Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The beef empanadas are positively rich and oh so savory.
Texture: The crust is ridiculously buttery, flaky, and tender. The meaty filling inside with chunks of soft potatoes is to die for.
Ease: Assembling is the most involved part. Luckily, every step can be done ahead of time!
What You’ll Love About This Recipe: It’s SO tasty, completely customizable, and freezes beautifully.
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Oh am I excited to share how to make empanadas with you! What is better than savory goodness encased in pastry that you don’t even need a fork and knife to eat?
These baked beef empanadas are filled with a savory beef-and-potato filling and wrapped in my surprisingly easy homemade dough that bakes up buttery and flaky.
You could totally use chicken or veggies only. These empanadas are completely customizable!
Reader Love
Outstanding. Perfect dough, perfect filling. Loved by all! Thank you for this great recipe!
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This is my favorite way to make homemade beef empanadas. There are SO many ways to make them, and practically every Latin country has its own variation.
Sprinkle of Science
Homemade Empanada Dough (Easy Method)
- This dough recipe is very similar to a basic French choux pastry, but without the eggs.
- Start by heating water + butter until melted.
- Pour into the dry ingredients.
- Mix until combined. The dough will feel greasy and may have some visible streaks of butter. Don’t add extra flour!
- Chill for at least 2 hours (this is truly the hardest part!).
Beef Empanada Filling Tips
Feel free to omit or change practically anything, from the veggies to the spices – it’s meant to be customized!
- The empanada filling recipe makes a generous amount. If you have leftovers, store them in the fridge and serve in a bowl over rice, in wraps, scramble with eggs, or fill a burrito.
- I’m not a big fan of olives, but feel free to add in about 1/2 cup pitted chopped rinsed green olives.
Not into the beef filling?
- Leftovers from other meals (like cooked meat or even mashed potatoes) also make great empanada fillings.
- Check out my other recipes for Breakfast Empanadas and Chorizo Empanadas!
How to Assemble Empanadas (Filling & Sealing Tips)
This is definitely the most time-consuming part of making empanadas, so get your friends and family involved in the process to make it fun and fast!
- Tear off golf-ball-sized pieces of the chilled dough and roll into balls.
- On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the balls into 1/4-inch thick, 5-inch diameter circles.
- Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of each dough circle. Add ½ teaspoon scallions to each circle, and sprinkle lightly with cheese, if using.
- Important: Be sure not to overfill your empanadas as you assemble, which is easy to do. Use a little less than you think, to prevent any holes or tears in the dough and to prevent them from bursting open as they bake.
- To seal the filling and prevent leaks, brush a small amount of egg wash lightly over one half edge’s border. Fold over the dough to create a half-moon shape and press edges firmly to seal. Crimp edges with the back of a fork (I prefer this over a rope crimp, which is more time consuming).
- Brush with an egg wash and bake on a rimmed baking sheet.
What to Serve with my Beef Empanada Recipe:
- Salsa
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Pickled red onions
- Mexican street corn
Make Ahead & Storage
Refrigerate leftovers either plastic wrapped or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 400°F oven until the crust has re-crisped and the filling is warmed through, about 5 to 7 minutes.
To Make Ahead of Time:
- The dough can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the fridge for two days before using.
- The filling can also be cooked and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day.
- The assembled unbaked empanadas can also be covered in plastic and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Brush with egg wash before baking, no need to change the baking time.
To Freeze:
Fully baked empanadas can also be frozen, though they lose a bit of their flaky texture. To prevent freezer burn, wrap them individually in plastic wrap. To reheat, unwrap as many empanadas as you want and warm in a 300°F oven or toaster oven, about 10 minutes.
Freeze the sheet of unbaked empanadas until solid, then transfer into a freezer bag. Frozen empanadas will keep for up to three months and can be baked straight from the freezer. Add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
FAQs
What is an empanada?
An empanada is a crescent-shaped pastry filled with your choice of savory or sweet filling, popular throughout Latin America. Super customizable and easy to make ahead of time. It makes a delicious party appetizer but is also a great dinner idea!
Is it better to bake or fry empanadas?
I prefer baking for ease but also for perfectly crispy and flaky empanadas. Plus, you don’t have to worry about stinking up your kitchen with the aroma of frying oil. No cleaning up the mess of deep frying!
Can I air fry this recipe?
I haven’t tried that, but some readers have tried and reported success with this. You may need to experiment a little with bake times and temperatures, as this will vary based on your air fryer.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes! Simply double all ingredients, but use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to combine the wet and dry dough ingredients. Combining such a large amount of flour by hand results in an uneven dough that won’t roll out or hold its shape as nicely. If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply make two batches of the dough as written separately.
What country are empanadas from?
I’m certainly not the person to settle this debate! Most Latin American countries have some variation of an empanada. My dad is Dominican, and in the Dominican Republic, empanadas are often called pastelitos.
Every country has their own way of filling, shaping the empanadas, and cooking. I’m not a big fan of olives or raisins, which are often included in many savory empanada fillings. Nor do I have much time to hard boil eggs, another ingredient you’ll frequently find. However, if you prefer to add those ingredients, then feel free to!
Can I use store-bought empanada dough?
Yes, feel free to use a product like Goya discos frozen empanada wrappers. Prepare according to the back-of-the-package instructions, being sure not to overfill.
Can I use ground chicken or turkey instead?
You can, but note the filling will taste less rich and savory.
Beef Empanadas
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Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 3/4 cups (349 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- Pinch of paprika
For the Beef Filling:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound ground beef (85-90% lean)
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
- ½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced
- ½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste, to preference
- 1 small russet potato, peeled, finely diced, and boiled*
- 3 scallions, trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese (or “Mexican blend” cheese), optional
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the water and butter, heating until butter has fully melted. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and paprika and make a well in the center. Pour a little of the warm butter mixture in and mix with your fingertips to make a wet paste. Pour in remaining liquid, and work the dough with your hands until you get a wet, oily dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
For the filling:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the beef, cooking until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of drippings.
- With the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons of drippings, sauté the yellow onion until translucent, 10-15 minutes. Then add the bell peppers, peas, garlic and seasonings.
- After a few minutes, deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of beef broth, then add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste (to preference).
- Once the tomato paste has dissolved, mix in the beef and potatoes. Remove from heat.
To assemble:
- Tear off golf-ball sized pieces of the chilled dough and roll into balls. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the balls into 1/4-inch thick, 5-inch diameter circles. Once your dough has been rolled out, place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of each dough circle. Add ½ teaspoon scallions to each circle, and sprinkle lightly with cheese, if using. Brush a small amount of egg wash lightly over one half edge’s border. Fold over the dough to create a half-moon shape and press edges firmly to seal. Crimp edges with the back of a fork.
- Place empanadas onto the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat together the egg and water. Brush the empanadas gently with the egg wash.
- Bake empanadas until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.
- Refrigerate leftovers either plastic wrapped or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze cooked empanadas plastic wrapped in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, unwrap as many empanadas as you want and warm through in a 300°F oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2015 and updated with new photos and recipe improvements in 2022. Photos by Joanie Simon.
These look delicious…can’t wait to try…Thank you for sharing.
Im using Hashbrown potatoes, boiled, with the rest of the ingredients. Will let you know how they turn out!!
Can wait to try them out!
Hi Tessa. Enjoy your recipes and videos. Thanks.
I am looking for an Empanada dough recipe that will give me a lighter and flaky dough. I know that when using butter it is important to process the butter in pieces and to keep the butter as cold as possible. Cold water too.
Your recipe here seems to break all the rules by melting the butter in water first then adding the flour.
Can you still obtain a flaky finished product using this method or is the cold method still better?
Thanks for your reply
Wayne
Can you freeze these and cook later.
I haven’t tried it yet
I can’t wat to try these. They look fabulous.
i’ve been wondering, will this dough work for a regular pie crust? im too lazy to rub butter into flour and such, and this dough process is as easy as it gets
I love Empanada it’s one of my favorite pastries. I make it vegetrian I use peas and potatoes.I am a vegetrian. Thanks for sharing your awesome recipes
I like that the video was straight to the point & you didn’t use unnessary wordy chat. Very professional. Now I got to try it.
Awesome empanada recipe.
What type of flour do you use?