RECIPES:
Dec 14, 2022

Mini Beef Wellington

These individual portions of Beef Wellington make an impressive holiday entrée!
Featured Recipe Image

jump toRECIPE

Beef Wellington is an impressive and luxurious entrée perfect for special occasions like holidays. Rather than committing to making a large roast fit for a dinner party sliced into servings, make this more manageable, individually portioned version using filet mignon. Plus, I like the ratio of buttery puff pastry to meat in this mini version! While it seems like a lot of time is allotted for chilling the meat it ensures it doesn’t overcook as the puff pastry bakes so I don’t recommend skipping that part. 

Mini Beef Wellington 

What is Beef Wellington? 

The British dish is traditionally made with beef tenderloin wrapped in duxelles, a mixture of sautéed, finely chopped mushrooms and onions or shallots (and sometimes foie gras) encased in prosciutto and puff pastry baked to a golden brown. 

Why Make Individual Beef Wellington?

  1. Scalability. It makes it much easier to scale up for more guests or scale down for a more intimate gathering.
  2. Ease. Smaller portion sizes mean less room for error in cooking. Also, I find it harder to get the meat cooked to the perfect temperature with larger tenderloin portions since the ends will always be cooked more. 
mini beef wellington recipe wrapped in puff pastry

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

  • Steak – Traditional Beef Wellington uses beef tenderloin while this mini, individually portioned version uses filet mignon, which are just pre-portioned versions of the same cut of beef. This lean cut is famed because it’s so tender. It comes from an area near the spine of the cow on the end of the tenderloin. Because it’s a lean cut it is perfectly balanced with seasoning and the flavors of the other ingredients. 
  • Mushrooms – I use baby bella or cremini mushrooms for the mushroom duxelle mixture. Also, the brown mushrooms are the more mature version of white button mushrooms with a more developed flavor. The mushrooms are finely diced and sautéed in butter with shallots. For a shortcut to chopping the mushrooms, add them to a food processor. 
  • Vermouth – Vermouth is used to impart additional flavor to the mushroom duxelle. It’s simmered until the mixture is completely dry so only the flavor remains. 
  • Dijon – Since I don’t use other rich ingredients like foie gras or pate, the Dijon helps to amp up the flavor of the beef. 
  • Prosciutto – This salty, silky meat is made from curing the whole hind leg of a pig. Prosciutto is a whole muscle salumi served sliced paper-thin. Also, it’s used to wrap around the duxelle mixture and beef to hold the ingredients in place and to keep the mushrooms from soaking into the puff pastry. 
  • Puff pastry – Puff pastry can be made at home, though I prefer to use store-bought instead to cut down on prep time. It can be found in the freezer section of grocery stores, typically by pies and other desserts. Since it is frozen it is best to move the puff pastry package to the fridge to let it slowly thaw a day in advance. 

How to Make Mini Beef Wellington

seared filet mignon in cast iron pan
Step 1: Sear beef. 

Pat the filet mignon dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the filets and sear until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes total.

Step 2: Spread with mustard. 

Remove to a plate and set aside. Brush or spread the Dijon mustard over the filets and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.

seared beef spread with dijon mustard
sautéed duxelles finely diced mushrooms and shallots with thyme in cast iron
Step 3: Sauté duxelles. 

Return the pan to medium heat, add the butter and allow to melt. Add the shallots, mushrooms and thyme, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms reduce in size and are no longer watery, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Step 4: Add vermouth. 

Add the vermouth and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are dry. Then, remove from heat and discard the thyme. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

how to make duxelles in cast iron pan
prosciutto with duxelles and seared beef
Step 5: Assemble individual beef Wellingtons. 

Stretch out 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a workspace. Lay out 2 slices of prosciutto on each so they are just overlapping. Also, spread the mushroom mixture over each. Top each with a piece of the filet mignon.

Step 6: Chill the meat.

Wrap the prosciutto around the beef and tightly wrap with the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour and/or up to overnight. This ensures the meat will not overcook.

how to assemble beef wellington
mini beef wellington wrapped in puff pastry
Step 7: Wrap in puff pastry. 

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Cut the piece of puff pastry in half. Lightly dust a clean work surface and roll out the puff pastry just to remove the creases. Carefully unwrap the beef from the plastic wrap and place in the center of each piece of puff pastry.

Step 8: Brush with egg wash.

Fold the puff pastry over the beef, pinching to seal it on all sides, trimming any excess puff pastry from the bottom. Place it seam side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash and use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the pastry.

beef Wellington wrapped in puff pastry on baking sheet brushed with egg wash
golden brown baked mini beef wellington on baking sheet
Step 9: Bake the mini beef Wellington. 

Bake until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 130°F (54ºC), about 25 to 30 minutes for medium rare. If needed, broil for a minute for color.

Step 10: Serve. 

Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature then cut in half and serve. 

Mini beef wellington recipe cut in half for serving

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

How to Quickly Thaw Puff Pastry 

For a quicker thaw of frozen puff pastry, I recommend letting the puff pastry sit at room temperature for 1 hour. But if the dough is left out too long it can become too soft and the dough can easily tear. 

How to Prepare This Recipe in Advance 

The prosciutto is wrapped around the mushroom duxelle mixture and beef then wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated to firm up the tenderloin and secure the mixture before it’s wrapped in the puff pastry. This also helps to keep the meat from overcooking as it’s baked. The steak can be prepped and wrapped in plastic wrap, then refrigerated overnight or up to a day in advance, then baked in the puff pastry before serving. 

Cooking Time for Beef Wellington 

An instant read thermometer gives the most accurate temperature for Beef Wellington. Because the temperature will continue to rise after the beef is removed from the oven and the meat rests, look for the following: 

  • 120ºF (49ºC) for rare
  • 130ºF (54ºC) for medium-rare
  • 140ºF (60ºC) for medium
Why is my Beef Wellington Soggy? 

The juices from the beef and mushroom may leak out leaving the puff pastry soggy rather than crisp and golden brown. To prevent this it’s important to make sure all the liquid evaporates from the mushroom duxelles. Wrapping the tenderloin in the prosciutto also helps to add a layer. If you still find it soggy, next time try adding a sheet of phyllo dough before the puff pastry to add an additional barrier. 

closeup individual portions of beef Wellington entrée medium rare

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this mini Beef Wellington recipe, give these a try and follow me on Instagram for more updates: 

Mini Beef Wellington

Print Pin
Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 (8-ounce) filet mignons
  • Kosher salt, as needed
  • Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium shallot, finely diced
  • 10 ounces baby bella (cremini mushrooms) , finely diced
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons dry vermouth
  • 4 slices prosciutto
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Instructions:

  • Pat the filet mignon dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the filets and sear until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes total.
  • Remove to a plate and set aside. Brush or spread the Dijon mustard over the filets and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
  • Return the pan to medium heat, add the butter and allow to melt. Add the shallots, mushrooms and thyme, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms reduce in size and are no longer watery, about 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Add the vermouth and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are dry. Remove from heat and discard the thyme. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.
  • Stretch out 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a workspace. Lay out 2 slices of prosciutto on each so they are just overlapping. Spread the mushroom mixture over each. Top each with a piece of the filet mignon.
  • Wrap the prosciutto around the beef and tightly wrap with the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour and/or up to overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Cut the piece of puff pastry in half. Lightly dust a clean work surface and roll out the puff pastry just to remove the creases. Carefully unwrap the beef from the plastic wrap and place in the center of each piece of puff pastry.
  • Fold the puff pastry over the beef, pinching to seal it on all sides, trimming any excess puff pastry from the bottom. Place it seam side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash and use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the pastry.
  • Bake until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 130°F (54ºC), about 25 minutes for medium rare. If needed, broil for a minute for color. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature then cut in half and serve.

DID YOU MAKE THIS?

TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM TO BE FEATURED ON MY STORIES! @cookingwithcocktailrings

Rate + Review

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  1. These look amazing! I am going to serve these to 10 guests at my Christmas dinner. Will there be any problems with baking 10 at a time? Will that cool the oven temperature down by putting that many in at one time? I want them to be as perfect as yours!

    • Thank you!! You should be good! Just make sure your oven is fully heated before adding them and add them quickly so you don’t let too much heat out and they should turn out perfect! I hope you enjoy!

  2. 5 stars
    This was probably the best dinner I have ever made! I made this for New Years Eve as a surprise dinner for my husband since he’s been dying to make Beef Wellington—so it was a huge hit. There was SO much flavor. It was just amazing. Can’t wait to make again!

  3. 5 stars
    Wow! This recipe rocked my world! Instructions were perfect and it turned out so good! This is now my special occasion go-to!!