Mushroom Wellington

Every holiday dinner table needs a centerpiece, and our visually stunning and protein-packed mushroom Wellington will please omnivores and vegetarians alike.

Mushroom Wellington is a satisfying meatless recipe with rich flavors and a wonderful combination of textures. Its elegant presentation makes it ideal for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Imagine a rich, flavorful, savory filling infused with the rustic charm of aromatic herbs wrapped in crisp and flaky puff pastry.

Mushroom Wellington is a celebration for the eyes and the senses, the perfect main dish for a festive holiday meal or a cozy family dinner.

Our recipe is ridiculously easy to make, with simple ingredients, and you can make the filling days ahead to get ahead for the big event.

Pair it with our mashed or roasted potatoes, mushroom gravy, stuffing, sautéed green beans, or roasted Brussels sprouts to make one of the most satisfying meat-free dinners.

It’s an excellent meatless alternative to beef wellington.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Flavor base

Make a tasty flavor base with chopped onion, celery, garlic, carrot, and leek, gently fried in extra virgin olive oil for about 10 minutes.

This step allows the veggies to soften and develop a bouquet of flavors that will make your mushroom lentil delicious.

It’s a simple technique used in the best cuisines in the world – it’s called soffritto in Italian, sofrito in Spanish, and mirepoix in French) – and we strongly recommend it.

Herbs & Tomato Paste

Go for rosemary, sage, and thyme leaves to add rustic and charming aromas that everyone at your table will love.

You can use dried herbs or fresh herbs. Double the quantities in our recipe box below if you use fresh ones.

Substitute an Italian herb mix for rosemary, sage, and thyme. You can also use dried oregano, bay leaves, and marjoram.

Tomato paste adds a light red color to the Wellington and boosts the loaf’s umami.

Mushrooms

You can use white button mushrooms, brown mushrooms, fresh shiitake, cremini mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and most other fresh mushrooms.

Combine two or more mushroom varieties for a more interesting and nuanced flavor.

Lentils

You can use green or brown canned lentils, drained and rinsed with water.

You can also use dry lentils that you previously cooked in lightly salted boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Lentils are the best legume for mushroom Wellington because they have a meaty texture and hearty flavor.

Also, their small shape helps them stick together, making the loaf easy to slice.

Substitute black beans for lentils.

Rolled oats

Old-fashioned rolled oats help absorb the extra moisture the mushrooms release when baking in the oven, allowing the loaf to stay together and slice perfectly.

They also add a nice chewy bite.

Walnuts

Walnuts are often used in vegetarian ragùs and sauces because of their crunchy texture and nutty and earthy flavor.

Also, they add healthy fats that make this meal nutritionally balanced.

Soy sauce

Soy sauce is optional; however, we did several tests with and without soy sauce, and we prefer mushroom Wellington with soy sauce.

Why? Soy sauce adds a rich, savory flavor that salt alone can’t produce.

You won’t taste the soy sauce directly, but you’ll taste that umami flavor that will make your Wellington meaty and satisfying.

Substitute tamari or coconut aminos for gluten-free.

Salt and pepper

We use sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for a more persistent pepper aroma.

Puff pastry

We recommend a rectangular store-bought puff pastry roll between 9 and 13 ounces (250 to 350 grams).

You can choose a butter-based puff pastry sheet or, if you prefer, a vegan puff pastry sheet to make a vegan mushroom Wellington.

Substitute a gluten-free puff pastry to make this gluten-free.

You’ll also need heavy cream, milk, or dairy-free milk to brush the top of the pastry before baking it. We use soy milk.

We do this instead of brushing egg wash with beaten egg.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Tip: the mushroom filling needs to cool down completely before you use it, so we recommend making it a few hours in advance or the day before.

1. Make the flavor base

Finely chop an onion, a rib of celery, a carrot, and 4 cloves of garlic, then cut the leek in half lengthwise, rinse the inside to remove dirt, and cut it into thin slices.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the chopped and sliced veggies, and fry them on medium heat for 10 minutes or until they soften and sweat.

Add 1/2 cup of water if the pan gets too dry.

Tip: to speed things up, you can chop onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in a food processor. If you do so, pulse a few times until the veggies are coarsely chopped. Don’t process them too finely.

Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, a teaspoon of rosemary and sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme and stir on medium heat for 2 more minutes.

Tip: if you use fresh rosemary, sage, and fresh thyme, we recommend chopping the leaves before adding them to the pan.

2. Add the mushroom mixture

While the veggies cook, rinse and coarsely chop one pound of mushrooms (stems and gills included) with a sharp knife.

Note: can you do this with a food processor? Yes; however, hand-chopped mushrooms keep their shape and texture better than food-processed mushrooms.

Add chopped mushrooms, a can of drained and rinsed lentils, a cup of chopped walnuts, and 4 tablespoons of rolled oats.

Season with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, a teaspoon of salt, and a few twists of black pepper, and cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Taste and adjust for salt, pepper, and herbs. You can add more soy sauce if you like a meatier and richer flavor.

At this stage, you should have a tasty mushroom filling with a coarse and compact texture. There should not be any liquid in the skillet.

Set it aside and let it cool down (about 1 hour)

Tip: if you want to speed this up, spread the mushroom filling on a baking sheet in an even layer.

3. Shape and bake the Wellington

We are using a standard American half-sheet baking pan (18 x 13 inches with a 1-inch border or 45 x 33 x 2.5 cm) so you get an idea of the size of the loaf.

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line the baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the puff pastry sheet on it.

If necessary, roll out puff pastry directly on parchment paper to create a rectangle of at least 12 x 8 inches (30 x 20 cm).

Make diagonal cuts on the side of the puff pastry sheet (about 1 inch / 2.5 cm wide).

Tip: if your puff pastry comes with parchment paper, discard the paper it comes with and use a fresh sheet of parchment paper.

If you use frozen puff pastry sheets, let them thaw at room temperature beforehand.

Arrange the mushroom filling in the center of the puff pastry, leaving some space at the margins. Then, press it down with a spoon or with your hands to compact it.

Fold in the cut strips to create a cross-hatch pattern and seal the mushroom filling.

Fold in one strip from the right, one from the left, one from the right, one from the left, and so on to cover the whole loaf.

Brush the top with heavy cream, milk, or plant milk.

Bake in the oven at 350°F or 180°C for about 30 minutes, until the mushroom wellington is golden brown.

Let it cool down briefly before cutting it with a serrated knife and serve with mushroom gravy.

Mushroom Wellington is an excellent meatless main dish to serve as a centerpiece meal for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a special family dinner.

We recommend serving it with our creamy mushroom gravy on top and with one or two side dishes:

• Sautéed green beans or green bean salad
• Roasted potatoes or roasted potatoes and carrots
• Mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes
• Smashed potatoes
• Roasted butternut squash or roasted kabocha squash
• Roasted Brussels sprouts or roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts
• Braised red cabbage
• Sweet potato casserole or stuffing (coming soon)

Sides

Sautéed Green Beans

Sauces

Mushroom Gravy

Sides

Mashed Potatoes

Recipes

Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

Sides

Roasted Carrots

Sides

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sides

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Sides

Roasted Potatoes

Make ahead: we recommend making the mushroom filling ahead of time (from a few hours to a day in advance) so it has time to cool down before wrapping it in the puff pastry.

Refrigerator: you can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. The filling keeps very well. However, the puff pastry layer loses its flakey and crunchy texture.

Freezer: you can freeze mushroom lentil wellington for up to 3 months before baking it. Then, when you are ready to cook it, let it thaw in the fridge for at least 3 hours and bake as per instructions.

You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Let them cool down completely and transfer them to a freezer-friendly container.

Reheat: we reheat this in the microwave for a couple of minutes. You can also reheat it in a preheated oven at 350°F or 180°C for 10 minutes.

Get more flavor-packed legume recipes with these tasty lentil ideas:

• Lentil bolognese (green lentils, carrot, celery, dry wine, soy sauce, Italian herbs).
• Easy lentil curry (red lentils, coconut milk, turmeric, garam masala, curry, diced tomatoes).
• Lentil pasta (cherry tomatoes, lentil, ditalini pasta, garlic, rosemary, tomato paste).
• Italian lentil soup (brown lentils, carrots, leek, rosemary, leafy greens, vegetable broth).
• Red lentil soup (red lentils, crushed tomatoes, garlic, cumin, rosemary).

Mains

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Soups

Lentil Curry

Soups

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Soups

Curry Lentil Soup

Get ready for festivities and family time with these easy Thanksgiving recipes:

• Roasted sweet potato
• Red cabbage slaw
• Cauliflower potato mash
• Shaved Brussels sprouts salad
• Whole roasted cauliflower
• Roasted vegetables
• Sweet potato soup
• Carrot and ginger soup

Sides

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Pasta

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Pasta

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Recipes

Baked Butternut Squash

For many more dinner ideas, check out our mains category page.