Despite what many think, eating plant-based is NOT difficult! The term ‘plant-based’ can mean different things to different people, but in short, it really just means eating mostly plants. And the benefits are endless!The evidence is stacked in favour of eating mostly plants from many angles including health, environmental and ethical reasons. There are SO many food options available for those looking to eat a plant-based diet, especially now with incredible new products coming on the market to make it so much easier and more convenient! But I’ll be honest, creating hearty, meatless main dishes have been the biggest challenge, especially for special occasions where a roast, ham or turkey is usually served. The last thing you want is for your guests to feel like there is something important missing from the table!
My cousin Jillian and I wanted to create an entrée that wasn’t complicated but really stepped up to the plate as a showy main dish for any occasion. A traditional Wellington is extremely rich and is made with beef that is wrapped up in puff pastry, baked and served. This Mushroom Wellington offers a vegan-overhaul of this impressive main dish to serve guests and is deceptively easy and really satisfying! The use of different types of mushrooms cut into varying sizes gives the dish texture and a heartiness, and is packed with flavour thanks to herbs, garlic and Becel Vegan for that rich taste without all of the saturated fat.
We’ve grown to realize that it is so important to find a really good substitute for butter if you want to create plant-based dishes that taste similar to their non-vegan counterparts, and Becel Vegan has nailed it. It is plant-based and uses all vegan ingredients in this spread to create a gluten-free and lactose-free product, making it suitable for all types of diets which is important (like many families, we have a couple of family members with celiac disease who can’t eat gluten). Spreads have received a bad rap over the years due to the belief that they are loaded with unhealthy trans fats: Becel Vegan is in fact non-hydrogenated, contains no trans fats and is low in saturated fat. It contains simple ingredients with no artificial preservatives, flavours or colours. Becel Vegan can be used in baking, cooking or as a spread, making it a really versatile and heart-healthy product to stock in your kitchen! We make this lactose-
Back to this recipe: we tested the Mushroom Wellington with both puff pastry and filo pastry and both produced terrific results! If you want to keep the dish completely vegan use the filo pastry or source a vegan puff pastry (they exist), which gives you a more authentic Wellington. The instructions (including a visual step-by-step) are below! Be sure to remove the gills from the Portobello mushrooms as it will otherwise discolour the dish. Serve it with a tossed green salad for a simple dinner or as a main dish with loads of veggie sides for those bigger occasions!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
• 5 Tbsp. Becel® Vegan Margarine
• 1 c. finely diced yellow onion (1 medium)
• 1 ½ tsp. crushed fresh garlic (3-4 large cloves)
• 4 Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and cut into ½” slices
• 4 large brown mushrooms, cut in quarters
• 4 c. sliced white and brown mushrooms (mixed)
• ½ c. red wine
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 large sheet of puff pastry plus 2 Tbsp. melted Becel Vegan Margarine OR
• 5 sheets of filo pastry plus ½ c. melted Becel Vegan Margarine
• extra thyme sprigs for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Thaw the filo or puff pastry according to the package directions and if using the filo pastry, cover with a damp cloth.
- In a large frying pan heat the Becel Vegan Margarine on medium heat and add the diced onion. Sauté until the onion is transparent, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring.
- Add all of the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to soften, approximately 10 minutes. Add the wine, thyme, salt and pepper and stir occasionally until the mushrooms are fully cooked and softened and the mixture is thick with no excess moisture at the bottom of the pan. Remove the mixture from the stove, place in a medium bowl and cool to room temperature.
- If using the filo pastry, place one sheet of filo on to the middle of the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the filo sheet lightly with the melted Becel Vegan Margarine using a pastry brush. Place another layer directly on top of the first sheet, lining them up, and brush again with the melted Becel Vegan Margarine. Repeat until you have 5 layers on top of each other.
- If using the puff pastry, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to approximately 14”x 18”. Place the rolled sheet of puff pastry on top of the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Spoon the cooled mushroom mixture lengthwise in the middle of the pastry of your choice, leaving a 3-4” border along the edges of the pastry.
- Carefully fold the pastry over the mushroom mixture in a burrito style, rolling it from the long end and gently tucking in the ends as you roll.
- Lightly brush the exterior of the Wellington with the melted Becel Vegan Margarine and bake until the pastry is golden brown, approximately 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, transfer the Wellington to a long plate or platter, and garnish with the fresh thyme sprigs. Cut into thick pieces using a large sharp knife before serving.
This post was created as a part of a paid partnership with Becel.
All opinions are my own.
Does it need to be vegan margarine or can it be vegan butter?
Hi Lauren the vegan butter will work the same!
Hi Tori! I tried this recipe today and it was absolutely delicious, thank you for taking the time to perfect it. Hands down a great meal with a salad, looking forward to making it again soon!
Hi Victoria! Thanks so much!! Glad you loved it!
Can’t wait to try this! We are on our second year of a Vegetarian/Vegan Thanksgiving. This looks perfect for a main dish! Thank you Tori! 💖😘
Fabulous please let me know if you make it would love to hear how you like it, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
This looks amazing! Can I use regular kerrygold butter instead of vegan? Will it come out the same?
Hi Natalie! Yes it should work out just fine with that substitute. Take care, Tori
Hi Tori, making this tonight. Can I use red wine vinegar instead of red wine?
Hi Nanette sorry I didn’t get this right away – no I wouldn’t use red wine vinegar, I would substitute some vegetable stock for the wine. I hope it turned out!
Hi Tori,
Any chance this is something you can freeze? I am looking for some delicious meals to make my brother and sister in law as we won’t be with them for the holidays, and they have their hands full right now. This just looked perfect for a nice Christmas dinner for them!
Great question Emily! I haven’t tried, but I think you could. I would assemble it and not bake it. If nothing else you could make the filling in advance and freeze it separately but I suspect it would work to freeze the whole thing unbaked. Please let me know if you try!!!
Thanks for the awesome recipe.. the only thing I did was add a bit of cream cheese & fresh dill for more of a creamy texture. It turned out delicious 😋
Thanks for the feedback Bree! I really appreciate it!
Is it possible to prepare and assemble in the morning and leave in the fridge to bake that evening?
Hi Kelly, sorry for the delay ! You can prepare the filling and cover and leave it in the fridge but I wouldn’t assemble it all until you are ready to bake it. That part doesn’t take much time I promise, especially if you use puff pastry!
I have made this a few times now for different groups of people and EVERY time it was a hit, even with the meat eaters! Absolutely delicious and has a great presentation. I have also used the mushroom portion of the recipe, added some goats cheese and served alongside some crostini’s, great as an appy. Thanks Tori, you’re recipes are always so tasty!
That’s amazing thanks for sharing Amy I appreciate the feedback! Tori
Hi Tori
Can this sit assembled in the fridge for a day or two before baking?
Hi Margaret! The filling can be pre-made and left in the fridge but I wouldn’t assemble it until ready to bake.
We are trying out vegetarian recipes and this was fabulous. Also made the mushroom gravy from the cookbook and was a perfect accompaniment. I’ll be serving this again this weekend for vegetarian friends.
Thank you Patty!!!
Hi Tori, I’m planning on making this for my Friendsgiving tomorrow. I am using your recipe but saw in other mushroom wellington recipes that they scored the top. Could I score the top using this recipe as well? I’ll be using puff pastry.
Hi Chelsey, thanks for the note. You can try to lightly score it but my experience has been that it splits open – you have to be so careful. My personal recommendation would be to just vent it and not score it and try it another time when you aren’t having guests over!
I’ve been wanting to make this for a while and finally did last night. It was AMAZING! My husband and I try to eat plant-based as much as possible and he loved it, too. I forgot to pick up an onion at the market but I added in some chopped cabbage while cooking the mushrooms and then added a couple slices of swiss before wrapping it all up. It was great! Thanks Tori.
Hi Tori,
Made this tonight for dinner and I have wanted to make it for so long now. I still don’t have your cookbook, but I’m hoping to get it sooner than later. I’m wondering if you might have some tips for me please as I used puff pastry for the recipe and it didn’t puff as much I was thinking it would. Other than that it was so good! Thank you!
Hi Dyanne! I would just make sure that the pastry isn’t too warm and is thawed according to the instructions first – I also find that it doesn’t puff up too much (make sure not to roll it too thin). I hope this helps! Tori
I made this at Christmas for a few family members who are vegetarian. One word – Amazing! Even our meat eaters were raving about it. I made the filling a day ahead, which made it easy to put together on Christmas day. Thank you Jillian and Tori. It was a huge hit and I will definitely be making it again.
Thank you Mary that is wonderful!
Do you recommend this version or the one in cookbook??? I made the cookbook (delicious!!) one last year and didn’t realize there was this simpler one here…