Beef Wellington Bites
Beef Wellington Bites have all the same flavors you know and love with a traditional Beef Wellington, all packed in an easy, handheld bite!
A FUN AND SLIGHTLY FANCY RECIPE
These bite sized wellingtons were inspired by the original, with the basic premise of delicious beef wrapped in mushrooms and prosciutto and tucked inside of a puff pastry shell. They are definitely not under the category of “quick” recipe. So, you may be thinking, “What the heck Brandie? This is not your usual kind of recipe!” but having a recipe like this really nice for those times when you want to do it up nice and don’t want to skip on flavor. It’s an appetizer you make when you want to impress! I know recipes like this can look daunting but that is why you come to me, I will break it all down and make it easier for you to do step-by-step. Just remember when you’re in the thick of it that these bites are SO worth it!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
For those of you not familiar (and I am one of those because I am not a big drinker), Vermouth is a red or white wine that is typically flavored with a variety of herbs. Usually vermouth is made in France or Italy. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to though. If you want to swap it out, try using sherry, dry white wine, or even chicken broth instead.
If you want to try a different cut of beef, make sure to pick one that should be a tender cut of beef because no one wants to chew into tough bites of meat. When you cut up meat this small, it can easily dry out and get tough so you really want a tender cut (like filet mignon). Whatever beef is used though, I think the fat needs to be trimmed. You don’t want a bunch of excess grease being cooked off in these, so choose wisely.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can just cut the mushrooms up as finely as possible.
These were cooked to a medium-well doneness. You can cook it for less time if you like it more rare but you need to make sure the puff pastry is fully cooked before serving.
Yep! You can prep everything up until the baking step. Store them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake later.
Honestly, these are best eaten fresh right when they are made. If you really want to keep leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat them at 250F in the oven until warmed through (without the horseradish cream sauce obviously.)
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- frozen puff pastry sheets– they usually come in a pack of two sheets in the frozen section. Any leftover puff pastry sheets can be stored in a zippered freezer bag and use it for another recipe. I think some stores carry a refrigerated version now and you get one sheet per pack.
- Dijon mustard
- mushrooms– I used button mushrooms, but you can use your favorite type of mushrooms. Beef Wellington is not really a true beef Wellington without mushrooms. If you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out. When using the food processor, don’t pulse the mushrooms too long. You want the mushrooms to be finely diced, if you pulse too long they’ll turn to mush.
- unsalted butter
- chopped prosciutto– or you can use thinly sliced ham instead. Don’t over fry the prosciutto. You want it crispy when frying, it will continue to cook in the oven.
- garlic– fresh garlic not the jarred here. If you’re going through all this trouble, you really want that fresh garlic taste.
- fresh thyme– you can also keep a few sprigs for an optional garnish later. Instead of fresh thyme, you can use ½ teaspoon dried thyme.
- dry vermouth– if you need a substitution, scroll up to the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) section for other ideas.
- kosher salt and pepper
- beef tenderloin – trim any excess fat. See my Frequently Asked Question section above for more details on the kind of beef to use.
- sour cream – you could use a plain Greek yogurt as well.
- mayonnaise
- horseradish – if you don’t like horseradish, then just don’t make a horseradish cream sauce for this. You could maybe just dollop a little creme fraiche or sour cream on top. Again, this is typically served with beef Wellington so is part of the traditional flavors.
- honey
HOW TO MAKE BEEF WELLINGTON BITES
Thaw out the puff pastry sheets according to the back of the packaging. Spray a 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter work and roll out each puff pastry sheet to about 12 inches square. Note: If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle a bit of flour over it and a little n your rolling pin. Using a round 2 ½-inch biscuit/cookie cutter, cut a circle from the dough and press it lightly into the prepared mini muffin pan.
Repeat for a total of 24 circles of dough (note: you’ll need to roll out the second dough of puff pastry to get 24 circles.) Brush the insides of the pastry cups with Dijon mustard. Cover with plastic wrap and pop into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor and pulse them until they are finely diced. Note: if you don’t have a food processor, just cut them up as finely as possible. In a skillet, over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter. Once the butter has fully melted, add the mushrooms and gently fry until they begin to release their liquid, get soft and begin to turn golden brown.
To the skillet add the prosciutto, garlic, thyme, and vermouth. Stir together and cook the mixture until the vermouth has been cooked down and the prosciutto has browned slightly but is still soft (not crispy). Season the mixture with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the remaining Tablespoon of unsalted butter until melted.
Transfer this mixture to a bowl and set it aside or place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool. Season the cubed beef tenderloin with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator and add a few pieces of the beef tenderloin to each pastry cup. Just evenly distribute the cubed beef tenderloin as best as possible. Spoon a teaspoon of the cooled mushroom mixture into each pastry cup. Do your best to place the mushroom mixture in and around the beef.
Place muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F and continue baking for an additional 6 minutes. While the Beef Wellington Bites are baking, make the horseradish cream sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish, and honey. Set aside. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and run a thin knife (like a butter knife) around the edges of the Beef Wellington Bites to loosen them from the pan. Then dollop the tops of each bite with the horseradish cream sauce.. Garnish each one with a little thyme.
Place them on a serving platter. Note: If you find it easier, remove the bites before adding the horseradish sauce on top. Stick them on a platter first then top.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Beef Wellington Bites
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets (usually comes in a pack of two)
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used button mushrooms, use your favorite(
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (divided use)
- ½ cup chopped prosciutto (or thinly sliced ham or bacon)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- ¼ cup dry vermouth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (divided use)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (divided use)
- ½ pound beef tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Horseradish cream sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- ½ teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Thaw out 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets according to the back of the packaging.
- Spray a 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter and roll out each puff pastry sheet to about 12 inches square. Note: If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle a bit of flour over it and a little on your rolling pin. Or if you don't want to use parchment paper, just put a little flour on a clean work surface and roll it out.
- Using a round 2 ½-inch biscuit/cookie cutter, cut a circle from the dough and press it lightly into the prepared mini muffin pan. Repeat for a total of 24 circles of dough (note: you’ll need to roll out the second dough of puff pastry to get 24 circles.)
- Brush the insides of each of the pastry cups with Dijon mustard. Cover with plastic wrap and pop into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Place 1 cup chopped mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor and pulse them until they are minced (not mushy). Note: if you don’t have a food processor, just cut them up as finely as possible.
- In a skillet, over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter.
- Once the butter has fully melted, add the minced mushrooms and gently fry until they begin to release their liquid, get soft, and begin to turn golden brown.
- To the skillet add ½ cup chopped prosciutto, 1 clove garlic, minced, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme and ¼ cup dry vermouth. Stir together and cook the mixture until the vermouth has been cooked down and the prosciutto has browned slightly but is still soft (not crispy).
- Season the mixture with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the remaining Tablespoon of unsalted butter until melted.
- Transfer this mixture to a bowl and set it aside or cover it and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool.
- Season ½ pound beef tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator and add a few pieces of the beef tenderloin to each pastry cup. Evenly distribute the cubed beef tenderloin as best as possible
- Spoon a teaspoon of the cooled mushroom mixture into each pastry cup. Do your best to place the mushroom mixture in and around the beef.
- Place muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 6 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 400°F and continue baking for an additional 6 minutes.
- While the Beef Wellington Bites are baking, make the horseradish cream sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons sour cream, 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon horseradish and ½ teaspoon honey until combined. Set aside.
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and run a thin knife (like a butter knife) around the edges of the Beef Wellington Bites to loosen them from the pan. Then dollop the tops of each bite with the horseradish cream sauce. Garnish each one with a little thyme (optional).
- Place them on a serving platter.
- Note: If you find it easier, remove the bites before adding the horseradish sauce on top. Stick them on a platter first then top. Then serve immediately!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Can you make any of this the day before?
Hi Cathy! Definitely! I talk more about that above in the Frequently Asked Questions section 🙂
I like your recipes very much and I’ve tried some of them successfully.
Could you please tell me: is it possible to use hard tofu instead of meat? I am not vegetarian yet but I’m leaning towards it, and your reply may help me a lot because I very much like this recipe and would like to try it.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi Gilly! I would love to be able to tell you how to use tofu but I am just not familiar enough with it to tell you how to use it properly in this recipe. Perhaps one of our vegetarian friends on here can best guide you on how to do it 🙂
These look so yummy and perfect timing for hubby’s birthday dinner this week. I am thinking of trying them is a regular muffin pan instead of mini-muffins. Any thoughts on baking time and any other suggestions for the larger size? TIA!!
I haven’t tested it on the larger size muffins. I was trying to keep it so it all cooked evenly so I went with the minis – plus, I needed them to be bite sized so no one is trying to eat it in a bunch of bites as they are supposed to be a one bite (two bite tops) handheld appetizer – not something you need a knife and fork for like a traditional beef Wellington. So unfortunately, I don’t have any advice on the larger muffins. I would hate to even guess unless I have tried it myself because I would feel terrible if someone wasted ingredients based on my guesses. If you decide to experiment though, I’d love to know how they turn out for you!