Homemade vol-au-vent: chicken, meatballs and mushrooms, as in Belgium
In Belgium, the vol-au-vent is the Sunday dish, of communions and festive meals. Tender chicken, small meatballs, mushrooms and a white sauce brightened with a squeeze of lemon, all in a hot puff pastry case. With chips, it's pure happiness. The recipe takes a bit of time, but it can be entirely prepared the day before.
- 6 people, 40 min prep time
- Chicken poached 1 h : the stock makes the sauce
- Pastry cases reheated 6 min at 170 °C
- Even better reheated the next day
Appliance and settingInduction hob, then oven at 170 °C for the pastry cases
Ingredients
The festive dish Belgians love most
Elsewhere they're called bouchées à la reine. Here, it's the vol-au-vent, and it has its place on the Christmas table as well as the Sunday lunch table. The homemade version is not complicated at all: a good stock to poach the chicken, a well-bound sauce sharpened with lemon, and warm puff pastry cases and crisp at the moment of serving.
The steps
- Poach the chicken. Place the chicken in a large saucepan with the studded onion, carrot, celery and bouquet garni. Cover with cold water, season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil on the hob at level 9, skim, then reduce to level 3 and let it simmer 1 hour, lid ajar.
- Make the meatballs. Mix the mince, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Roll into meatballs the size of a marble (about 30).
- Save the stock. Remove the chicken and strain the stock. Set aside one litre. Drop the meatballs into the rest of the simmering stock for 5 minutes, then drain them.
- Shred the chicken. Once it has cooled slightly, remove the skin and bones, and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Fry the mushrooms. Quarter them and sauté for 5 minutes in a frying pan with a knob of butter, on level 7, until their liquid has evaporated. Season lightly with salt.
- The sauce. In a large saucepan, on level 5, melt 60 g butter, add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Pour in 75 cl hot stock little by little, whisking, then let it thicken for 8 minutes on level 3. Off the heat, mix the cream with the yolks and stir them into the sauce. Season with the lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Combine the filling. Add the chicken, meatballs and mushrooms to the sauce and gently reheat on level 3, without boiling. If it is too thick, loosen it with a little stock.
- Warm the pastry cases. Preheat the oven to 170 °C fan. Put the cases in for 6 minutes, then fill them generously with a ladle, letting the sauce spill over a little. Place the little puff pastry lid on top and serve.
Appliance settings
| Step | Appliance and mode | Setting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poach the chicken | Induction hob | Level 9 until boiling, then 3 | 1 h |
| Cook the meatballs | Induction hob | Simmer, level 4 | 5 min |
| Mushrooms | Induction hob, frying pan | Level 7 | 5 min |
| Sauce | Induction hob | Level 5, then 3 | 10 min |
| Warm the pastry cases | Oven, fan-assisted | 170 °C, shelf level 2 | 6 min |
| Homemade vol-au-vent cases | Oven, conventional heat | 200 °C, shelf level 2 | 18 to 22 min |
Homemade pastry cases: cut 12 discs of 10 cm from the puff pastry. Keep 6 whole discs and cut out the centres of the other 6 with a 7 cm cutter to make rings. Place the rings on the discs, sticking them down with a little water, glaze with egg yolk without letting it run onto the edges, and bake the small rounds you cut out alongside: these will be the lids.
Variations
- With veal sweetbreads : the luxury version for special occasions, with 300 g of blanched and pan-fried veal sweetbreads instead of the meatballs.
- With seafood : brown shrimps, scampi and cod, with a fish stock instead of the chicken stock.
- As mini bites : small 5 cm cases, perfect for Christmas drinks.
- With turkey : a good way to use up leftovers from the Christmas turkey, the next day.
Storage and advance preparation
The filling keeps well 3 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer, without the cases. For Christmas Eve, make it the day before or the day before that: all that's left is to reheat it gently and warm the cases in the oven. Any leftover stock freezes well too, and makes an excellent soup base.
Don't skip the lemon: it's what gives the Belgian vol-au-vent its slightly tangy flavour, and keeps the sauce light despite the cream. Taste, and add a little at a time until it ‘wakes up'. And for serving, some homemade chips nice and crispy, just like at the friterie.
Which appliance?
For a vol-au-vent, you need a hob that knows how to simmer very gently and an oven that warms the pastry without drying it out.
An oven with natural convection and fan-assisted heat
To make homemade puff pastry rise or reheat pastry cases, choose an oven with several modes. Examples: Smeg SFP61TB3FR (Linea, pyrolysis, 10 modes, up to 280 °C), Beko BCBIM17604KSBMPS (pyrolysis, 3D pulsed heat, Wi-Fi), Whirlpool OMR55RR0B (natural convection, pizza mode, pyrolysis and hydrolysis).
From €629.99 to €759.99
Precise induction
Smeg SIB2641D: four zones, Bridge zone and nine power levels, to keep the stock simmering and thicken the sauce without catching.
599,99 €
An induction and pyrolytic range cooker
Smeg C6IPBLT2, gloss black: four-zone induction hob with Bridge and 70-litre pyrolytic oven.
1 499,99 €
Public prices noted on 15 October 2026: the product page is definitive, and Nimesclub members often get a reduced price.
Ovens, hobs and cookers in store
SMEG SFP61TB3FR built-in oven€759.00
Built-in oven BEKO BCBIM17604KSBMPS€629.00
Built-in oven WHIRLPOOL OMR55RR0B€749.00
Cooker SMEG C6IPBLT2€1,499.00
Hob SMEG SIB2641D€599.00To set your hob correctly and choose compatible pans, read cooking with induction. And for the starter, some brown shrimp croquettes.
Frequently asked questions
Can the vol-au-vent be made the day before?
Yes, and it's even recommended: the sauce develops flavour as it rests. Keep the filling in the fridge, reheat it gently on the hob at level 3, stirring, and warm the cases in the oven just before serving.
My sauce is too thick or too runny, what should I do?
Too thick: add a little hot stock, a ladle at a time. Too runny: let it simmer for a few minutes longer, or mix a teaspoon of cornflour into a little cold water and stir it in.
Should vol-au-vent be served with chips?
In Belgium it's the tradition, and it's delicious. For a lighter festive meal, homemade mash or simply the puff pastry cases with a chicory salad will do the job nicely.
The right oven makes all the difference
Steam ovens, pyrolytic ovens, induction hobs: come and see them at our Temploux store, or ask our expert salesperson for advice.
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