You are going to love these delicious wild mushroom puff pastry hand pies. Think of them as individual mini-pies that are rich and tasty but also easy to make! With a cashew-based sauce, they are unbelievably creamy, despite being completely dairy-free and vegan, and have such a deep mushroom flavour for exquisite umami richness. From the first cut into the crisp flaky puff pastry with creamy mushroom sauce oozing out onto your plate, you will be in foodie heaven!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Delicious – crisp, flaky pastry filled with a rich creamy sauce with a deep earthy mushroom flavour.
- Easy make-ahead entertaining – perfect for making ahead and leaving in the fridge ready to pop in the oven when guests arrive.
- Easy but impressive – easy to make using ready-made, store-bought puff pastry and a sauce that comes together mainly in the blender!
- Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free – perfect for allergen-friendly hosting!
The beauty of this dish is in its ease of making and the deep mushroom flavour which comes from using both dried and fresh mushrooms in the filling. Even the soaking water from the dried mushrooms is used in the sauce to give it additional depth. The earthiness of the mushrooms pairs beautifully with the soft creaminess of the cashew-sauce and the “buttery” puff pastry encasing it.
And you will be amazed at how easy it is to make these delicious little pies. They are perfect for entertaining because you can make them ahead of time and then roast them in the oven while you are chatting to your guests after they arrive.
These vegan mushroom feuilletées span the seasons too - serve with a simple salad for a light summer lunch party or with some steamed vegetables and perhaps some potatoes for a winter supper.
Gluten-free and Vegan Puff Pastry?!?
You may be surprised to discover that most brands of ready-made puff pastry are accidentally vegan (due to being egg-free and dairy-free). Some brands, such as Jus Rol, also make a gluten-free version which is egg-free, dairy-free and vegan too, putting puff pastry firmly back on the menu in my household!
The ready-made versions are pretty good as well – obviously not quite as good as homemade, but the convenience more than compensates! Quite frankly, puff pastry is such a pain to make at the best of times - who wants to bother making it when a fairly decent ready-made version is available at the shops! Maybe one day I’ll tinker with making homemade vegan and gluten-free puff pastry when I have more time, but with family, work and a house to run, that day isn’t coming any time soon!
Ingredients Notes
- Ready made puff pastry – When shopping for your ready-made puff pastry, check the ingredients label carefully to make sure it is indeed vegan and gluten-free. Also, try to find the ones that come in a roll because they have already been rolled out for you so all you have to do is unroll it and cut it. No rolling pin required even!
- Dried mushrooms – you can use whichever dried mushrooms you like best. I love morel mushrooms but they are expensive and sometimes difficult to find. I treat myself to them occasionally (by mail order from sous-chef in the UK). Otherwise, the more easily available general mixed forest mushrooms or wild mushrooms are very tasty too. The key is to make sure you soak them for long enough. I have given a general guideline in the recipe but different mushrooms take different amounts of time to soften so just make sure they are really soft before moving on with the rest of the recipe. Sliced wild mushrooms take less time to rehydrate.
- Fresh mushrooms – again, use whichever mushrooms you like. I often use plain chestnut or cremini mushrooms because they are reasonably priced and I like the flavour. If I wanted to go all out, I might use some special mushrooms like girolles or mixed wild mushrooms.
- Cashews – cashews give the sauce its creaminess and richness. To make the sauce nut-free, you could use silken tofu instead but you might need to add a little more vegetable stock powder to flavour it.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is important here, rather than powdered. It adds depth of flavour.
- White Wine – if you don’t want to use alcohol, you can substitute this for a little watered down apple cider vinegar or even diluted lemon juice which will give the necessary acidity to cut through the richness in the cashew sauce.
- Nutritional Yeast – if you are unfamiliar with this ingredient, it is a natural ingredient which is a bi-product of the … process. It is great for vegan diets as often contains additional vitamin B12 which can be harder to include in a vegan diet. It also provides a slight cheesiness to the flavour of the sauce.
Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full list of ingredients and their quantities.
How To Make This Recipe
There are basically two steps to making this dish.
- First you make the filling and, ideally, chill it in the fridge for a while.
- Then you un-roll the pastry, assemble the pies and pop them in the oven to roast.
Oven Temperature:
Cooking Time:
200°C / 400°F
20 - 25 minutes
For making the filling:
Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes.
In a separate jug, soak the cashews in boiling water for 15 minutes (or the same time as the mushrooms).
Prep the vegetables by chopping the red onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms.
When fully soaked, drain the dried mushrooms (and retain the soaking water) and drain the cashews (discarding the soaking water).
Whizz up the cashews in a blender with the mushroom soaking water and other sauce ingredients.
Fry off the onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms until browned.
Then pour the cashew sauce mixture into the frying pan with the onions and mushrooms. Add the soaked dried mushrooms at the same time and stir it all together over a medium-low heat for a couple of minutes until it thickens.
Then pour into a jug and store in the fridge for an hour or so (or longer if more convenient).
To make the pies:
Unroll the pastry in the paper that it comes on. Then, cut it into square shapes about 8-10cm wide. Pick each one up and place them a little apart from each other on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Then add a spoonful of cooled mushroom mixture (which will have firmed up in the fridge) into the middle of each pastry square.
Fold the four corners of each square over the top of the mushroom mixture and pinch together in the middle.
Paint the top of the pastry with a little plant-based milk.
At this point, you can put the assembled pies into the fridge ready to bake later or you can put them straight into the oven. Roast for 20-25 minutes at 200C°C/400°F until browned.
This is a summary only. Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page for full instructions.
Top Tips
- For preparing fresh mushrooms, it is really important not to wash them. Mushrooms love to soak up water so if you wash them, they will go soggy. Instead, brush off any dirt with a little dry pastry brush or rub with a piece of kitchen towel.
- Likewise, for cooking mushrooms, they soak up oil very quickly so you need to add another tablespoon of oil before adding the mushrooms to the onion and garlic otherwise there will not be enough to sauté the onions properly. Stir the mushrooms frequently while sautéing so that they do not burn, and continue cooking until they turn a rich golden brown colour. You will notice that they shrink considerably on cooking!
- Try not to handle the pastry too much. You need to be fairly quick once you have taken the pastry roll out of the fridge, because you need to unroll it, cut out the squares and place it on the baking paper fairly quickly before it starts to get warm. If it gets too warm, the layers will mould into each other and won't rise well. So, if you find it starting to get warm while you are preparing the pastry or the pies before cooking them (I have a very warm kitchen so I have this problem often!), just quickly pop the whole tray back in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down again before continuing with the recipe.
- It is best to wait until the mushroom filling has cooled before trying to make the hand pies. That way, the sauce will not ooze out all over the tray before the pastry cooks up and rises around it to hold it in! If the filling is cold, then it firms up a little and you can easily spoon it into the middle of the pastry squares and it will stay in place while the pastry cooks around it.
- For a vegan version of egg wash (beaten egg that you paint on uncooked pastry before cooking), you can brush the uncooked pastry dough with a little plant-based milk instead.
Serving Suggestions
These vegan wild mushroom feuilletées are so versatile as they can be served in any season (just change up the mushrooms for whichever mushrooms are in season at the time) and for any event.
Serve these individual mushroom hand pies with a light side salad for a delicious lunch or serve with some cooked veggies (green beans or tender stem broccoli would be particularly good) and some potatoes for a more hearty dinner. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
Variations
If you have any mushroom haters in your midst, don’t worry! You can adapt this recipe very easily for them!
My kids absolutely hate mushrooms so when I make this dish for our family, I do the mushroom recipe for my husband and I but I save back some of the cashew sauce and mix it with some cooked broccoli and cheese for the filling in my kids portions. You can use real cheese or vegan cheese depending on what they eat. Sautéed leeks or Swiss chard would work well as an alternative to the broccoli.
Making Ahead, Storage & Leftovers
Making Ahead
This vegan mushroom pie recipe is brilliant for making ahead. You simply take it up to the stage of assembling the pies (without cooking them) and then keep them in the fridge, covered with cling film, set on a parchment-lined baking tray, for up to 2 days before cooking.
Leftovers
Any leftover hand pies can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Re-heat by putting in an oven-proof dish, covering with foil and baking in the oven (or air fryer) at 200°C for 8-10 minutes.
Alternatively, if you have leftover creamy wild mushroom filling, this works brilliantly as a vegan mushroom stroganoff. Just add some smoked paprika (to taste) and a little tomato puree and gently reheat in a pan, being careful not to let it boil. You may need to add a little more water to loosen it up a little and make it more creamy as the additional cooking might evaporate some of the liquid. Serve with rice for a hearty mushroom supper.
This creamy wild mushroom filling is also absolutely delicious with polenta or drizzled over a baked potato!
FAQs
No, sadly not but many ready made puff pastry packs are accidentally vegan. Check the ingredients label to make sure there is no butter (they often use vegetable oil instead) and only buy the gluten-free version if you also need it to be gluten-free. In the UK, the Jus Rol brand makes a great vegan and gluten-free puff pastry!
[insert WPRM]
📖 Recipe 📖
Vegan Wild Mushroom Feuilletées (Puff Pastry Hand Pies)
Ingredients
- 25 g dried mushrooms
- 80 g cashews (½ cup)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 150 g fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (picked off the stem), (or 1 teaspoon dried herbs)
- 3 tablespoon white wine (50 ml)
- 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry, (Jus Rol gluten-free vegan)
- 2 tablespoon plant-based milk, (for glazing)
Blender Ingredients:
- 15 g nutritional yeast (¼ cup)
- ½ teaspoon vegetable stock powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the mushroom filling:
- Soak the dried mushrooms in a jug of 500ml boiling water and, in a separate jug, soak the cashews in boiling water as well (enough to cover them well). Leave both to soak for 30 minutes*. (Meanwhile, you can chop the onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms.)25 g dried mushrooms, 80 g cashews (½ cup)
- Drain the soaked mushrooms through a sieve into a jug, retaining the sieved mushroom soaking water. Drain the cashews, discarding the cashew soaking water.
- In a blender, whizz up the drained cashews with the mushroom soaking water and the rest of the blender ingredients until completely smooth. It will be a thin liquid consistency but don’t worry, it will thicken up on cooking.80 g cashews (½ cup), 15 g nutritional yeast (¼ cup), ½ teaspoon vegetable stock powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, black pepper
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan (large skillet) over a medium-high heat and, when hot, add the red onion and garlic. Sauté over a medium high heat, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes until lightly browned. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the chopped fresh mushrooms and sauté for another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until well browned.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 red onion, 3 garlic cloves, 150 g fresh mushrooms
- Once browned, add the re-hydrated dried mushrooms, white wine, and herbs. Continue to sauté for one minute, stirring, while the alcohol evaporates.25 g dried mushrooms, 3 tablespoon white wine (50 ml), 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (picked off the stem)
- Pour in the cashew sauce from the blender and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes to thicken. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Pour the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool and firm up. (At this point, you can leave it in the fridge overnight if you like – just cover with cling film or put it in an airtight container).
To make the pies:
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Unwrap and unroll the puff pastry sheets (or roll out the block of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 5-8mm thick). Cut off any rounded edges and cut squares of about 10cm each side (or you could use a cookie cutter to cut circles if you prefer). Place the squares onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
- In the middle of each square, add a large spoonful of the cold mushroom mixture. Then pull the four corners of the square into the middle and squeeze together to seal (or fold the circles over into a half moon shape and press around the edges with the tines of a fork to seal them). Either put back in the fridge (covered with cling film) until ready to cook or bake straight away.
- When ready to bake, brush the tops of the pastry with a little plant-based milk. Then bake in the preheated oven at 200°C/400℉ for 20-25 minutes (or according to the instructions on the puff pastry packet).2 tablespoon plant-based milk
- When the pastry is golden and puffed up, golden and puffed up, remove and serve garnished with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
Notes
- As a kids version or a non-mushroom alternative, use steamed broccoli florets mixed into the cashew sauce rather than mushrooms and add a handful of grated vegan cheese. Sautéed leeks or swiss chard would also work well like this.
- If your dried mushrooms are whole, they will need the longer soaking time but pre-sliced dried mushrooms will need less soaking.
- It is easier to assemble the pastries when the mushroom filling is fridge cold as it will be firm and not runny. You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- You can assemble the pastries ahead of time and store them, uncooked, in the fridge, covered with cling film, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When it is time to cook the pastries, pre-heat a baking tray in the oven, then transfer the fridge cold pastries across onto the hot baking tray by pulling the parchment paper from the fridge baking tray over to the preheated tray and putting it straight into the preheated oven.
- The mushroom filling also works brilliantly on its own with a baked potato or some polenta, or you can add some smoked paprika and a little tomato paste to make it into a vegan mushroom stroganoff!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a ⭐ star rating ⭐ on the recipe card!
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