Jump to Recipe

Portobello mushrooms, butternut squash, spinach, and a mushroom pate mixture are wrapped with puff pastry in this elegant vegetarian and vegan dinner entree. Vegetarian Wellington is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. 

This vegetarian Wellington recipe is filled with portobello mushrooms, spinach, and butternut squash. Vegan portobello mushroom Wellington is a beautiful vegetarian and vegan holiday dinner recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

As you might imagine, I’m in quite a few foodie groups on Facebook. I even have my own group of veggie-lovers, if you’d like to join us! The excitement for Thanksgiving is brewing and I love the energy. The requests for Thanksgiving recipes started coming in by the end of October. Many people like to plan ahead and test our their special Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner recipes in advance.

Whether you’re a seasoned vegetarian/vegan or new, just trying to eat more plants, or maybe have a plant-based diner coming for the holidays, this Vegetarian Wellington recipe is a delicious main dish option. So often my friends will ask, “but what do you do for Thanksgiving?”

Let me clear this up: I eat well on Thanksgiving and every other day of the year. Last year for Thanksgiving I had: mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, a Field Roast sausage, salad with candied walnuts and pears, and Champagne. Last year my most popular recipe was this Vegan Pumpkin Pie, which no one can tell is vegan. These darling Mini Vegan Pecan Pies are also a hit.

What is Beef Wellington?

Beef Wellington is a traditional English recipe that’s commonly served at Christmas. A beef tenderloin is wrapped in pastry along with pate and duxelles and baked. The origins of this recipe seem to stem from a celebration of “first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18 1815.” according to Gordon Ramsay.

A slice of vegetarian vegan Wellington made with portobello mushroom, butternut squash, and spinach wrapped in puff pastry.

How to Make a Vegetarian Wellington

While there are several beef-less versions of Wellington around, this one was inspired by Moby’s restaurant in LA called Little Pine. 100% of profits at Little Pine go to animal organizations, which I thought was really cool. The food looks gorgeous and delicious, and of course 100% plant-based.

Wellington might be enjoyed more often at Christmas dinner, but I think it’s a wonderful recipe for Thanksgiving as well. A festive dish to kick off the holiday season. Serve alongside our Garlic Mashed Cauliflower and Mushroom Gravy! 

Portobello mushrooms on a cutting board to make vegetarian mushroom Wellington.

Portobello mushrooms are so versatile and a wonderful vegetarian or vegan main dish ingredient. They make excellent natural “burgers” and steaks. They are meaty and absorb savory flavors wonderfully. Taste-wise I much prefer this vegetable Wellington to the animal version.

Roast Portobello Mushrooms & Butternut Squash

To start this Vegetarian Wellington recipe, we drizzle the mushrooms with good olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them on a baking sheet with 1/2″ diced butternut squash until tender.

Portobello mushrooms with thyme and butternut squash on a sheet pan to be roasted for a Vegetarian Wellington Recipe.

Make the Duxelles

Duxelles is a French recipe of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, and herbs sauteed in butter.

Mushrooms, walnuts, and herbs in a food processor to make the duxelles for a vegetarian Wellington.

Duxelles sounds so Frenchy fancy, but we really just toss the mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, and walnuts into the food processor to blend.

Mushroom pate or duxelles in a food processor.

After blending the mixture looks like this. Saute a shallot and then cook this mushroom mixture down. It should be tasty already, so season to taste. At the same time, I saute some fresh spinach in another pan.

Assembling the Vegetarian Wellington

Duxelles spread on a sheet of puff pastry to make vegetarian wellington. How to assemble vegetarian mushroom Wellington.

To assemble the Wellington, you’ll want to be sure to thaw your puff pastry in the refrigerator for a few hours. Puff pastry is traditionally made with butter, so if you want to make a Vegan Wellington, be sure to use a vegan puff pastry, such as Aussie Bakery. Spread about half the duxelles over one side of the puff pastry, leaving a 2-inch rim of pastry exposed for sealing.

Mushroom duxelles, spinach, and butternut squash on puff pastry for Mushroom Wellington.

Top with the spinach and butternut squash, then place the portobellos on top.

A Vegetarian Vegan Mushroom Wellington recipe is assembled and ready to be baked for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

The remaining duxelles over the portobellos. Use a pastry brush to brush a little milk around the perimeter of the pastry and fold the pastry over the filling.

Puff pastry Vegetarian Wellington is brushed with coconut milk and scored before going into the oven.

Brush the whole thing with milk and score with a knife (not all the way through). Quick tip: if the pastry dough is too soft and sticky to work with, pop the whole thing in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. 

Vegetarian mushroom Wellington comes out of the oven with a golden brown crust.

The Wellington will come out crisp, golden, and beautiful!

Serving Vegetarian Wellington

Though I enjoyed this dish on it’s own, for a special holiday dinner I’d go with a vegetarian gravy or cranberry sauce. Cranberry Chutney would be lovely. Don’t forget the Garlic Mashed Cauliflower or Vegan Garlic Truffle Mashed Potatoes! 

Vegetarian Wellington is plated for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and pomegranate. This vegan Wellington is filled with mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, butternut squash, and spinach.

Tips for Perfect Vegetarian Wellington

  • We want all the filling ingredients as dry as possible so the pastry doesn’t get soggy. Blot with a paper towel as much as possible. Spinach and mushrooms both give off a lot of moisture.
  • Season each layer, adding more salt, pepper and herbs to taste.

More Vegetarian/Vegan Holiday Dinner Entrees

Vegetarian Wellington recipe filled with mushroom duxelles, portobello mushrooms, butternut squash, and spinach is perfect for a vegan Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. #vegetarian #vegan #Thanksgiving #Chrsitmas #dinner

Yield: Serves 6

Vegetarian Wellington

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

This vegetarian Wellington recipe is filled with portobello mushrooms, spinach, and butternut squash. It's a beautiful vegetarian and vegan holiday dinner.

Vegetarian Wellington

Ingredients

  • 1 package Aussie Bakery Vegan Puff Pastry
  • 3-4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned, gills removed
  • 1 cup 1/2" diced butternut squash
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • bunch of fresh thyme
  • 8 oz. button mushrooms, cleaned
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 oz. baby spinach
  • 3 tablespoons plain plant-based milk

Instructions

  1. Defrost the puff pastry according to package directions. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place the mushrooms, stem side up, and the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and the leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme. Bake until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and blot dry with paper towels.
  3. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the button mushrooms, walnuts, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, and rosemary until finely chopped.
  4. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-low. Saute the shallot until translucent. Add the garlic and saute another minute more. Add the duxelles (mushroom mixture) to the pan and cook down until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated.
  5. Meanwhile, in another pan, saute the spinach with salt and pepper in a teaspoon of olive oil until wilted. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible with a paper towel.
  6. Bring the oven up to 425 degrees F. To assemble the Wellington, open one puff pastry sheet on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll to approximately a 10x12 inch rectangle. Spread half of the mushroom mixture over one long side of the pastry dough, about the same width as the portobellos. Leave a 2-inch boarder to seal the dough. Top the duxelles with the spinach, butternut squash, and portobello mushrooms. Add the remaining duxelles over the top of the portobellos.
  7. Use a pastry brush to brush the milk over the perimeter of dough. Stretch the empty half of the dough over the log of filling. Seal the dough at the long and short ends and tuck under. Brush the top of the Wellington dough with more milk and lightly score with a knife. Bake until very golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes.
  8. Serve right away with gravy or cranberry sauce or chutney.

Notes

  • Nutrition information is approximate. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again using your favorite calculator, as I cannot guarantee accuracy.
  • You may need 3 or 4 portobello mushrooms, depending on size. I would buy and cook 4, realizing you may only need to use 3.
  • Try to keep all the cooked veggies as dry as possible so that the pastry doesn't get soggy.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 380Carbohydrates: 28gProtein: 9g
© Marina Delio
Cuisine: English / Category: Christmas