Salmon Coulibiac (Salmon Wellington)
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Sep 24, 2025 
This classic Coulibiac of Salmon consists of tender salmon fillets layered with rice and mushrooms, wrapped in puffed pastry, just like Salmon Wellington!
Coulibiac of Salmon… AKA Salmon Wellington Recipe
Today’s recipe concept came from the beloved Asheville chef Joe Scully of The Corner Kitchen.
He introduced us to Salmon Coulibiac (kool-ee-bee-ack) at a local wine dinner several years ago, and I immediately fell in love! It’s very similar to a Salmon Wellington recipe, or Salmon en Croûte, yet with a few added layers for texture and intrigue!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Imagine individually wrapped pastries, piping hot, and packed with rice, spinach, sautéed mushrooms, salmon, and dill. Break through the crusty golden exterior with your fork, and sink into layers of steaming goodness!
Salmon Wellington is a true showstopper, boasting a gorgeous golden crust and layers of delicious goodness inside. It’s perfect for dinner parties or hosting the boss, and fairly easy to put together.
If you are looking for something out of the ordinary to serve at a holiday dinner this season, Coulibiac of Salmon is just the dish to make your meal sensational!
Salmon Coulibiac Tweaks
One problem… This traditional Russian dish involves a layer of hard-boiled eggs, the only food I simply can’t stomach. (It’s the sulfuric yolk odor. I can’t explain it, but it makes me gag!)
So I’ve substituted wilted spinach for the egg layer; it’s a mild, but colorful adjustment. I’ve also modified it for individual portions, making Salmon Coulibiac easier to handle and faster to bake.
What Ingredients You Will Need
- Puff pastry sheets, thawed
- Unsalted butter
- Shallots, thinly sliced
- Button mushrooms, sliced
- White wine
- Chopped dill
- Cooked rice
- Salmon filets (6-8 ounces each), cut in half for 4 square-ish pieces
- Frozen spinach, thawed
- Egg
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Salmon Coulibiac
Tips for Success – It’s essential that the ingredients are as dry as possible to prevent excess moisture from seeping in and softening the puff pastry. Therefore, squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid. Then sauté the mushrooms long enough to cook off the moisture. Also, pat the salmon with paper towels to reduce moisture.
Find the full Salmon Coulibiac recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
This salmon wellington recipe is perfect to eat on its own, since it has protein, carbs, and veggies all in one! However, you can also serve it with a plethora of side dishes, especially if you are feeding a crowd! Here are some of my favorite things to pair it with:
Frequently Asked Questions
If you wrap them well with plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container in the fridge, they can last for 2 to 3 days.
Since this is a Russian dish, potatoes and cabbage would be traditional. Or try our scalloped potatoes and cabbage with bacon? We have both recipes here on ASP.
However, since there is so much packed into your puff pastry pouch, you could also simply serve a fresh green salad on the side.
Absolutely! Wrap each prepared Salmon en Croute well with plastic wrap to prevent the pastry dough from drying out.
You can add garlic or onions when you saute the mushrooms. Or add parmesan cheese to make a cheesy spinach mixture. You can also add in the traditional chopped hard-boiled egg layer that I omitted.
Looking for More Fabulous Dinner Recipes?
Salmon Coulibiac (Salmon Wellington)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup chopped dill
- 1 cup cooked, leftover rice
- 2 pieces salmon, (6-8 ounces each) cut in half for 4 square-ish pieces
- 1 box chopped frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 large egg
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, sliced shallots and mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes to brown the mushrooms. Then salt and pepper to taste, and add the wine. Allow the mushrooms to simmer until the wine has completely absorbed and the mushrooms are nearly dry, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut one sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Top each square with 1/4 cup of cooked rice, make sure to leave a border around the edges.
- Squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid, then layer the spinach over the rice. Sprinkle the spinach with a touch of salt. Once the mushrooms have cooked down, layer them on top of the spinach. Top each stack with a half-portion of salmon. Salt and pepper the salmon and sprinkle with fresh dill.
- Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush it around the exposed puff pastry edges.
- Roll the second piece of puff pastry out into a slightly larger square. Cut it into four smaller squares. Lay each square over a salmon stack. Gently seal the edges by crimping with a fork.
- Brush the remaining egg over the tops. Cut a small vent in the top of each pastry. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the tops are golden.
These pieces really set a standard in the inysturd.
I came across this recipe while looking for uses for puff pastry. I made it for the hubby and me last night, and it was a huge hit! He’s already looking forward to having it again. ;o)
Thanks – I’ll be adding you to my reader!
Gorgeous – what an elegant and impressive meal. You’ve made it look so easy!
I think this looks so good, different than I’ve ever had. I like that you switched out the spinach for the eggs.
Wonderful Recipe Sommer!
But, may I recommend wild Alaskan salmon over anything else. Buy it from me or anyone else, just choose wild for its vastly superior texture, flavor and color. All Alaskan salmon, Bristol Bay salmon in particular (where I fish), is the most sustainably harvested on earth. In addition to being a truly renewable resource, Alaskan salmon spend their entire lives right off Alaska’s remote coastlines and in the North Pacific in totally pristine waters––so it is a very healthy food. Additionally, salmon are short lived fish so heavy metals and other contaminants do not build up in their bodies.
Keep up the good work!
Traveler Terpening
Cold Country Salmon
This is a great dish. So elegant and the combination of salmon and phyllo is irresistible.
I'm only a week behind in my reading. Anyway, this looks amazing. I am very picky about liking salmon, and this looks like it can't be anything but great. Thanks for the recipe!
Sommer, this is such an open comment on why you (and we) blog. For me, it's putting my favorite new and traditional recipes somewhere for posterity's sake. I do love visiting your blog and my one regret is that as I get further into blogging and 'follow' more and more blogs, it becomes impossible to be present on all of them as much as I would like. Keep up your good work! I think it's phenomenal what you've accomplished in such a short time! Happy New Year!
Incidentally, these salmon pouches look just beautiful! Excellent photos showing us just how to do it! Sooo terrific!
I love reading your reasons for blogging and I am sure your will only get betta and betta darling..love ya girl! it's true a little page does take so much time, but it is worth it in the end..a future book..I'll take two okay make it three, one for each of my sisters..lol
sweetlife
Yes, you DO inspire us! To eat, to cook, to enjoy… I want your yummy pastry wrapped salmon right now!
What a great post Sommer. I love your reasons for blogging. I also love this recipe. It's always fun seeing what you've created and reading your posts. I'm happy I recently came across your blog. I wish you a wonderful 2011 and can't wait to see what you have coming up here!( I'd buy your book;)
Ooh, your writing was so interesting that I forgot to tell you that these pockets look amazing!