Name: Vol-au-vent fillings recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: Makes: 6
Ingredients: 24 ready made ready-made vol-au-vent cases

By Jessica Ransom

last updated 7 November 2023

in Recipes

These vol-au-vent fillings can be made ahead and then spooned into cases just before serving to ensure the pastry remains crisp.

If you’re looking for easy canapes, you can’t beat a classic vol-au-vent. The ingredients in this recipe make enough for 24 vol-au-vents which is six of each flavour. The nutrition listed is for six vol-au-vents with the mushroom filling. We have the other nutritional information below so you can see the calories for the other fillings. All the vol-au-vents are under 100 calories per piece.

Ingredients

24 ready made ready-made vol-au-vent cases

For the mushroom vol-au-vent filling:

50g (2oz) mushrooms finely chopped
15g (½oz) butter
25g (1oz) cheese spread (e.g Primula)
1 x 15ml (1 tbsp) Greek natural yogurt

For the chicken vol-au-vent filling:

50g (2oz) roasted chicken breast or tikka flavoured chicken breast
25g (1oz) cheese spread with chives
1 x 15ml (1 tbsp) Greek natural yogurt

For the prawn vol-au-vent filling:

50g (2oz) small prawns, reserve 6 for garnish
25g (1oz) cheese spread with shrimp
1 x 15ml (1 tsp) Greek natural yogurt
1 x 5ml (1 tsp) tomato puree
1 x 5ml (1 tsp) lemon juice

For the ham & pineapple vol-au-vent filling:

2 slices of thin ham cut intosmall pieces
25g (1 oz) pineapple pieces in own juice, diced
25g (1oz)cheese spread with ham
1 x 15ml (1 tablespoon) Greek natural yogurt

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Method

For the mushroom vol au vents: Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the chopped mushrooms, fry for 3 minutes until soft. Leave to cool. In a small bowl, combine the cheese spread, yogurt, and fried mushrooms, and spoon into 6 of the cases. Garnish with a sprig of parsley.
For the chicken vol au vents: Cut the chicken breast into small pieces. In a small bowl, combine together the cheese spread, yogurt, and chicken, and spoon into 6 of the cases. Garnish with cut chives.
For the prawn vol au vents: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients together and spoon into 6 cases. Garnish with a prawn and sprigs of dill.
For the ham & pineapple vol au vents: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients together and spoon into 6 cases. Garnish with a slice of ham and a piece of pineapple.

Top tips for making our vol-au-vents fillings

This recipe makes six chicken-filled vol-au-vents. Each chicken vol-au-vent is 89 calories, 5.3g fat, 4.1g saturated fat, 6.6g carbohydrates and 0.4g sugar.

This recipe makes six of the prawn-filled vol-au-vents. Each prawn vol-au-vent is 84 calories, 5.1g fat, 2.8g saturated fat, 6.7g carbohydrates, and 0.4g sugar.

This recipe makes six of the ham-filled vol-au-vents. Each ham and pineapple vol-au-vent is 84 calories, 5.3g fat, 2.9g saturated fat, 7g carbohydrates and 0.8g sugar.

How do I stop my vol-au-vents from going soggy?

To stop vol-au-vents from going soggy, avoid filling the pastry too far in advance as it will absorb any moisture. Take the fillings out of the fridge about 10-15 minutes before you want to assemble and then fill the pastry cases just as you’re about to serve.

How many vol-au-vents should I serve per person?

If you are serving canapés at a formal stand-up drinks party, expect people to eat 4-6 over the course of an hour or two. If you are serving before a sit-down dinner, the drinks will probably not last more than an hour, and 4 should be sufficient, as people will not want to ruin their appetite. Vol-au-vents are relatively filling canapés as they have a lot of pastry plus a cream

Can I serve these vol-au-vents warm?

You can serve the chicken and the mushroom vol-au-vents warm - simply pop them in a warm oven for 4-5 minutes before serving. We recommend the prawn and ham and pineapple are served at room temperature.

Can you buy ready-made vol-au-vents?

Lots of supermarkets sell fresh or frozen ready-made vol-au-vents. Although these can be a good filler for your party snacks, once you’ve made the fresh fillings for yourself and see how easy it is, you won’t want to buy the shop-bought versions. It’s also more cost-effective to make your own.

You could display your vol-au-vents on a cake stand and let your guests help themselves instead of walking them around on a tray.

Buffet foods can be more than crisps and sausage rolls. We have lots of ideas for you to browse including these smoked salmon and pea vol-au-vents and our meaty cheese and bacon vol-au-vents.

Jessica is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe tester. She previously worked as Senior Food Writer at Future. While at Future Jessica wrote food and drink-related news stories and features, curated product pages, reviewed equipment, and developed recipes that she then styled on food shoots. She is an enthusiastic, self-taught cook who adores eating out and sharing great food and drink with friends and family. She has completed the Level 1 Associate course at the Academy of Cheese and is continually building on her knowledge of beers, wines, and spirits.