Beef Wellington Bites with Horseradish Cream

All the flavors you love from a classic Beef Wellington, in bite size form! Flaky puff pastry, filled with a savory mushrooms mixture, slice of prosciutto and topped with a piece of tender filet.

final photo of beef wellington bites on serving tray with dipping sauce in the background and fresh thyme as a garnish.

Beef Wellington Bites are the perfect holiday appetizer because they have all of the classic holiday flavors you associate with a holiday meal but in a more manageable form! These Wellington Bites are great served as a main course, snack, or appetizer making them extra versatile for your holiday season.

What You Need To Make the Wellington Bites

Butter
Filet Mignon or Beef Tenderloin
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Cremini Mushrooms
Shallot
Garlic
Fresh Thyme
Dijon Mustard
Puff Pastry
Prosciutto

ingredient shot for wellington bites: puff pastry, filet chunks, minced mushrooms, minced shallot, minced thyme, garlic, mustard, prosciutto.

What You Need To Make the Horseradish Cream

The sauce comes together in minutes and is made up of just two ingredients:

Crème Fraiche – This is what gives the sauce it’s body. It’s tangy and smooth, resulting in an extremely luxurious sauce. My favorite is from Vermont Creamery!
Prepared Horseradish – Horseradish is classic when cooking a traditional Wellington or Holiday Roast so I knew it would be the perfect accompaniment to these bites. Mixed with the crème fraiche, its a perfect balance of heat and creaminess.

ingredient shot for the horseradish cream sauce: prepared horseradish, creme fraiche and beef chunks are in the background.

In a medium sized bowl, combine crème fraiche and prepared horseradish and stir until well combined.

How to Make Beef Wellington Bites

Once all of the components are prepared, it’s just a matter of assembling the bites.

prepared components to the wellington bites, muffin pan with puff pastry, prosciutto, meat & mushroom mix

Searing the Filet

Begin by searing your filet. In a large cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Season the filet pieces with salt and pepper. Sear on each side for 2-3 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms. You are just looking to put some color on the beef, not cook it through

Once the filet is seared, remove it from the pan and add to a bowl with the Dijon mustard. Toss to coat the filet in mustard and set aside. Adding the mustard to the beef at this stage helps to intensify those flavors and makes it easier for the mustard to coat the beef.

Making the Savory Mushroom Mixture

While the filet is searing, prepare your mushroom mixture. This is commonly referred to as a ‘Duxelles’. In the bowl of your food processor, add the mushrooms, shallot, garlic, and thyme. Pulse the mixture until it is finely minced.
This can also be done using a knife, just make sure the mixture is completely minced.
Cook the mushroom mixture on medium high heat in the same skillet you seared the beef. The butter and rendered fat from the filet will help to break down the mushrooms. Cook the mixture for 10-15 minutes, until it has released all of it’s moisture and is nicely browned. The mixture will have reduced by about ⅔. Lightly season with salt and pepper and set aside.

mushroom mix cooking in cast iron skillet

Assembling the Wellington Bites

To assemble the wellington bites, place 1 piece of puff pastry into each hole of a muffin pan. Press lightly to form a cup.

muffin pan with half of the holes filled with puff pastry

Spoon in some of the mushroom mixture, then top with a piece of prosciutto.

muffin pan filled with puff pastry and mushrooms

muffin pan filled with puff pastry and mushrooms and prosciutto

Finish with a piece of filet and continue until the whole muffin pan is filled.

beef wellington bites assembled but not cooked.

Bake wellington bites in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown and puffed. Serve warm with Horseradish Cream.

Questions About Beef Wellington Bites

Can I use a different cut of meat for this recipe?

Since the meat is quickly seared then cooked in the oven for just a few minutes, I would only swap the Filet for another cut that is extremely tender and doesn’t need a lot of time to cook. Ribeye or New York Strip are the only cuts I would suggest for this recipe, but if you can find Filet, I highly recommend using that for best results!

What if I don’t like mushrooms, can I leave them out?

Since the mushrooms are chopped so finely, and cooked so deeply, there is not much of a heavy ‘mushroom’ flavor to the bites. They help to add a depth of flavor to the overall bite so I would not recommend leaving it out.

This recipe would be delicious paired with my Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes!