This gorgeous Vegan Wellington will be an absolute hit amongst everyone at the Holiday table this year! It looks so elaborate and uses a few ingredients to really build up the flavors, yet the steps are surprisingly easy. I’ve been perfecting this recipe over the last 3 years, and I don’t think it gets any better than this! We’ve really layered the flavors and textures with toasted nuts, mushrooms, fresh herbs, aromatics, and everything in between. Trust me, this is the center piece your Christmas table deserves!! Pair it with my easy vegan mushroom gravy and a festive maple salad on the side. If you want another holiday-worthy plant-based main, try my Mediterranean vegan quiche.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Deliciously Flavorful: The combination of sauteed vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, and toasted nuts creates a complex taste that is absolutely divine.
- Perfect Texture: Crispy puff pastry encases a rich, hearty filling, offering a lovely contrast in textures.
- Visually Stunning: The lattice pattern on top makes this Wellington a gorgeous centerpiece for any table.
- A Healthier Option: The filling is loaded with nutritious ingredients like lentils, vegetables, nuts, and mushrooms and won’t leave your guest feeling heavy afterward! It’s both satisfying and nourishing.
- Prep-Friendly: You can prepare it the day before for a relaxing hosting experience, and it freezes very well! This recipe makes for 8 servings, divided between 2 lovely loaves. Even if there are only 2 or 4 people at your table, I would still recommend making the 2 loaves, as it requires a few ingredients. Freeze the other loaf before baking for up to 3 months. You can even freeze individual slices after they have been baked and reheat in the oven whenever you feel like a slice!
Main Ingredients
Lattice Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Puff Pastry: Provides a light, flaky base for the rich filling. Most puff pastries in grocery stores are accidentally vegan. Make sure to check the ingredients. In the USA, Pepperidge Farm puff pasty is vegan.
- Walnuts and Cashews: Add a delightful crunch and nutty flavor.
- Mushrooms: Shiitake and brown mushrooms offer a meaty texture and luxurious earthy and umami flavor.
- Lentils: Add a hearty, protein-rich element to the dish. They’re very effective as plant-based meat in this vegan Wellington.
- Flax eggs: Flax eggs are used as a binder to hold the vegetable filling together. Make sure to use ground flaxseed – whole flaxseeds do not absorb water in the same way and do not make a good binder. You can grind them yourself if needed, by processing them in a blender for a few seconds. Keep in the fridge once ground.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by bringing the puff pastry to room temperature. Preheat your oven for optimal cooking. Chop all the vegetables finely. Cook walnuts and cashews until fragrant. Combine flaxseed with hot water to form an egg-like mixture.
Sauté carrots, leek, and onions, then add garlic, mushrooms, and herbs. Stir in the tamari, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and lentils.
Mix with oats, the flaxseed mixture, and nuts. Lightly process half of the mixture and add back to the rest of the mixture, mixing and combining.
Shape the filling on puff pastry, creating a lattice pattern. Brush with our vegan “egg wash” and bake until golden brown.
Variations and Tips
- Swap the mushroom: I really like the combination of shiitake and Swiss brown mushrooms, but if they are not available to you, any mushroom mix will work!
- Golden Crust: Don’t forget to use our vegan “egg wash” made of maple syrup and dairy-free milk.
- Perfect Shape: Allow the Wellington to rest after baking for a firmer structure, making it easier to slice.
- Frozen Dough: I find the puff pastry easier to work with when it’s still slightly frozen, so I take it out of the freezer only 10 minutes before using it and take the second sheet once I’m almost done prepping the first Wellington!
- Enhance with Sauce: Serve with our mushroom gravy to complement and elevate the flavors.
- Food Processor: You can dice the vegetables using a knife or a food processor. If you’re not using a food processor, mash the lentils using a fork and use quick oats.
- If you’re looking for some other delicious items to add to your Christmas lunch or dinner menu, check out our Mushroom Gravy, Crispy Wonton Guacamole Cups, our Baked Harvest Salad, our stunning Holiday Salad, these Maple Glazed Carrots, or our Cream Cheese Carrot Lox Canapés.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Wellington TLDR
- Stunning
- Delicious
- 100% vegan
- Easy to prepare in advance
- A nourishing take on the classic Christmas Wellington
Vegan Wellington
Equipment
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 tbsp (45 ml ) olive oil - divided
- ⅔ cup (67 g) walnuts
- ⅓ cup (43 g) cashews
- 2 tbsp (14 g) ground flaxseed
- 5 tbsp (75 ml) hot water
- 1 carrots - finely chopped
- 1 leek - finely chopped
- 2 yellow onions - finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 3.5 oz (100 g) shiitake mushroom - finely chopped
- 7 oz (200 g) Swiss brown mushrooms - finely chopped
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 leaves (3) sage - finely chopped
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) tamari
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 cups (300 g) cooked brown lentils
- ¾ cup (60 g) rolled oats
- ⅓ cup (20 g) fresh parsley - finely chopped
- Salt and pepper - to taste
Pastry
- 2 (330 g) squares of store-bought vegan puff pastry
- 2 tsp (13 ml) maple syrup
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) dairy-free milk
To serve
Instructions
- Wash and chop all the vegetables using a knife or larger chopping setting of a food processor. Remove the thym from its sprig. Roughly chop the walnuts and cashews.
- Prepare the flaxseed "egg": Add the grounded flaxseed and hot water to a bowl, stir well and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Prepare the filling: To a large pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, the walnuts, and cashews, and cook for about 5 minutes, until slightly golden, stirring frequently. Keep an eye on them to avoid burning. Set aside
- To the same pan, on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of olive oil, the carrot, leek and onions. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme, sage, and salt. Cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the tamari, Worcestershire sauce, and lentils. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Transfer the filling to a large mixing bowl. Add the oats, parsley, flaxseed egg, and chopped nuts and stir well until combined.
- Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor and lightly process (refer to the blog photos for visual clues). Transfer back to the mixing bowl and combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to the fridge to cool down for 20 minutes, this will make it easier to shape.
- Assemble the Wellington: Preheat the oven on fan assist at 375 degrees F (190 C).Take the puff pastry out of the freezer 10 minutes before using.
- Place a square of puff pastry onto some baking paper. Pour half of the filling mixture onto the middle of the paper and shape it into the form a log. Leave about 1 cm (1/3 inch) of dough at the top and bottom.
- Using a sharp knife, score diagonal strips 4 cm long and 1cm apart from top to bottom along the pastry on each side (use the blog photos for visual clues). Fold the pastry at the top and bottom over the log. Crisscross each strip of pastry across the filling to form a lattice, starting from the top. Continue this process, alternating strips over the log until you reach the end.
- Repeat steps 10 and 11 with the second square of puff pastry and the rest of the mixture to create a second Wellington.
- Prepare the "egg-wash": Combine the maple syrup and milk, and lightly brush over the wellington.
- Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until golden, rotating your baking tray halfway to ensure even baking. If you have multiple dishes in the oven, it might take a little longer. The Wellington is ready when it looks golden. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Video
Per Serving/Portion
FAQ
If you’re using gluten-free puff pastry, it can be made gluten-free. Ensure tamari and Worcestershire sauce are gluten-free.
This recipe is freezer-friendly! You can freeze an entire loaf before baking or individual slices after they’ve been baked. Reheat in the oven when ready to eat!
If freezing a whole loaf, allow to thaw completely in the fridge overnight, brush with the vegan egg wash and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden.
Lots of Worcester sauce are accidentally vegan these days, but if you cannot find it, tamari or soy sauce is a great alternative.
Yes you can prepare it a day ahead. Wrap it in cling film or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Brush with the egg wash when ready to bake.
Replace the tamari with coconut aminos, and add extra salt.
A lot of the puff pastry in the frozen section is accidentally vegan and uses no butter. In Australia I use Pampa from Woolworths.
Chickpeas work well. Use canned chickpeas (rinse well), or cook from dried until very soft, then gently crush them with a fork before adding to the pan.
A lot of readers have made it without mushrooms over the years with great results. Add a little more of the other ingredients to make up for the volume. Finely diced eggplant is a great recent suggestion from a reader.
If you can have seeds, substitute the nuts with 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and add 1/2 cup extra lentils.
Yes. Roll into one long sausage shape and cut into slices before baking. Several readers have made it this way for Christmas buffets and the kids loved them.
The mixture may have been over-processed. Add ingredients with more bite, such as more nuts and a bit more oats.
Quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes are good substitutes for oats. Cooked and cooled quinoa could also work.
It is my easy vegan mushroom gravy. The link is also in the Tips & Variations section above the recipe.
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It looks really fantastic I will do this for a Dinner next week. Is there a recipe for the sauce too?
This is the sauce I used in the video https://plantbaes.com/easy-vegan-mushroom-gravy-recipe/
Hope you love it 💚
Fantastic!! So delicious. A bit fussy and time consuming but it is so worth it. The recipe makes 2 loaves so I froze one when I made this for Christmas Eve dinner 2024. Tonight we will have the second one with that amazing gravy!! Excellent work on this recipe, thank you very much.
So happy to heat that Carol 💚
Oh my! This was so tasty! Ever since my partner has been cooking recipes from this channel I’m in awe. He was never much of a cook so imagine my surprise when I peaked in the oven en saw this Wellington. Wauw! Delicious.
Wow Hannah, that’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that, and yay to your partner starting to cook more 😍
Delicious. Gorgeous cooking smell in the house even for meat lovers … mix freezes really well too
So happy you loved it Sine 💚
Amazing ! Made this for 2024 Christmas and I was super happy with how it turned out. Thanks a lot.
I added some mustard and paprika 😊
That makes me so happy Natalie! mustard and paprika sound like delicious additions 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe! We made it for our Christmas dinner and it was outstanding! My son wants me to make and serve it next Christmas.
Oh wow that’s awesome, thank you Deb 💚
Oh my life. No Tofu in this! Just beautiful pure plant based food. I just saw this video, clicked the link in the comments and I’m here and I genuinely am in love with the concept.
I’m going to try this tomorrow, do you think instead of 2 wellingtons the second half would work well as mini sausage rolls?
That’s such a good idea! Let us know how you go 💚
Hi, it worked really well and the kids especially loved the mini rolls. I’m definitely going to do this again for Christmas day 🙂
That’s awesome!
Thank you for this! I was going to make mini parcels for a buffet as I was scared the filling would fall out if I tried the traditional sausage roll style… did you make one long sausage roll the cut into smaller slices before putting them in the oven? Thanks again!!
Hi, yes exactly that, one long roll cut up before cooking and they were perfect! Hope yours work well!
Hi Sarah C !
Thank you for this! I was going to make mini parcels for a buffet as I was scared the filling would fall out if I tried the traditional sausage roll style… did you make one long sausage roll the cut into smaller slices before putting them in the oven? Thanks again!!
100%. I made minis for our Christmas dinner (specifically for my veggie niece) and happily everyone dug in and enjoyed them!! Thank you for an excellent recipe 💞
This is delicious! My favourite vegan Wellington now. I did tweak the recipe a bit just to add a little more protein. I added some sunflower seeds with the nuts and some textured soya protein mince which soaked in a no beef broth and fried it for a few minutes. Turned out perfect.
Re more protein: I am postmenopausal and need 1 – 2g or protein per kilogram of body weight which I find a little difficult sometimes.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe! xx
That’s fantastic, thanks for sharing Inken 💚 Love how you upped the protein!
We have an allergy to tree nuts. Do you have a suggestion for replacement?
I would do half sunflower seeds, half lentils 🙂
I have the same question, I have to cook one tomorrow that is frozen, I would assume the pastry would burn before the inside is cooked or warmed through, so should defrost?
Hey Lucy, sorry only seeing this now! Yes you would have to defrost it first. Hope it went well 🙂
Hi Lucy, I’ve updated the cooking information for the frozen Wellington in the F&Q under the recipe. Thaw in the fridge overnight, brush with the vegan egg-wash, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden. Hope you love it 💚
It looks delicious. Is there a possible substitute for the mushrooms?
I have not tried, but you could potentially just add a bit more of all the other ingredients 🙂
This came out very well and extremely delicious, what a great recipe!
I’m so happy you loved it 💚
Can I substitute with red lentils? Can’t find the brown☹️!
I have not tried, if you do I would recommend to let them drain thoroughly before adding to the pan, but I can’t guarantee the same result. I’m surprised you can’t find it, it’s the most commonly found lentils where I am, the one you find in the can, here’s a link to see what it looks like https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/195100/annalisa-lentils
Hi Sarah
Can I use dried sage and thyme?
Love your channel:)
Thanks so much Cari, yes absolutely they would make for good substitution!
Looks delicious! Can you please provide the recipe for the sauce you put on top of the vegan Wellington?
It’s my mushroom gravy 🙂 I’ll put the link below, it’s also linked above the recipe, if there’s an accompanying recipe you will always find it linked in the “tips and variation” section of the article.
https://plantbaes.com/easy-vegan-mushroom-gravy-recipe/
Hope you love it 💚
Hi! This looks d delicious! My first Xmas as a vegan!!!.. if freezing in advance, do you cook it from frozen, and how much longer would it need or defrost overnight first and then cook it? Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try it!
That’s so exciting! I’ve just realised I forgot to write down the time when I tested it 🫣 I have one more in the freezer, I’ll cook it this week and will get back to you 💚
Did you try the freezer method yet? what are the cooking instructions for it? 🙂
Also, puff pastry takes 3 hours to defrost but you wrote take it out of the freezer for 10 minutes only, is this an error?
hey Robyn, no sorry I have not had a chance to test it yet, I was a little sick this week and felt more like soup than Wellington 😅!If you take it out to thaw the night before in the fridge, it should be a very similar cooking time than fresh, perhaps 5 minutes more. I will update as soon as I can.
Most puff pastry I’ve seen in the freezer section at my supermarket (in Australia) require 10 to 30 minutes to defrost, maybe it’s different if you make it from scratch?
I’ve updated the cooking information for the frozen Wellington in the F&Q under the recipe. Thaw in the fridge overnight, brush with the vegan egg-wash, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden. Hope you love it 💚
Is there an alternative to the lentils? They are a severe migraine trigger so I have to avoid them 100%.
Chickpeas might be good if you can have them? I would used canned one (rinse well), or cook them a little longer if you cooked from dried, so they are very soft, and gently crush them a bit with a fork before adding to the pan. Hope you love it!
Hi. Where might I find the vegan puff pastry?
You will be surprised a lot of the puff pastry in the frozen section are actually vegan, and do not use butter! If you’re in Australia, the one I used is called Pampa and I got in from Woolworth. Hope you love it!
Everything looks delicious, what is the name of the thick sauce that you add when it is served on the plate? Please
It’s a mushroom gravy 😍 here’s the link to the recipe https://plantbaes.com/mashed-potatoes-mushroom-gravy/
I absolutely loved this recipe! I made it for Christmas brunch and added some curry powder for a little extra spice!
Yum that sounds like a delicious addition I would not have think of! I’ll have to try it 💚
I love your channel!! I can’t wait to try theae recipes!!!bless you!
You’re so sweet, thank you so much Liss 💚