Updated on March 27th, 2026
Tarteletter is a popular dish in Denmark, and it is often served for brunch, as an appetizer, or for dinner. Tarteletter is tart shells with a filling that is typically made with chicken and asparagus in a bechamel sauce. For this vegetarian tarteletter recipe, I use mushrooms instead.
Vegetarian Danish Tarteletter Recipe
8
servings40
minutesIngredients
- Filling
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
250 grams of mushrooms
1 bunch of asparagus (approximately 250 grams)
1/3 cup of peas (fresh, frozen, or canned)
Oil (for frying)
Salt
Pepper
- Sauce
3 tablespoons of butter
1/3 cup of flour
2 cups of milk
1 vegetable bouillon cube
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
- Tarteletter
A box of tarteletter (tart) shells
Directions
- Filling
- Chop the onion and garlic cloves into small pieces
- Place the onion and garlic in a pan with oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat
- Rinse the mushrooms, then slice them
- Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onion and garlic, and fry them together
- Rinse the asparagus and break off or cut the bottom ends, and compost the ends or save them for soup or vegetable stock
- Chop the asparagus into small pieces
- Add the asparagus to the pan with the mushrooms and onion
- Add the peas to the pan
- Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes
- Turn the pan off
- Sauce
- Melt the butter in a pot on medium heat
- Add the flour and mix with a whisk
- Slowly add the milk and mix the milk and flour mixture together
- Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add the vegetable bouillon
- Stir the sauce regularly
- Once the sauce has started boiling, let it boil for 3-4 minutes
- Add the asparagus, mushroom, and onion filling to the sauce and mix the sauce and filling together
- Turn the sauce and filling mixture on low heat while the tarteletter shells are baking
- Tarteletter
- Heat an oven to 390° F / 200° C and bake the shells for 4-6 minutes. If you are using an air fryer, you can bake the shells for 3-4 minutes at 355° F / 180° C
- Once the tarteletter shells have baked, place the filling into the shells and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you substitute the mushrooms?
If you do not like the taste or texture of mushrooms, you can swap them for chopped squash, beets, butter beans, or a vegetarian chicken substitute.
Can you substitute the tart shells?
If you cannot find tart shells at your local grocery store, you can bake your own tart shells or buy fresh tart dough that you add to a tart mold or muffin pan and bake.
What other filling can you add to the tarteletter?
It is also common to add carrots and white asparagus in the tarteletter filling. In Denmark, you can buy a can of mixed peas and carrots as well as canned white asparagus for the filling. You can also top the tarteletter with fresh parsley.
Can you make the recipe vegan?
This recipe can easily be made vegan by swapping the butter and milk in the sauce for vegan substitutes. I made a vegan sauce in my Danish Dinner Frikadeller Recipe, which is similar to how this sauce would turn out.
How long does tarteletter last?
The filling and sauce can last 2-3 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. If you are using store-bought tarteletter shells, ensure the packaging is closed before storing them in the pantry. Fresh tart shells will last 3-4 days at room temperature.
Can you freeze the tarteletter?
You can freeze the filling and sauce. I would recommend taking them out of the freezer and placing them in the fridge to defrost the day or night before you want to have tarteletter.
Thanks for sharing, I can’t remember if I have had the normal version of these when visiting Denmark, but these look a lovely way of having them and making them vegetarian 🙂
You’re welcome! That’s awesome you’ve visited Denmark! They are delicios with the mushroom filling!
These tarteletter look so delicious! I love the filling, I need to try and make them ASAP!
Thank you! You should definitely try them!
Oooh these look lovely! I love that they’re so adaptable for Vegetarians too. I like the sound of both the chicken and mushroom one.
Thank you! Chicken and asparagus is the normal tarteletter filling and you can even buy a can of it at the grocery stores here! However, mushrooms do make for a good substitute!
Oh wow, these look so good! I love the idea of adding mushrooms, it looks like they make a great addition. I’ll have to save this and give them a try. Thank you for sharing xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
Thank you! They are delicious and I love the mushroom filling!
This tarteletter sounds lovely. Definitely need to make these.
Thank you so much! They are delicious!
Wow… veggie tarts! How delicious! This recipe is new to me. I shall bookmark it. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome and they are delicious! I’m happy I could share a traditional Danish dish but made vegetarian!
I’ve never heard of these before, but they might just be a revelation! They sound absolutely delicious!
Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! They are delicious, and they’re pretty easy to make!
These look lovely. They also seem like something one could make with little hassle. Thanks
Thank you! They are pretty easy to make!
This looks yummy and easy to do. I’m not vegetarian but would love to try this one. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! They are delicious with the mushroom filling and pretty easy to make!
I have had appetizers like this before, they are so tasty. Thanks for sharing this resipe1
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
You’re welcome! They are delicious, and they do make a great appetizer!
This looks delicious! I love savoury foods, especially ones that contain mushrooms. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing Karalee!
You’re welcome! They’re delicious and that’s great you love mushrooms because you’ll hopefully like the filling!
I love everything to do with mushrooms so these sound like my cup of tea! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
That’s great you love mushrooms because you’ll hopefully enjoy this filling!
This sounds good. I never heard of this recipe before.
Thanks! They are delicious and tarteletter is a popular dish in Denmark! You can even buy a can of the filling at the grocery stores here haha
Ooh, I love the sound of the sauce! I could use this on a number of vegetarian recipes; the tarteletter itself sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks! The sauce is delicious and you can use it for other recipes!
These reminded me of strawberry custard tarts. I suppose you can swap the filling just as you did. I’d also enjoy this treat with both the vegetarian and non vegetarian option too.
Yes it is similiar to custard tarts, but instead of sweet, you have a savory filling!
When we make tarteletter, we make both a chicken portion and a veggie portion.
This sounds delicious. I love how you can chop and change the ingredients depending on your mood 🙂 thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome and it is delicious!
I prefer starters to desserts. This looks like a great savoury dish.
Thanks! It is a great savoury dish to have as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner!
Vegetables are so underrated! These look yummy and easy to make and would be great to make ahead and have as a quick lunch on busy days! Thank you
Thank you! It is easy to make, and you can definitely make the sauce and filling ahead of time and just pop the tart shells in the oven or air fryer for a few minutes before eating.
This sounds like something I would try. The meat version also sounds great. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Lauren
You’re welcome! When we make tarteletter, we always make a regular verison with chicken then a veggie version for me!
Uhh, delicious! I’m not vegetarian, but sometimes I really enjoy meatless food!
Love,
Krissi of the marquise diamond
https://www.themarquisediamond.de/
It is delicious! You could also make the tarteletter with chicken if you do want some meat.
This recipe sounds so delicious and easy to make! I like how there are so many ways to customize it to your liking too! Thank you for sharing this!
melissakacar.com
Thank you! It is delicious and filling and I usually have plenty of leftovers!
These sound so delicious and easy to make! I think they could make such a great appetizer when hosting! x
Thanks! They are delicious and easy to make!
When we have family get togethers in Denmark, tarteletter is usuaslly served as an appetizer!
I love everything to do with mushrooms. Peas and mushroom combination wounds very good. I like that gooey gravy texture. Don’t know which vegetable is bouillon will look that up. Asparagus is also not native to our regions. It does sound quite a comfort food. But can be tried with a few ingredient substitute. Though a great idea for some combinations. Those tarts looks awesome! Xx
Isa A. Blogger
Thanks! You should definitely try this with the mushrooms and peas! The sauce/gravy is delicious too. Vegetable bouillon is like a compressed cube of vegetables and herbs used for flavoring in dishes. You can usually get vegetable, beef, or chicken buillon, but of course I opted for veg. For the brand I use, the cube has onion, carrot, tomato, red pepper, leek, parsley, garlic, and some other things.
You can easily omit the asparagus and use veg you do have like the mushrooms, peas, and carrots.
This looks lovely and I’ve never tried to before so it has to be done.
Thanks! It is delicious and an underrated dish!
These sound really good! I’ve bookmarked this to give them a try. It sounds easy to make too, which is a bonus! I’m not huge on mushrooms, but like the options to swap them out. Are these good cold too if there are leftovers?
Thank you! They are delicious, and you can easily swap out the mushrooms!
The sauce/filling can definitely be saved if you have leftovers, but it is best to heat it up again before eating. Then you can heat up the tart shells a few minutes before eating too.