Thanksgiving is nearly here! I’ve always looked forward to the holiday. When I was little we spent the weekend with family in Ohio and it was always so much fun. I didn’t even mind sitting at the kid’s table! There were the usual dishes and fanfare - turkey, football, and the Thanksgiving Day parade. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve eaten meat and each holiday season I look forward to making something new to share with my family and friends. This year, I’m proud to present the main course: Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington.
For a while I would order the Native Wellington from Native Foods for Thanksgiving. It’s incredibly delicious and extremely generous in size. I’d have leftovers in my fridge for days, and I definitely didn’t mind. This year, I decided to try my hand at a homemade version of that Native Wellington and I think I nailed it. This Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington is stuffed with lentils and roasted veggies and wrapped in flaky puff pastry. Just add a drizzle of mushroom gravy and you’ve got a hearty, satisfying main dish for the big meal.
This Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington looks impressive, but it’s actually not difficult to make. If you can boil water and roast vegetables, the filling will come naturally. The only tricky part is making the proper cuts for braiding the puff pastry. You can make as many or as few as you’d like. I had better results with fewer cuts, about 5 per side. I think my photos demonstrate the method better than I can explain it, so feel free to scroll back up if you run into trouble!
Imagine this veggie-filled Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington at the center of your Thanksgiving spread. It’s going to be the talk of the table! Just slice, serve, and drizzle with mushroom gravy. This recipe makes two wellingtons about 12 inches in length. Serve both, depending on the size of your party, or freeze the second for an effortless post-holiday dinner.
Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
Imagine this veggie-filled Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington at the center of your Thanksgiving spread. It’s going to be the talk of the table!
Ingredients
- ½ butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and diced into ½-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
- 4 cups Brussels sprouts, quartered
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Few twists of black pepper
- ½ cup French lentils
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- Pinch of paprika
- ½ cup raw walnuts, finely chopped (swap sunflower seeds for nut-free)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1½ tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed
- Mushroom gravy, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Combine the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and shallots on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper; toss to combine.
- Roast the veggies for 30 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized. Remove the veggies from the oven and set aside. Leave your oven on.
- Meanwhile, make the lentils. Combine the French lentils and vegetable broth in a saucepan and bring to a rapid simmer over medium heat. Cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Mix the soy sauce, maple syrup, and paprika together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Drain any excess broth from the lentils and transfer them to a large mixing bowl along with the roasted veggies, walnuts, and fresh herbs. Drizzle in the soy sauce/maple syrup mixture and sprinkle in the whole wheat flour. Stir until well combined and slightly sticky.
- Unwrap one of the puff pastry sheets and roll into a slightly larger rectangle, about 12 inches wide by 15 inches long. Make two vertical slits at the top of the puff pastry sheet and two vertical slits at the bottom one third of the way in from each side, about 1 inch long (see photo above).
- Then, make four diagonal cuts from the end of each slit to the edge of the puff pastry sheet (again, it’s easier to demonstrate in a photo! Just scroll up to view the cuts). Remove the little triangle cutouts.
- Finally, make diagonal slits all the way down the puff pastry sheet on both sides, about 1 inch wide. Pile half of the filling into the middle of the puff pastry and form into a rectangular mound with your hands.
- Fold the top edge of the puff pastry up and over the filling. Then, begin to braid the puff pastry by folding the strips on top of one another in an alternating pattern. Once you reach the bottom, fold the bottom edge up and over the filling and press the ends to stick.
- Brush the wellington with olive oil and sprinkle with more thyme leaves. Repeat with the other puff pastry and the other half of the filling. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden and fluffy.
- Transfer the Herbed Butternut Squash Wellington to a platter and slice. We highly recommend serving it with a drizzle of mushroom gravy!
Notes
Recipe yields two wellingtons; each serves about 4. Nutrition information does not include mushroom gravy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 224
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 228.8 mg
- Fat: 11.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.6 g
- Protein: 7.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Kellie
This recipe has become a holiday regular at our house. It's wonderful to eat and fun to serve for company. Looks impressive and the instructions make it easy to do!
Morgan
On the holidays I never had a my main dish to eat, but now I do! I make this every year for the holidays. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Ziona
Ah, just did some red and I see that indeed there are vegan puff pastry choices at the grocery stores. Thank you for what may just be the star of my family’s thanksgiving table this year.
Ziona
Puff pastry? Is there a vegan one out there for easy purchase?
Katie Koteen
Yep! Absolutely.
Nick
Could Sweet Potato be substituted for the Butternut Squash.
Katie Koteen
Yes, absolutely! Just wrap well 🙂
Mary Alice Ostby
Can this be assembled the day before and refrigerate?
Katie Koteen
Hey Lisanne! I would recommend getting the wellington all wrapped up and freeze prior to baking. Although we haven't tried this ourselves, so maybe a test run is in order before trying this on actual Thanksgiving 🙂
Lisanne Buchko
If I make two, with one to freeze. Should I cook the one to freeze or leave it raw to cook when I defrost?