Gluten-Free Vegan Wellington

gluten-free vegan beef Wellington on a cutting board after baking and slicing

5 from 6 votes

Gluten-Free Vegan Wellington

Gluten-free vegan Wellington is a perfect holiday main dish! It uses a simple, almond flour pastry crust and a pecan lentil loaf for a show-stopping holiday entree. Gluten-free soy-free with nut-free option.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Chilling Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Holiday, Main

Cuisine: european

Keyword: gluten-free vegan beef wellington

Servings:

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the Lentil Pecan Loaf

1/4 cup pecans
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chopped onion
15 ounce can of lentils drained, or use 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils
2 ounces mushrooms white or cremini or portobello

For the Spices and Sauces

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon salt or more or less based on your taste preference
3/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, optional

For the Binders

2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 to 2 tablespoons cornstarch or other starch
2 tablespoons oats or use rice flakes or gf blend

For the Gluten-Free Wellington Crust

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 4 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil I use refined coconut oil for a neutral flavor.
1 teaspoon maple syrup

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the lentil pecan loaf.

Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (205° C).
In a food processor, add the pecans, onion, and garlic, and pulse until the mixture is a coarse meal. Add the mushrooms and pulse to chop them up, then add half of the lentils and all of the spices and the sauces, and pulse to mix everything. The mixture will become like coarse pate, which is all right.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and mix in the flaxseed meal, 1 tablespoon of corn starch, and the oats and remaining lentils. (You can also add in 2 tablespoons of green peas and a tablespoon of finely chopped carrots, if you like, for breaking up the look of the loaf). If the mixture is still very moist, then add in another tablespoon of cornstarch or other starch and mix in. Do not overmix! You want there to be some texture in the mixture.
Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes for the flax meal, starch, and the oats to absorb some of the moisture.
Using oiled hands, shape the mixture into two mini loaves, which are at least 3/4” to 1” tall in height and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then bake for 20 minutes or longer, until the top is set and starting to get a little golden.

In the meantime, make your crust.

In a bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca starch, all of the spices and salt, and mix really well. Press and mix to break the almond flour lumps.
Add in the flax meal and water mixture(flax egg) , coconut oil, and the maple syrup and mix really well. It'll feel like there's not enough moisture initially, but don't add any extra moisture just yet. Press and mix until you get a dough. If the dough is way too crumbly after trying to mix it for more than 1 minute, then add in sprinkles of water or non-dairy milk to help it come together. You want it to be kind of like a pastry dough. If it's too soft, then it'll just be really hard to roll out and to work the dough into different shapes to wrap over the lentil loaf.
Put the dough in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes for it to stiffen a little bit.

Assemble and bake the Wellingtons.

When your lentil loaf is done baking, take it out of the oven and let it sit to cool to room temperature before wrapping.
Then, take your crust dough out of the freezer, divide it in half, put the first half between two parchment sheets, and roll it out. The dough should be really easy to roll out. You can just use your hands to spread it out, or you can use a rolling pin. Just spread it out into somewhat of a rectangle. Cut the rectangle out and put the cut pieces back to the other dough.
Once you have your rectangle cut out, keep the width to be the length of your lentil loaf. Then, place the lentil loaf in the middle, and now you can just either wrap the pastry completely over the loaf or you can make designs as you like. I usually just cut the sides of the rolled out dough into ribbons, and then crisscross the ribbons over the lentil loaf. (If the ribbons break, you can stick the part back on the dough! This dough just sticks in easily). Once you're done with designing whatever you like over your lentil loaf, use a toothpick to break a few holes. You can use some of the extra dough that you removed while shaping it into a rectangle to make different designs, like leaves etc and put it on top of the Wellington. Brush the top of the Wellington with a little bit of oil, and repeat for the other lentil loaf.
Bake the Wellingtons at 350° F (177° C) for 20 minutes or longer, until the crust is starting to turn golden. You don't want the dough to get overly golden brown else it will be too crisp and will fall off the loaf when slicing.
Once the Wellingtons are done baking, remove them from the oven, brush a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle with some Italian herbs, or a sprinkle of thyme, and then slice, and serve it with your favorite gravy. See notes below for storage and make ahead.

Video

Notes

Make-ahead directions: You can make the lentil loaf ahead of time and refrigerate for upto 3 days. I would not make the crust and bake the Wellington ahead of time, because the crust will continue to absorb moisture from the lentil loaf and will soften as it sits overnight. Instead, make the dough ahead of time and make the lentil loaf ahead of time, and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. Then, once you're ready, roll out the dough, place your lentil loafs in it, and then bake just before you're ready for your party.

This loaf is pretty moist, depending on how long you bake it. If you bake it a bit too long, the crust might get a bit more crispy, so it definitely benefits from being served with a gravy.

Nutfree: This recipe gluten-free and soy free. If you want to make it without nuts, you can convert it into a lentil loaf without the pastry, or if you can find a gluten-free, nut-free puff pastry then use that. Also omit the pecans from the loaf and use pumpkin seeds instead.

Nutrition