Last Updated January 3rd, 2023 at 05:03 pm by Lisa
Everyone adores this mini beef wellington recipe for delicious hors d'oeuvres. Bake these at your next fancy dinner party, on special occasions, or anytime during the holiday season like Christmas dinner.
These beef wellington appetizers are a modern take on the classic English dish made easy with golden brown edges of flaky puff pastry, juicy filet mignon, and a creamy mushroom filling...
Individual Beef Wellington Recipe
Individual servings of beef wellington are so fancy to pass around at a party when you want all the flavor but not the fussiness of a formal sit-down dinner!
Wrapped in golden buttery puff pastry, topped with creamy Boursin cheese and a finely chopped and sautéed mushroom mixture, these are an extravagant elegant appetizer.
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PRO TIP: Traditionally a savory mushroom duxelles mix like this one, is used as a garnish or stuffing in dishes and adds tremendous flavor!
Ingredients For Mini Beef Wellingtons
- beef filet mignon
- sea salt
- black pepper
- fresh shallots fresh or freeze-dried
- cloves garlic minced
- fresh thyme
- mushrooms
- butter
- olive oil
- puff pastry
- Boursin cheese
- Take the puff pastry from the freezer, and remove the sheets from the box at room temperature for an hour.
- Make the mushroom filling. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse till finely chopped. Or finely chop on a cutting board.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a hot skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushroom mixture, and stir until the moisture evaporates for 6 minutes, steam will rise from the large skillet.
- Pat top and sides of the beef dry with paper towels, and slice the beef tenderloin into ¾ to 1-inch cubes. Use paper towels again to dry the moisture from each piece of meat. This helps the meat sear in the frying pan.
- Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and saute each piece of beef on all sides turning using tongs. Add several beef cubes to the large skillet pan at a time, careful to not crowd the pan.Sear for 1-2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat in the hot pan. And cook the beef until all sides are seared to medium doneness. The meat will shrink as it cooks. Place cooked beef pieces on a paper towel over a plate to cool and rest.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Open the puff pastry sheet on a cutting board work surface. Smooth it out with a rolling pin to make it flat. Slice the 9 x 12-inch rectangle puff pastry sheet into 12 (3-inch) squares using a pizza wheel or paring knife.Place 1 cooked beef cube, ½ teaspoon Boursin cheese, and ½ teaspoon-sized mound of mushroom mix into the center of each pastry square.
- Pull all four opposite side edges of pastry over the filling to the center to make a parcel, and pinch seams to seal. Place each appetizer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. If you want the pastry edges to stay closed, turn the top of each pastry bundle and face down on your baking sheet to hold the small slits of the pastry edges sealed while baking, otherwise the edges of the pastry will open up while baking, and get golden and puffy as mine did.
- Put the sheet pan in the hot oven, and bake for 9 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown and puffed!
Make Ahead Tips: Put the mini beef wellingtons together on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then cover well with plastic wrap cling film or in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Why This Recipe Works & Variations
Buy A Good Cut Of Beef: Buy the best quality of beef for this great recipe, it is worth the extra cost. A whole beef tenderloin, beef tenderloin steak, or beef filet are great choices.
- It's easy and you can make it ahead and then bake right before your party.
- Bake these in a muffin tin for a pretty rounded shape!
- Dip into a Creamy Horseradish Sauce or Dijon mustard for extra zing.
- Add in some chopped parma ham or good black forest ham.
- Saute the beef on all sides to add flavor and the best way is to cool and dry it before wrapping it in pastry, to prevent it from getting a soggy texture.
- Add gorgonzola cheese or your favorite cheese in place of Boursin.
- Swap out the mushrooms for caramelized onions or get my tips to make Sauteed Leeks, those would be amazing.
- Add a teaspoon of liver pate in each portion for a nod to the classic beef wellington.
Top Tips For Individual Beef Wellingtons
- Use a good puff pastry brand, and defrost according to the directions on the box. And be sure to not buy phyllo sheets in the freezer section, which is a different ingredient.
- Be sure to dry the beef before searing to get a nice crust and let it rest and cool before assembling your appetizers.
- You might be tempted to sear the beef in a large nonstick skillet, but most nonstick surfaces don't sear well and give you that caramelized crust on the beef which adds flavor! A good stainless or cast-iron pan will work great.
Traditional beef wellington is an English recipe made with beef tenderloin (fillet steak) coated with pâté (commonly pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry, then baked.
Beef wellington recipes are very popular for Christmas dinners, during the holidays, and served on special occasions.
French-style puff pastry dough looks like pie dough, but it’s actually many layers of dough separated by equally thin layers of butter, and this golden flaky pastry "puffs" into layers due to the water in the dough layers and water in the butter which turns into steam.
It is sold in the grocery store in a box usually with two sheets of puff pastry in the box. You will find it in the frozen food section and can be made from scratch (but is very labor intensive) to be used to create exciting appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
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Beef Wellington Appetizers Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ pound beef filet mignon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons shallots fresh or freeze dried
- 1 teaspoon cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 8 ounces mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 package puff pastry 2 sheets
- 1 package Boursin cheese
Instructions
- Take the puff pastry from the freezer, remove the sheets from the box at room temperature for an hour.
- Make the mushroom filling. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse till finely chopped. Or finely chop on a cutting board.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a hot skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushroom mixture, and stir until the moisture evaporates for 6 minutes, steam will rise from the large skillet.
- Pat top and sides of the beef dry with paper towels, and slice the beef tenderloin into ¾ to 1-inch cubes. Use paper towels again to dry the moisture from each piece of meat. This helps the meat sear in the frying pan.
- Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and saute each piece of beef on all sides turning using tongs. Add several beef cubes to the large skillet pan at a time, careful to not crowd the pan. Sear for 1-2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat in the hot pan. And cook the beef until all sides are seared to medium doneness. The meat will shrink as it cooks. Place cooked beef pieces on a paper towel over a plate to cool and rest.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Open the puff pastry sheet on a cutting board work surface. Smooth it out with a rolling pin to make it flat. Slice the 9 x 12-inch rectangle puff pastry sheet into 12 (3-inch) squares using a pizza wheel or paring knife. Place 1 cooked beef cube, ½ teaspoon Boursin cheese, and ½ teaspoon-sized mound of mushroom mix into the center of each pastry square.
- Pull all four opposite side edges of pastry over the filling to the center to make a parcel, and pinch seams to seal. Place each appetizer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. If you want the pastry edges to stay closed, turn the top of each pastry bundle and face down on your baking sheet to hold the small slits of the pastry edges sealed while baking, otherwise the edges of the pastry will open up while baking, and get golden and puffy as mine did.
- Put the sheet pan in the hot oven, and bake for 9 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown and puffed!
- Make Ahead Tips: Put the mini beef wellingtons together on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then cover well with plastic wrap cling film or in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Notes
Top Tips For Individual Beef Wellingtons
- Use a good puff pastry brand, and defrost according to the directions on the box. And be sure to not buy phyllo sheets in the freezer section, which is a different ingredient.
- Be sure to dry the beef before searing to get a nice crust and let it rest and cool before assembling your appetizers.
- You might be tempted to sear the beef in a large nonstick skillet, but most nonstick surfaces don't sear well and give you that caramelized crust on the beef which adds flavor! A good stainless or cast-iron pan will work great.
Why This Recipe Works & Variations
Buy A Good Cut Of Beef: Buy the best quality of beef for this great recipe, it is worth the extra cost. A whole beef tenderloin, beef tenderloin steak, or beef filet are great choices.- It's easy and you can make it ahead and then bake right before your party.
- Bake these in a muffin tin for a pretty rounded shape!
- Dip into a Creamy Horseradish Sauce or Dijon mustard for extra zing.
- Add in some chopped parma ham or good black forest ham.
- Saute the beef on all sides to add flavor and the best way is to cool and dry it before wrapping it in pastry, to prevent it from getting a soggy texture.
- Add gorgonzola cheese or your favorite cheese in place of Boursin.
- Swap out the mushrooms for caramelized onions or get my tips to make Sauteed Leeks, those would be amazing.
- Add a teaspoon of liver pate in each portion for a nod to the classic beef wellington.
Delicious and so easy, they were a hit at our New Years party last year.