Gordon Ramsay’s wellington recipes all share the same core technique from his cookbooks: wrap the protein in layers, chill to set the shape, then bake inside puff pastry until golden. I’ve made every version on this site, from the full beef showpiece to a quick chicken one that works on a Tuesday night, and the method stays the same even when the filling changes completely.
Below are all seven recipes on the site, plus four more you can build using his methods from Make It Easy and Quick and Delicious.
1. Beef Wellington
The original and the one everyone starts with: seared beef fillet wrapped in mushroom duxelle and Parma ham, then baked in puff pastry. Ramsay has four versions across his cookbooks, and I compare all of them in the full article because each one handles the duxelle, the mustard and the crepe layer differently. Serves 4 to 6 and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, so it’s best saved for dinner parties or Christmas when you’ve got time to get it right.
2. Beef Wellington Bites
Same layers as the full beef wellington but shrunk down to party size, which means you get all the flavour without committing to a whole fillet. I prep these in the morning and bake them just before guests arrive, though honestly I always make a double batch because they vanish within minutes. Serves 8 to 10 as canapes and they freeze brilliantly unbaked, so I keep a stash ready.
3. Salmon Wellington
Four salmon fillets sandwiched in two layers with spinach cream cheese piped between them, then wrapped in a herbed crepe and puff pastry. The salmon goes in raw because it cooks through perfectly inside the pastry, which makes this the most forgiving wellington on the list if you’re new to the technique. Serves 4 and takes about 50 minutes.
4. Chicken Wellington
Individual seared chicken breasts in duxelle and Parma ham, one per person, ready in about 45 minutes. This is the wellington I come back to most because it looks like you’ve spent hours but you haven’t, and a Madeira sauce on the side takes it straight to dinner party level. Serves 4.
5. Turkey Wellington
Turkey breast rubbed with Ramsay’s herb butter from Sunday Lunch (tarragon, parsley and thyme), then wrapped in a mushroom and smoked bacon stuffing from Great British Pub Food. The herb butter melts into the meat as it bakes, and the bacon in the stuffing adds a richness that plain duxelle can’t match. Serves 4 in about an hour, and it sits beautifully next to all the usual Christmas sides.
6. Vegetarian Wellington
Mushroom, parsnip, hazelnuts and taleggio wrapped in Savoy cabbage and a crepe, then baked in puff pastry. This comes from gordonramsayrestaurants.com, where the cabbage does the same moisture-barrier job as Parma ham in the beef version. His restaurant also publishes a fully vegan beet wellington with truffle duxelle and chickpea water glaze, which I cover in the full article too. Serves 4 in about 1 hour 5 minutes.
7. Lobster Wellington
Par-cooked lobster tails in garlic spinach and mushroom duxelle, wrapped in a crepe and pastry. Ramsay served this at Bread Street Kitchen during his BeefWellingtonWeek series, and the lobster prep follows his Bread Street Kitchen cookbook method. Serves 4 in about 50 minutes, and if you save the shells after shelling you can make a lobster bisque as a starter the next day.
More wellingtons using Ramsay’s technique
8. Lamb Wellington
Ramsay doesn’t publish a lamb wellington, but his saddle of lamb stuffed with spinach in Make It Easy uses the same roll-and-wrap approach. Sear a lamb loin, spread duxelle over Parma ham, roll the lamb inside and wrap the whole thing in pastry. Rosemary works better than thyme in the duxelle here because it’s a natural match for lamb. Bake at 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes and keep the centre pink.
9. Pork Wellington
His pork fillet in prosciutto from Make It Easy is already most of the way to a wellington, so all you need to add is a mushroom duxelle and puff pastry around the outside. A brush of wholegrain mustard over the pork before wrapping brings everything together. Bake at 200°C for 25 to 30 minutes.
10. Venison Wellington
Venison fillet works the same way as beef, though you need to pull it out earlier because venison is leaner and dries out faster. Aim for 50°C internal instead of the 52°C Ramsay uses for beef. In Quick and Delicious he pairs venison with juniper and red cabbage, so a few crushed juniper berries in the duxelle gives it his flavour profile without needing a separate recipe.
11. Chocolate Wellington
The dessert version, and the easiest one on this list. Wrap good dark chocolate in puff pastry with a layer of Nutella and sliced bananas, then bake at 200°C for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the chocolate is molten inside. Twenty minutes from start to plate.
