Selfmade beef empanadas full of seasoned floor beef, onions, and briny pimento olives are golden, flaky, and crispy! I make this recipe with refrigerated pastry dough, however you’ll be able to completely make them 100% from scratch in case you’d like.
These crispy, savory beef empanadas are precisely what I search for after I get them organized off the menu in a Spanish restaurant. They’re buttery, flaky, and golden exterior, with a steamy, flavorful, beefy picadillo filling inside. I might eat an entire tray of those!
Empanadas make one of the best recreation day appetizer with a pitcher of sangria. I’m going to indicate you find out how to make them the straightforward approach with refrigerated pastry dough.
What Makes This Beef Empanadas Recipe So Good
- Semi-homemade. I make the bottom beef filling from scratch, and tuck it inside ready-made puff pastry. It’s not conventional, however it’s fast, simple, and the pastry is further crispy.
- Baked, not fried. Baking empanadas is hands-free and fewer oily than frying.
- Snackable. Beef empanadas are a well-liked social gathering appetizer, they usually make an awesome starter to a seafood paella with dinner.
- Adapt the filling. You possibly can even fill these with Mexican chilorio or leftover taco meat, or make rooster empanadas with the filling from my rooster flautas.
What Is an Empanada?
Empanadas are the Latin American equal of an American meat pie, Jamaican beef patty, Indian samosas, or Balkan burek. They’re constituted of flaky pastry dough full of one thing sizzling and scrumptious, often meat, seafood, greens, beans, and cheese.
You’ll Want the Following Elements
I’ll binge on pimento-stuffed olives straight from the jar, and I really like including them to the meat filling in these empanadas. The components record is tremendous easy. Scroll to the printable recipe card for the precise measurements.
- Olive Oil – For sautéeing. Any cooking oil will work right here.
- Onion and Garlic – Diced yellow onion and finely minced garlic. In case you don’t have contemporary garlic, substitute every clove with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Lean Floor Beef – You possibly can additionally make this recipe with floor turkey, pork, or rooster.
- Spices – Cumin, paprika, and freshly floor pepper. Generally, I’ll use my do-it-yourself taco seasoning or fajita seasoning rather than the person spices.
- Olives – I exploit pimento-stuffed manzanilla olives, however you need to use any black, inexperienced, or kalamata olives you have got within the fridge. Take away any pits so you’ll be able to chop the olives into small items.
- Puff Pastry – Refrigerated puff pastry sheets work completely (and it cuts the prep time in half!). You’ll additionally discover pre-made empanada dough discs in main grocery shops. Selfmade pie dough additionally makes nice empanada dough if you wish to make it from scratch.
- Egg – To whisk with water for an egg wash. Brushing this over the perimeters of the dough helps seal the empanadas closed.
Simple Variations
- Tacky. Make tacky beef empanadas by stirring shredded cheese, like Monterey Jack, into the meat filling with the olives.
- Make it spicy. Add in cayenne pepper, chili powder, or chopped contemporary jalapeños.
- Air fryer. Prepare dinner your empanadas within the air fryer to get the outsides further crispy.
What to Serve With Beef Empanadas
Historically, empanadas are eaten as road meals or an appetizer. I prefer to drizzle my beef empanadas with do-it-yourself chimichurri from this churrasco steak recipe. Or, I’ll serve them with bitter cream, guacamole, creamy avocado dip, or the Peruvian inexperienced sauce (aji verde) from my Peruvian rooster recipe.
Continuously Requested Questions
Comparable, however not fairly the identical. Conventional empanada pastry has the next flour-to-fat ratio, making it tender and durable. Nevertheless, pie dough, pastry dough, and even pizza dough are all good substitutes for empanada dough in a pinch.
Empanadas may be baked or fried. It is determined by the feel you’re going for. I really like the flakiness of baked empanadas. Frying will make them crispier. It’s as much as you!
In case your empanadas leak whereas they’re baking, this could possibly be as a result of over-filling or as a result of the perimeters weren’t sealed correctly. Don’t overstuff the dough, and ensure to make use of an egg wash on the perimeters earlier than you fold and seal the dough.
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Put together to bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease 2 baking sheets with cooking spray and put aside.
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Sauté. Warmth olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Add the onions and cook dinner for two to three minutes, or till translucent. Stir in garlic and cook dinner for 15 seconds, or till aromatic.
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Prepare dinner the meat. Add floor beef, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Prepare dinner, stirring and breaking apart the meat with a wood spoon, till cooked via, about 5 to 7 minutes. Take away from warmth and blend within the chopped olives; put aside.
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Roll and minimize out the dough. On a evenly floured floor, roll out one sheet of puff pastry dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Lower out 6 circles, every ought to be a couple of 5-inch diameter. I exploit a big spherical cookie cutter. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry dough.
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Add the meat filling. Spoon a couple of tablespoon of the meat combination onto the middle of every dough spherical; put aside.
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Add an egg wash. In a small mixing bowl, mix egg and water and evenly beat with a fork. Utilizing a pastry brush, paint the perimeters of the dough with the ready egg wash.
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Fold the empanadas. Fold the dough over the meat, shaping it right into a half-moon. Gently press down on the perimeters and twist to seal. Repeat with the remaining components.
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Bake. Switch the empanadas to the baking sheets, leaving about 1½ inches of area between the empanadas. Bake within the preheated oven for 18 to twenty minutes, or till overrated and golden brown.
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Serve. Take away from oven and serve instantly.
Serving: 1empanada | Energy: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 12g | Fats: 20g | Saturated Fats: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 11g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could differ based on the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
How you can Make Beef Empanadas
Lower out circles of puff pastry dough, fold the beefy filling up inside, and bake! Selfmade empanadas couldn’t be simpler, they usually’re able to eat in about 45 minutes in case you make them with store-bought puff pastry. Listed below are the steps:
- Sauté the veggies. Begin by heating oil in a skillet and sautéeing the onions till they’re smooth and translucent. Add the garlic and cook dinner for a minute, so it’s aromatic.
- Prepare dinner the meat. Subsequent, add the bottom beef and spices. Break up the meat whereas it cooks via. Then, take the pan off the warmth and stir within the chopped olives.
- Roll and minimize out the pastry. Roll out the puff pastry sheets one by one, to about ⅛ inch thick. Lower the dough into six circles roughly 5 inches in diameter. Use a big spherical cookie cutter, or an egg ring can work right here, too.
- Fill the dough. Place a spoonful of beef filling within the heart of every dough circle.
- Make an egg wash. In the meantime, whisk the egg with water in a bowl. Brush the egg wash evenly over the perimeters of the dough utilizing a pastry brush or your finger.
- Fold the empanadas. Now, fold the dough over the filling, form it right into a half-moon, and press the perimeters collectively. Twist the perimeters downward to seal the empanada closed. Repeat with the remainder of the empanadas.
- Bake. Place the empanadas onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Go away 1 ½-inches or so in between to account for spreading. Lastly, bake your beef empanadas in a 375ºF oven for 18-20 minutes, till they’re puffed and golden. Serve straight away, and luxuriate in!
How you can Retailer and Reheat Empanadas
- Refrigerate. Baked beef empanadas are finest served contemporary. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container. Refrigerate the empanadas for as much as 3 days.
- Reheat. The easiest way to get the empanadas crispy once more is to reheat them within the oven, or you need to use the air fryer you probably have one.
- Freeze. You may freeze the baked empanadas for as much as 2 months. Thaw them within the fridge earlier than reheating.
