Megan Pickard says
Hey, I'm going to be trying this for my university house Christmas meal tomorrow. Can it prepared today and kept in the fridge before doing the 'egg' washes and cooking tomorrow??
Nicole says
I have not tried that, but I would be worried that it would get a bit soggy from sitting overnight. You could prepare the filling ahead of time and then assemble it tomorrow!
Dominique says
Hey Nicole! thank you for the recipe! I liked it a lot so I am going to make it for my christmas dinner. I also added your recipe to my latest blog. You can see it here: https://omdetox.com/21-vegan-christmas-recipes/Merry christmas!
The Style Box says
Hello,Planning to make this for my family for Christmas Eve today.Maybe I’m just being silly as I’m a bit tired but I’m sure you cooked 4 mushrooms in the video but then only put 2 in the Wellington? What happened to the rest? Or was it layered up and I just didn’t notice??Either way it looks AMAZING and I’m super excited to try it!ThanksEmma
Nicole says
Ha. You're not crazy! It is layered up, but hard to see.
Kim says
I made this yesterday for my first veg Christmas lunch. I was somewhat ill prepared so used an egg wash, but will look at trying your vegan wash.It was easy and tasty! Those who tried it with me also liked it. I'll be making this again soon for certain.Thank you Nicole!
Antoinette says
Made this for Christmas and it turned out PERFECT and just like the picture! I did add garlic and fresh rosemary to the onion/thyme mix which I highly recommend! THANK YOU! Keepin' this. And very simple!
Nicole says
I am so glad you enjoyed it! The garlic and rosemary sounds like great additions. It's hard to beat fresh rosemary!
Kelly says
My husband is vegan but I am not so I’m always looking for vegan hacks on classics that we can both enjoy. This is by far the best recipe I’ve tried. The only change I made was deglazing the onions with some white wine leftover from Christmas. I used a cast iron skillet and wouldn’t do it differently! I will definitely be making this again.
Nicole says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The deglazing sounds like an awesome addition- I will have to try that!
SHARON BOBLITT says
THANK YOU MS. AUSSIE...THIS IS A LOVELY RECIPE BUT I AM WONDERING IF , WHEN IN A HURRY, I CAN USE CANNED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS WELL DRAINED PERHAPS.? THANK YOU FROM MS. LAZY IN STOCKTON, CA
Nicole says
I have never tried it, but I think they would be a bit too soggy. But if you do it - let me know how it turns out.
Monica says
Hello....After watching the video I discovered that I have the wrong sized portobellos........I bought the really large ones....do you think that this will still work for the recipe?
Nicole says
Yes, it will definitely still work! Just slice them up a bit smaller. It will look a little different than the images, but it should taste just as good!
Josefine says
This looks amazing and I can't wait to try it! 😃Question: Is the "putting in the freezer" step for the benefit of the vegan egg wash, or should it be done even if using regular egg?
Nicole says
Thank you! I would do the freezer step either way. It helps with the texture - it gets less soggy that way!
Emma says
I am subbing leeks for the onions as my husby is Welsh, but this is for a special celebratory dinner to send my daughter off in style to Vietnam for her travels. I wanted something traditional with the full roast roots and steamed cabbage a huge vat of onion gravy and the hottest horseradish known to mankind. I can't wait!
Nicole says
That sounds like an amazing dinner. Best wishes to your daughter on her travels - I bet that will be a fantastic experience!
Claudia says
I've made your recipe before and it was delicious! My meat eater family loved it. I'd like to modify a bit and reduce the onions this time. I'm thinking of adding parsnips, carrots and or/potatoes. Do you have any suggestions on whether/how these additions may work?
Nicole says
Thanks! I think this would work well with a number of different veggies. The potatoes might get a bit mushy, but it's worth a try. I would roast all the veggies in the oven first, before wrapping them in the puff pastry.
Rebekah sinclair says
I wish I could post a picture of how great this turned out. It has been a huge hit at several parties already. This last round, I had some past-its-prime tofurky sandwich slices I added to the underside before putting the onions on and, as well as being a fun and delicious variation, i noticed they helped keep the bottom drier as well. I often have enough pasty dough to cut out some leaves or something for the top, which just makes this always the most impressive dish at any gathering. So thank you so much for a favorite recipe that’s won over a lot of folks to the possibilities of compassionate fare!
Nicole says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe - thanks for taking the time to tell me. If you're on Instagram, you can post a picture there and tag me @deliciouseveryday. I would love to see!
Pati says
I am not a mushroom fan but would love to try this recipe. What can I sub for the mushrooms? Would eggplant, zucchini or squash work? Thanks
Nicole says
I've heard of others making beet wellingtons. That might be a fun thing to try! You would want to peel and roast the beets before wrapping them up in the puff pastry.
Judy says
I’m planning on trying this for Christmas. Considering adding some seitan for protein. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Nicole says
I've never tried it with seitan, but I don't see any reason that wouldn't work. I've also had readers add things like chickpeas or beans for protein. I would love to hear how it turns out!
Debbie says
Could I make this ahead of time and freeze it? Then bake it Christmas Day? If so should I let it thaw before baking or bake from frozen. My sons new girlfriend is vegan and I want to make something special for her while the rest of us have turkey
Nicole says
I have readers report freezing it, but I haven't tried that myself. It might get a bit soggy. If I were to try, I would bake from frozen and add to the cooking time. Another option would be to prepare the filling ahead of time, and then just assemble and bake when you are ready to eat. It's very sweet that you are making her a vegan dish- what a nice way to make her feel welcome!!