Beef Empanadas

These beef empanadas take me back to my childhood when I lived in Latin America, which is where I was introduced to these delicious filled turnovers. Empanadas are pastries that can be filled with meat, vegetables, cheese, or even fruit.  They are popular in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.    

I love filled pastries and dumplings of any kind: samosas, pierogis,  empanadas, wontons.  This empanada recipe calls for ground beef.  I sometimes make the filling a day ahead, to save time.  

I have also frozen (unbaked) beef empanadas and baked them directly from the freezer, with great results.  And then I reheat them in the oven or air fryer.

On a busy weeknight, these beef empanadas and a side salad make for a satisfying meal.  The original recipe for these beef empanadas uses a homemade empanada dough.  

I always have the best intentions of making the dough from scratch, but just never seem to get around to it!  Store-bought pie crust works just great for the pastry.

Feel free to use your own homemade pie crust recipe or you can buy frozen empanada wrappers.

Beef Empanadas

  

Delicious savory, flaky pastries filled with beef, cheese, tomatoes, and olives to serve as an appetizer or hearty snack.

4.50 from 2 votes

PRINT RATE

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 24 empanadas

Calories: 201

Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup onion diced
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 2 Tbsp raisins
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 4 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp chopped green olives
• 2/3 cup diced tomatoes (canned) drained
• 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese
• 4 refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet and saute onions over medium heat until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and beef and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until beef is browned.
• Add raisins, paprika, cumin, and salt, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add tomato paste, parsley, olives, diced tomatoes and jalapenos and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Allow filling to cool.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unroll 1 pie crust onto a lightly floured surface.
• Roll into a 15-inch circle.
• Cut into 4-inch circles.
• Brush circle lightly with beaten egg.
• Place a rounded tablespoon of meat mixture in the center of circle.
• Fold circle in half and seal edges with a fork.
• Place empanada on a baking sheet and brush top with beaten egg.
• Repeat procedure with remaining circles (about 24 to 30 circles), re-rolling dough scraps as needed.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 empanada | Calories: 201 kcal | Carbohydrates: 21 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g | Cholesterol: 22 mg | Sodium: 250 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 5 g

Course Sides

Cuisine Mexican/Latin

Main Ingredient beef

Have you made this recipe? I love seeing your photos! Tag me on Instagram @PaintTheKitchenRed or #PaintTheKitchenRed!

Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!

BACK TO TOP