This is like meatloaf and Beef Wellington had a baby. Except it’s made with chicken. With pops of sun dried tomato! Meet Chicken Meatloaf Wellington …
Here’s a fresh take on meatloaf for you! Made with chicken and encased in golden, flaky puff pastry, this is simple and fast to make. And it looks impressive! Don’t you think? 🙂
I did warn you that I was a puff pastry fiend and this is further evidence of that. I always, ALWAYS have a packet in my freezer and it’s my “go to” for making almost anything a bit more interesting. So when I picked up a packet of chicken mince (ground chicken) on special, I was rummaging around in the fridge wondering what to do with it and came across leftover sun dried tomatoes from when I posted my Chicken with Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce. And this is what I came up with!
One of the ways I make my meatloaf (and meatballs!) juicy and with an extra burst of flavour is to mix grated onion into the filling. The juice from the onion adds extra moisture and the onion flavour is dispersed subtly throughout the meat rather than chunks of half cooked onion which is what can happen if you use diced onion. I really feel that it makes quite a difference and it’s the way I have always made meatloaf and meatballs. 🙂
I thought the addition of sun dried tomatoes was a nice touch! Makes it a little more interesting – little bursts of salty, oily sun dried tomato that adds flavour and juiciness. Chicken mince has a tendency to be dry so I was extra conscious of making sure the filling is really juicy. When you cut it while it is fresh and hot out of the oven, you will see juice oozing out of the filling. It’s so moist that I don’t feel the need for sauce.
This is one of those dishes that is best eaten fresh. It is just not the same reheated, even reheated in the oven. Though the puff pastry becomes nice and crisp again, the filling just isn’t as moist!
So if you make this, do it when there are enough people around to scoff it down fresh out of the oven. Everyone will love it! – Nagi x
More meatloaf recipes
I love a good meatloaf!
- Meatloaf – extra tasty, extra juicy, extra soft!
- Italian Meatloaf with Marinara Sauce
- Meatloaf Cupcakes With Mashed Potato
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Chicken Meatloaf Wellington with Sun Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 small onion , grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 lb / 500 g ground chicken (mince) (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup fresh basil , roughly chopped (Note 2)
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Pastry
- 1 sheet puff pastry , thawed
- 1 egg , lightly beaten (optional) (Note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place the Filling ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to mix together. It should be quite soft and wet, not dry and crumbly.
- Place the filling onto the puff pastry. Shape into a loaf and roll the puff pastry up, ending with the seam side down.
- Transfer to baking tray. Cut a few diagonal slashes across the top.
- Brush with egg wash and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden brown. Turn the tray at around 25 minutes for even browning.
- Remove from the oven. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Oh, I don’t think I’d have any trouble salvaging a leftover, slightly dry Chicky Wellie. Re-crisped slices drowning in a nice little béchamel sauce, or a thin béchamel “gravy” made with chicken broth, or some grated Swiss cheese added to either? Maybe even some deli ham chopped or scallions sprinkled over it? I’m sure there would be Something in the refrigerator or cupboards, preferably something loaded with tasty calories, that could resurrect it’s edible status well enough to polish it off! And, of course, butter would be involved, and possibly cream or white wine, and Dijon might be an option, too.
YUM YUM YUM!!!
Hi Nagi
I thought this looked brilliant, but could not get minced chicken or Panko breadcrumbs at my local supermarket so I used minced turkey thigh and blitzed up a couple of slices of my homemade brown bread. I cannot eat onion so added a couple of chopped up rashers of streaky bacon (my usual substitute for added flavour in place of onion – if I need the texture as well I add chopped up celery) and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard. I made a bit of a mess of rolling it up and it turned out a bit flat, but was nevertheless absolutely the tops! Thank you so much. Salmon patties are next on my list.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!! So glad you enjoyed this!! N xx
Thank you so much for this recipe! I want able to find minced chicken in the UK so ended up deboning and whizzing through chicken thighs myself, and it was so juicy! My boyfriend and I absolutely loved it 🙂 and to think all I wanted was to use up the rest of the sun-dried tomatoes 😀 it’s the 3rd recipe of yours I’ve tried and all have been massive hits! Thank you ❤
That’s so great to hear Aiste! Thanks for sharing your feedback – N x
We’ve had quite the Nagi-day season! I made this for New Year’s Eve dinner & it was a huge hit!
Delicious & beautiful! I served it with a horseradish aioli on the side & that was popular too. It was my first time
working with puff pastry & it was so easy but looked impressive & complicated.
Thanks for helping me be the hostess with mostest, once again.
Happy New Year to you & Dozer!
xxx
You got it Fiona! HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS, I LOVE IT!!! ❤️
Thinking of trying this with ground turkey and maybe dried cranberries instead of the tomatoes. Hopefully it will work out 🙂
Hi Nagi,
Panko breadcrumbs is not readily available where I’m from . What can I use as replacement.
Awesome website! Even more awesome dog!
Hi Estelle! Normal breadcrumbs is fine, otherwise you could even use 1 cup chopped white bread (no crust) , soak it in the grated onion, then proceed with recipe 🙂 N xx
This has become a Family favourite… I have done both the chicken and the beef, both are loved, but the men seem to gravitate toward the beef. It is so easy for a crowd and looks amazing. I always get big complements and lots of recipe requests when I make this. Thank you for kick starting my cooking again… anything I try from your site is an instant hit! Again, Thanks!
Woo hoo! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Sheryn, thanks for letting me know! N x
Recipe looks great! I will try it with guests
notes 1 and 2 are reversed
Hope you do Bernard! And thanks for picking that up, fixing it now! 🙂 N x
Could you whiz up pre-cooked chicken instead of raw chicken mince?
Hmm, I’m not sure it will hold together, it might need more egg. Sorry to say!
Hi – What would you suggest using instead of the parmesan – I cannot eat dairy. I think just leaving it out would impact the overall flavor. Thanks!
Just leave it out and add 1/4 tsp salt! 🙂
I made this last night. It was fab! I was pleased it was super quick to make, only took me 20 minutes, all into a bowl, mix, roll, into oven lol. It had a Mediterranean feel so I added some sliced olives and served it with a Greek salad, it was yummy, we will have it again, thanks Nagi ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I really appreciate that you took the time to come back and let me know! 🙂
This looks great and I’m anxious to try it! I do have a couple of questions though:
-My husband and I both like the flavor of sun dried tomatoes but not the texture. Any advice?
-I don’t always have puff pastry on hand; do you have a suggestion for an alternative like pie crust or homemade crescent roll dough?
-Do you grate the onion by hand or use a food processor?
Thank you for your help! I’m trying to expand my recipe lineup and use what I have in the fridge too!
Hi Diana! This is a great recipe for making with whatever you have in the fridge! Feel free to substitute the su dried tomatoes with something else, I’m thinking antipasto type things would be great – olives, even artichokes (increase the quantity by 50% as the flavour isn’t as intense!). Any dough will work fabulously with this as long as it is thin enough so that it cooks in the baking time. Pie crust would be fabulous, I’ve made it with frozen shortcrust pastry before! And yes, I grated the onion by hand using a box grater. Very quick, takes less than 1 minute! Hope you enjoy!
Love this recipe…..and I too have left over sundried tomatoes after making your creamy chicken…actually I think I am slowly working my way through your whole recipe catalogue 🙂
I do believe you are saving that end piece where the chicken filling has caramelised just for me, just sayin’
Cheers
A xxx
We are so in tune. That end bit? My FAVORITE part! I’ll split it with you? 😉
Hi Nagi,
Our weather in Montreal just turned a little cooler this past weekend, so i decided it would be a perfect weekend to test the recipe. All I can say is OMG…..what a winner. The meatloaf was super easy easy to prepare and the flavor was incredible!
Thank you for the fabulous recipe!!!
I’m so so glad Christie! I was actually waiting until I knew the weather had cooled a bit for those in the northern hemisphere before posting this 🙂 I can’t wait to start posting casseroles and soups!!
I made this at the weekend and it was delicious – I didn’t have any minced chicken ( or a mincer) so I just blitzed everything in the processor. Different texture to the recipe but still a great taste. Had some cold the next day which also worked well with salad. Just one question – how do I make sure the bottom of the wellington is crispy – the pastry was a bit soft and undercooked underneath but the top and sides were perfect?
Hi Debra! Hmm, I didn’t have that problem I must say. Oh wait! I am wondering – depending on what cut of chicken you blitzed, perhaps it was much juicier than store bought chicken mince? The other suggestion is to skip the baking paper. Direct contact with the baking tray also helps. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know!
This looks amazing! Definitely craving a slice right now. And love your photos, as always. Enjoying the book so far too 🙂
I’m so glad Sabrina! Can’t wait to see your “post” photos! N x
wow looks really tasty, going to try it this weekend,
thanks Nagi
ooh! Hope you do Jim! 🙂
Wow! This looks amazing, Nagi – you always post the most creative recipes! 😀 Love the addition of sun dried tomatoes to the filling, that sounds really delicious. Yummy recipe! 😀
Thanks Jess! I don’t think of myself as particularly creative, more that I am constantly trying to EMPTY my fridge of bits and bobs!! He he!
Naaa, not creative, just called “clearing out my fridge”! 😉
Hulllllooooooooooo yumminess! This looks delish Nagi! I make mini beef wellingtons for appetizers, but never thought to try a meatloaf one. Going on the MUST make list! You know, I have a long list from your site!!
Oooh, I LOVE that! Mini beef wellingtons? Almost like sausage rolls? That’s a really cool idea! I’ve been struggling with interesting appetiser ideas lately, thanks for the inspiration!! N x
Mini Wellingtons? What an awesome idea for an appetiser!
So impressive! It sounds to die for!!! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂