Empanadas
Try this empanadas recipe for a delicious snack or a perfect party dish. These small Spanish pastries are filled with a mix of beef mince, tomato, olives, feta and seasonings. Depending on where you are in the world, empanadas will have their own unique ingredients. So, whip up some empanadas with your favourite filling and tuck in.
Ingredients
Filling
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300 g
Beef mince
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1
Yellow onion
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2 tbsp
Butter
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2 tbsp
Tomato paste
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1
Can of Crushed tomato
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1 tsp
Smoked paprika powder
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1 pinch
Chilli flakes
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1 pinch
Salt
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12
Pitted olives
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100 g
Feta
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Pastry
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360 g
Wheat flour
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75 g
Butter (room temperature)
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1 pinch
Salt
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1
Egg for Brushing
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Instructions
Filling: Step 1
Filling: Step 2
Pastry: Step 1
Pastry: Step 2
Pastry: Step 3
Recommended information
Serving suggestion
Empanadas FAQs
What are the ingredients for empanadas?
Empanadas can have any kind of filling you like, but typically contain ground beef, chicken, or potatoes amongst other flavourings. The pastry can be made with wheat flour or sometimes corn, depending on the region.
What is the secret to a good empanada?
A good empanada balances its filling with a delicious pastry crust. The pastry needs to be cooked perfectly so that it’s crisp yet tender and flavourful. Be sure not to overfill your empanadas, as this can make them soggy and stop the dough from cooking properly. Each one needs to be properly sealed before baking to avoid leaks.
What pastry is best for empanadas?
Shortcrust pastry is often used for empanadas, but you could also use puff pastry for a lighter texture. Shortcrust pastry using wheat flour provides a sturdy case for your choice of filling.
Is it better to fry or bake empanadas?
While empanadas are typically baked, you’ll get good results from either baking or frying them. Frying your empanada will generally give a crisper texture, while baking it will make it more tender.
Empanadas, a Spanish staple
Empanadas originally come from Spain, possibly dating back to the 600s, and have since evolved across Latin America, Europe, and northern Africa. While its exact origins are unknown, this type of pastry-wrapped dish has equivalents in many other countries, including the Cornish pasty. These days, empanadas are famous in Mexican cuisine, made of corn instead of flour, and often filled with ingredients you’d find in tacos like chicken, beans, and cheese.
What to put in an empanada
Ground beef is a popular filling as the texture is well-suited to the pastry case, but you could also use pulled chicken. Tomato passata works well when mixed with the other ingredients, along with minced garlic and onions for flavour. Cubed potatoes are a common ingredient, much like the meat and potatoes found in the traditional Cornish pasty.
How to store homemade empanadas
It’s a good idea to batch cook empanadas and freeze the extras. They’ll last up to around 3 months in the freezer, so long as they’re properly stored in an airtight container or freezer bag. Then when hunger strikes, you can pop them into a hot oven straight from the freezer.
