by Julia | Appetizer Addiction / 11 Comments
Beef Wellington bites area wonderful festive appetizer. Beef pieces wrapped in puff pastry together with aflavorful filling and baked until golden brown.
Make your filling ahead to save time on the day of your party. It can be prepared one or two days ahead as long as it is kept in the fridge in an airtight container.
Follow the tips from this post to achieve the perfect beef wellington appetizers. Afull recipe card at the bottom of this post will explain in detail how to make mini beef wellington bites. It also includes more process photos for easy understanding.
What puff pastry is best?
There is no right or wrong answer here. Supermarkets offer many options. Frozen, fresh, ready-rolled, round, square. They all can give you different results so always remember to keep an eye on the pastry once you put it in the oven.
Ilike using fresh ready-rolled pastry as it gives me the best results when it comes to baking. It is thinly rolled so Ijust unfold it. Now, their size and weight vary from brand to brand.
To make 24 individual beef wellington bites, count with about 1 pound (450 grams) of puff pastry.
What to serve with beef Wellington appetizers?
The horseradish dipping sauce, mustard sauce, or aioli are great options. Our favorite is homemade aioli.
For acomplete Holiday appetizer menu, why not serve them with olive cheese skewers, slow cooker sweet and spicy meatballs and mini sandwiches?
Pro tips for making the best mini beef wellington bites
- Beef pieces and the mushroom filling have to be cooled down to room temperature. If these are still hot, they might melt your puff pastry which makes it hard to shape it into parcels.So, don’t rush the process.
- Searing (or browning) is an important step and should not be omitted. It will keep the juices inside which means the meat will not dry out and the pastry will not turn soggy.
- Make sure to cut the beef into 1-inch cubes (2.5-centimeter). Ihave tested these beef wellington bites using larger pieces but was not happy with the final result. However, please note that smaller pieces tend to over-cook faster and because you are browning them first, most of the pieces will probably turn out well-done.
- Searing beef pieces should only take 1-1.5 minutes per batch. Avoid over-cooking the beef at this stage. You will need alarge pan, alittle oil, and high heat.
- Agood quality cut of meat does make adifference here. Beef tenderloin is the best choice.
This beef wellington bites recipe has been tested several times in order for you to achieve the best possible results.
Now that being said, there are things that we cannot change (like the oven, the quality of pastry used nor the altitude we live in). For that reason, Ialways try to include as many details and information in my posts to avoid any possible failures.
More puff pastry recipes you might like to try:
- Parmesan Asparagus Pastry Twists
- Smoked Salmon Puffs
- Parmesan Breadsticks
- Air Fryer Pinwheels
- Bacon Puff Pastry Twists
Yield: 24 pieces
Beef Wellington Bites
Beef Wellington bites are a wonderful festive appetizer. Beef pieces wrapped in puff pastry together with a flavorful filling and baked until golden brown.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the beef pieces:
- 1 pound beef tenderloin (450 grams), see note 1
- ½ teaspoon salt, see note 2
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the mushroom filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion, minced
- 2 cups finely chopped button mushrooms (about 7 ounces/200 grams), see note 3
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- black pepper, a generous pinch
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup pitted black olives (60 grams)
For beef wellington bites:
- 1 pound puff pastry (450 grams), see note 4
- mustard, to taste, see note 5
- 1 small egg, beaten
Instructions
- Cut beef into 1-inch pieces (2.5-centimeters) and season with salt and black pepper.
- Heat oil in a skillet/frying pan and brown half of the beef pieces on high heat on all sides, about 1-2 minutes max! Transfer onto a plate lined with a paper kitchen towel and repeat with the other half. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius).
- Meanwhile: In the same skillet, heat a little oil, add minced onion and sliced mushrooms, and sauté for 10 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add soy sauce, oregano, black pepper and stir well.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor and add olives (make sure there are no stones in them). Process until smooth-ish.
- Unfold/unroll puff pastry sheet and cut it into about 3-3.5 inch (8-9 centimeter) squares. Spread some mustard in the center of each square, then spread some mushroom mixture over. Top with a piece of beef. Grab 2 opposite tips of the pastry and fold them over the beef. Repeat with the other two corners/tips. Make sure to press down the corners so they don’t open during cooking.
- Transfer the parcel onto a baking tray (see note 6 & 7) lined with baking parchment. Repeat with the rest of them. Brush them with beaten egg.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius) for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
- Best served warm with a dipping sauce of your choice.
Notes
- To make 24 mini beef wellington appetizers you will need about 1 pound (450 grams) of beef tenderloin. Cut them into 1-inch cubes (2.5-centimeter).
- Keep in mind that the filling is seasoned as well so don’t over-season the beef pieces.
- You can use either white or brown button mushrooms.
- You will need about 1 pound of puff pastry. I used 2 sheets of fresh ready-rolled pastry. Each weighing ½ pound (225 grams).
- I always eyeball this and use only a drop per bite. I used classic French mustard.
- I used 2 baking trays – a 10x15-inch (25x38-centimeter) tray will fit 12 pieces. A 9x13-inch (22x33-centimeter) tray/sheet could also work.
- If you can’t fit both trays on the same rack in the oven, make and bake them in batches. Don’t prepare the parcels ahead as puff pastry does not always do well when sits at room temperature for a long time.
- Please read through the pro tips in the post if in doubt. There are also ideas for dipping sauces.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 174mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g
Reader Interactions
Comments
Herman
Ideal for left-over fillet, pork or beef, ventured it in the air fryer, was delighted on the outcome, golden brown as with the oven, just faster.
Reply
linda
can these be frozen at any step?
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Julia | Appetizer Addiction
I haven’t tried freezing them so not sure, Linda.
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Barb
These look delicious, Will these freeze well?
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Julia | Appetizer Addiction
I would not recommend freezing these.
Reply
Lynne Ray
Can you put some cheese in these? If so what kind would you suggest?
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Julia | Appetizer Addiction
I have never tried it but I think you could. Perhaps some sharper cheese like gorgonzola or brie might work here? Just keep in mind that olives are salty so not to add too much of the salty cheese. Please do let us know if you give it a go!
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Jackie
Can these be made the day before the party
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Julia | Appetizer Addiction
I have not made them ahead so not sure about that, Jackie.
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Tara
Can I omit the olives? Or replace them with something else like garlic?
Reply
Julia | Appetizer Addiction
Hi Tara. You could perhaps use a combo of onion and garlic. Just be careful with the quantity of garlic. You want it to have some garlicky taste but not to be overpowering. Not sure how much though as I have not tested it. Some recipes also use a patè. Hope this helps and please do let us know if you give it a go!
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