Learn to make an easy and inexpensive version of Beef Wellington and impress your friends and family.
What I am bringing to you today is a humble, speedy but no less delicious version of grand Beef Wellington.
What is Beef Wellington?
Traditionally Beef Wellington is prepared with a good cut of beef smothered in delicious mushroom duxelle and wrapped in flaky puff pastry. The dish is fit for a king.
However, our recipe calls for ground beef, which is much cheaper and less intimidating to work with.
While I’ve always wanted to make the “real” version I never seemed to be able to justify spending the money on the high priced chunk of beef.
When Jamie Oliver came up with this recipe I knew it would become a regular weeknight dinner option. It’s basically a dressed up meatloaf baked in puff pastry, which makes it immediately more appealing.
I think the puff pastry elevates this dish from a lowly, everyday meatloaf status to something rather special.
This tasty dish is a winner with everyone, from young to old. It’s beautiful and will make you look like you possess chef-like skills in the kitchen while it’s a breeze to make.
How do I make Beef Wellington?
Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and take your pastry out of the fridge to soften a bit. Peel onion, carrot and potato. Dice all the vegetables (except the peas!) into similar size pieces.
Put your frying pan on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chop up your herbs. Squeeze the garlic through a garlic press or chop it up with a knife and throw them in the pan as well.
Gently saute everything stirring occasionally until your vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. It will take about 5-8 minutes. Then transfer your mixture into a bowl and cool completely.
Once it’s cooled enough to touch add your beef and peas to it. Here is your chance to play with your food-get into the bowl with your hands and start mixing everything together.
Then add salt and pepper and a half of your beaten egg, reserve the rest for the pastry.
If you are one of those people, who really doesn’t like to touch meat, I recommend buying kitchen gloves for instances like this. It’s really important to get into the mixture with your hands to ensure even distribution of all the nice bits plus it’s just fun!
Dust your clean work surface with a handful of flour and roll out your pastry to a 1/4 inch thickness or use an already rolled one!
Shape your beef mixture into a log and place it on your rolled out pastry sheet, brush the edges with the reserved egg.
Roll it up tucking the ends inside like a giant burrito, brush with the egg all over and place it on a baking sheet seam down.
Bake Beef Wellington in the preheated oven for 45 min to an hour depending on your oven until golden.
That’s what mine looked like…
What can I serve with Ground Beef Wellington?
Serve your Wellington with a simple green salad or this tomato and cucumber salad. You can also make this luxurious mushroom sauce if you feel like this dish needs a bit of gravy.
This recipe was originally published in 11/2012, updated in 02/2019.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 potato medium
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 5 mushrooms
- 4 rosemary or thyme sprigs leaves only
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 80g/1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 500g/17oz puff pastry
- flour for rolling
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and take the pastry out of the fridge to soften a bit. Peel onion, carrot and potato. Dice all the vegetables into similar size pieces. Put a frying pan on medium heat with olive oil, chop up the rosemary and mince the garlic and add them to the pan.
- Gently saute everything stirring occasionally until your vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. It will take about 5-8 minutes. Then transfer your mixture into a bowl and cool completely.
- Once it’s cooled enough to touch add the ground beef and peas. Thoroughly mix everything together adding salt and pepper and a half of your beaten egg, reserve the rest for the pastry.
- Dust a clean work surface with a handful of flour and roll out the pastry to a 1/4 inch thickness or use an already rolled one.
- Shape the beef mixture into a log and place it on the rolled out pastry sheet, brush the edges with the reserved egg. Roll it up tucking the ends inside like a giant burrito, brush with the egg all over and place it on a baking sheet seam down. Bake Beef Wellington in the preheated oven for 45 min to an hour depending on your oven until golden.
This was amazing!!! Whole family loved it, including kids
So pleased to hear it! 🙂
So good!! Was looking for a recipe that combined ground beef and puff pastry and found this recipe. Thought I had everything (until I started dicing the veggies). No mushrooms! Too late to turn back now. But it was still so yummy!! And now I’m wondering what other flavour profiles I can use next time!! 😃
This recipe really packs a lot of flavour, doesn’t it, Sandra! And you are right so many different flavours could be experimented with! I want to try a Mediterranean inspired ground beef Wellington next time!
Can I make this ahead and then transport it to eat 4 hours later with a little reheating? Also, what fat content do you recommend for the ground beef?
Yes, that would work. I usually go for 5% fat content, Margot.
I made this for my family and it was a big hit. They liked it so much there were no left overs. Best recipe ever!
That is wonderful, Dawn! So pleased everyone enjoyed their dinner.
What a great idea for dinner! I cannot wait to try this easy Beef Wellington recipe. Serious cravings.
Wow Julia, what a stunning beef wellington recipe! I think this ground beef version might even be better than the original. All those ingredients incorporated into the ground beef must be a flavor explosion!
Yes, all the ingredients mixed in with the ground beed impart so much flavour and add moisture! It’s really delicious, Dina. 🙂
This ground beef wellington looks phenomenal Julia! I love how you simplified the recipe with ground beef.
Thanks so much, Katya!
Wow, what a fancy beef wellington. This takes me back to our trip to Europe. Beef wellington was one of our dinners and never came to my mind to make it at home. Thanks for awesome recipe!
This version of Beef Wellington is definitely a simplified one but nonetheless delicious! 🙂
I thought this was sensational! The recipe as stands is perfect. I did add some peppers and used 90% Beef on baking rack. Some minor tweaks on spices with the flavors I enjoy and boom it was a hit. I didnt have any issues with being soggy on the bottom, and I am weighing that on a lower fat burger. This is a fantastic recipe on its own, but you can make it your own with some tweaks to spices and interior guts. Thank you for posting this wonderful delight.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Diamodia. Yes, you can absolutely change the flavour profile and make it your own!
Hey Vikalinka,
Wowsie wowsers…..home run kiddo! What an easy simple ‘ya shore ya’betcha’ recipe for something that just tastes flipped terrific. Used just a hint of thyme….not big on either Rosemary or thyme; thyme wins out as the lesser of two evils. I’m a guy, what can I say, don’t eat no durn kitsch nether!
Made it with a side of delicious beef gravy, the recipe DOES NOT need moisture, the gravy was there just because I like well made good gravy. Next time the thyme goes, and there is no danger of Rosemary; gonna hit it with a tiche of Soy Sauce and Worcestershire .
Sounds like success to me! I haven’t made this recipe in ages but you made me want to really soon!
Hi..made this lastnight for dinner..enjoyed by hubby and myself. Must say that my ‘wraparround’ did not come as perfect as yours…but thanks for a super recipe!! Will definitely make it again..’practise makes perfect’.
Thank you for your comment, Brenda!! This recipe is a real winner.
Can you make ahead and freeze?
I have no experience with freezing it so I can’t tell for sure.
Ummm, what beaten egg? I don’t see egg in the ingredient listing at all!
But surely you can see it in the instructions??
Today when I told my husband what I’m making for dinner and described it to him he didn’t seem too excited but loved it when he tried it. I doubled the recipe and instead of making 2 of these I made 4 smaller ones. Very juicy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
SO great to hear, Valentina! Thank you for sharing.
This was served on a night that my 5th grader had a friend over to work on a project out in his workshop. Everyone loved it, and our guest went back for seconds! Thanks. This is such a nice recipe – it’s easy and it comes out looking like all kinds of time went into it. Good Enough for Company!
So great to hear! That Wellington definitely looks impressive while not fussy to make!
Thank you so much – this is going on the menu for this week. We keep seeing Beef Wellington on Chef Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen, and it will be fun to serve this to my family and have them think I’m a Real Chef. This looks completely doable and delicious.
I will try with chicken it look very good.
I too, thought of adding diced potatoes which have been par-boiled. It would certainly speed up the cooking of the potatoes which usually can take 40 min to cook thru. I like the idea of sweet potato or yams (I live in the USA after all).
The use of the puff pastry kinda makes this very much like a pasty, yes? Missing is any form of gravy. I suppose an earlier comment above about the bottom being soggy, was because the fat content varies in ground beef.
I LOVE the idea of baking on a rack. Brilliant for sure!
I was going to make individual, smaller packets, kinda the size of pasty, so that I can serve up one or two for dinner, then freeze the remaining pieces and reheat during a hectic week. By enclosing in smaller portions, they’d have that flakey all-around-goodness much like sausage rolls for far less money and more nutrient rich with all the veggies. Well done. Well done….
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I also thought of a pasty…..I didn’t realize very many others knew what that was…lol. In these parts, we also add rutabaga…yum!
Yes it is very similar to a pasty!! I love rutabaga or as it is called in the UK ‘swede’. 🙂
This is a great recipe , I will make it again. I did use part beef and pork the only issue is the juice on the bottom making it soggy. I had left over meat so I tried making small ones and baked them on a wire rack, they came out perfect this time. Love it.
Sorry to hear it was a bit soggy. It was supposed to be juicy inside but shouldn’t be soggy on the bottom but glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Nance. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe of Ground Beef Welington! It looks delicious and a new way to serve up protein and vegetables AND meatloaf to the family! Such an easy peasy!!
You are so welcome, Jany! It’s one of our favourite meals.
Did you make any type of sauce with this or serve as is?
Hi Kellie, no sauce:-) It’s very juicy on its own.
That’s awesome, Jenn. I love when people adapt my recipes to their own taste. I will be trying sweet potatoes myself, sounds delicious. 🙂
I found this recipe via Pinterest, and I just wanted to tell you how FANTASTIC I think it is! I made it for dinner tonight (note: no mushrooms, added diced sweet potato), and I will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
That’s awesome, Jenn. I love when people adapt my recipes to their own taste. I will be trying sweet potatoes myself, sounds delicious. 🙂
I agree and I think it would go particularly well with the Indian spices. The strong flavours will balance out the richness of the puff pastry.
…I was thinking of a veg version as well… …maybe lentils, bread crumbs and an egg or two would hold it all together…
This looks amazing! I love wellingtons, although I’ve only had the vegetarian version. If we ate meat around here I’d definitely try this.
I am wondering if you could adapt it to a vegetarian diet… lentils perhaps?
mmm… i’m definitely gonna have to try this one! i have made my own attempts before but the ground beef always came out way too dry. i reckon this recipe may be the answer! thanks.
Jessica, the puff pastry wrapped around your beef is guaranteed to keep it juicy!