I adore empanadas . . .
I mean, really, what’s not to love about these little demilunes of lusciousness? I’m sure every culture has some dumpling/pocket pie/pierogi style food but I just love the term, “empanada.” Saying you made them for dinner or dessert just makes it sound like a special occasion, even if (as is likely in my house) they’re used as a great vehicle for using up leftovers and making a hot dinner, fast.
I’m sharing with you my favorite recipe for empanada dough. Use it for sweet empanadas sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar on top, or savory empanadas for a fantastic dinner. You can even make the dough and discs a few days or weeks ahead of time so you are ready for a tasty meal or dessert, whenever you want!
Empanada Dough
makes about 20 empanadas
- 3 cups flour*
- 1 egg, separated
- 1/2 cup of lard (for savory Empanadas) or butter (for sweet empanadas) or a combination of both
- 3/4 – 1 cup of warmed milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- For sweet empanadas, I add a Tablespoon of sugar and maybe a little cinnamon, depending on the filling!
- one egg, whisked with a fork, for brushing on filled empanadas
*Pictured in this post is dough using organic, unbleached all-purpose flour, however I’m experimenting with substituting 50-100% of a finely milled white whole wheat, whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour. You may have to add another egg yolk and additional milk to get the right consistency with whole grain flours, but certainly feel free to experiment with whatever flour you choose . . .
In a food processor, pulse flour, salt and lard or butter together until the fat is in pea size pieces and it appears sandy. Add the egg yolk and the milk, a little bit at a time, and pulse until small clumps begin to form. It looks a little bit like sugar cookie dough at this time and will stick together when you press it together with your fingers. 
Turn out onto the counter and press into a disc. If you have a small amount of empanadas to bake, as for a dessert, cut in half and wrap and freeze the remainder. I tend to use all mine up at once when making empanadas for dinner . . .
Wrap and chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
When ready to make the empanadas, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a thin sheet; the dough will be smooth and soft. Using a bowl or plate at least 5 inches across (mine was more like 6″ – you don’t want anything smaller as you’ll end up with teeny, tiny empanadas after you fill them, fold them over and roll up the edges) as a guide, cut out circles of dough. You can re-roll the dough to cut out more discs until it’s all rolled out.
You can use the empanada discs immediately or or store in the fridge or freezer, tightly wrapped, until ready to use (fridge for two or three days, max).
To assemble empanadas:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare your filling. For sweet empanadas, any pie filling recipe will do with whatever fresh fruit is in season.
For savory empanadas, you can either prepare a filling fresh, meat or vegetarian, whatever you like, or you can use leftovers. I tend to make empanadas to use up leftovers, especially with roast pork or chicken. Normally when I roast our pork, I season it with green chile and immediately store a quart size bag away in the freezer for future use. Simply defrost, add some shredded cheese and the seasoned meat is all ready for empanadas. Add a slice of hard-boiled egg and/or a slice of green olive on top (a la empanadas mendocinas), and you’ve got an amazing bite. Yum.
Add a spoonful of filling to the center of your empanada disc. Brush the egg white around the edge of the disc and fold over so the edges meet.
Turn over the edge about 1/4″ around your half-moon from one edge to the other, pressing down with your fingers or with the tines of a fork. Place finished empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once you have a filled tray, brush the tops with beaten egg and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Serve warm with your choice of salsas, guacamole, cortido, chimichurri sauce, or even a scoop of ice cream if it’s a sweet empanada!
Enjoy!
This post is written in conjunction with the Hearth & Soul Blog Hop, Pennywise Platter, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday and Foodie Friday. Please go visit the other contributors!
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So, i read your post this morning, and thought about it all day! I decided to make these for dinner tonight with some leftover filling I had in the freezer from black bean enchiladas. They were delish. Can’t wait to try them with zucchini, mushrooms and feta, or leftover chili, or chicken and corn, pears and chocolate and…. Btw I used 1 cup each of unbleached, spelt and ww pastry flours and the dough turned out great.
Awesome! What a great compliment for you to try the recipe the day it posted!
I’m in awe! Thank you!
Thanks, also, for including the details of what flours you used and the combination . . . so glad to find out what combinations work well! And, of course, the filling combinations are endless. Pears and chocolate? Brilliant, Sara. Yum!
Best,
Sarah
Mmm! We had these for dinner tonight and they were delicious! I did a shredded pork and pepper-jack cheese filling – my husband loved them
I used 2 cups unbleached AP flour and 1 cup masa harina and the flavor and texture were both very nice. Thanks for another yummy recipe!
Ooh, I hadn’t even thought about using masa harina. What a fantastic idea! I always seem to have some in my freezer . . . Did it lend a little bit of a tamale flavor? Sounds like a perfect combination with the pork and pepper-jack. Thank you for trying it (in the first day it posted!) What a wonderful compliment!
Best,
Sarah
Wow!! Those look delicious! I cannot wait to try it! And I agree–pears and chocolate sounds amazing!! I’m excited to explore through the rest of your recipes. I’m just starting to get the hang of the whole foods cooking thing.
I’ve been thinking about this since I read it yesterday, so decided to change my menu plan tonight and we will be having this with some leftover taco seasoned shredded pork that I had in the freezer. Will make some extra for the lunchboxes tomorrow too!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Can’t wait to try this. I used to make empanadas all the time when we first got married and have let them fall to the side since we had kids. Hubby has mentioned them periodically, though, and I couldn’t find my recipe…but then I saw yours on the Hearth n Soul Blog Hop and can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for sharing
I made these with leftover pork and cheese filling. I used all white whole wheat flour, and they turned out great. It’s been so long since I’ve made empanadas; it was nice to have a reminder! I’ll have to try some masa harina next time…
Wow these look awesome 1 I haven’t had these in awhile and these look fairly easy to make . thanks for the tuturial
and I would love it if you could link this up at my blog this afternoon.
We love Empanada’s your recipe looks very good. I would like to invite you to bring a dish to my Full Plate Thursday. Thank you for sharing and you have a great week!
How do I always mess your stuff up?? :>) Well, I know one thing – I used all fresh ground hard wheat, so I added a full cup of milk, and things are looking kinda sticky. But I have five minutes left in the fridge and I’m going to think positive!
Oh No!
I bet I know where the problem is . . . Hard winter wheat is very high in protein compared to all purpose or spelt or white winter wheat, which makes it great for breads, but not as great for pastry (which this recipe, basically, is). Maybe add a little more flour and, if you need to, another egg yolk to smooth it out? Doesn’t sound like there’s any need for more milk . . .
Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
Actually once I rolled it out it was fine, except I didn’t use enough flour to keep it from sticking, and unbelievably I rolled it too thin (never happens…) but I persevered and they’re in the oven – I think we’ll be OK, and hubs will be glad to not have leftovers AGAIN.
Sarah, these look really great! I’m thinking about making them mini-sized for an upcoming party.
I have never made empandas but they seem so perfect to use up a bit of leftovers – yum!! And I am sure they are amazing as a dessert! Thanks for sharing this with us at the Hearth And Soul Hop!
I’ve made these before, and had forgotten what a good way to use left-overs they are. Have some that just won’t make it another time on their own, and this is the answer.
I love empanadas. Your recipe looks yummy! I’ve never tried sweet empanada, but I bet that’s good
I was so excited to see that you brought your wonderful Empanada’s to Full Plate Thursday. I can’t wait to give them a try. Thank you so much for coming today and please come back.
These look so good, I would love to have them for lunch today.
-Brenda
Those look delicious and I love how easy you make them look with your tutorial.
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These look fabulous and I was going to attempt them for dinner next week. I don’t have a food processor though…could I still make them? Anything I would need to change. Sorry if this seems like silly question…still learning
Thanks!!!
Hi Jennifer!
Absolutely! If you’ve ever made a pie crust by hand, it’s very similar. In a bowl, just cut in the butter (cut the butter into small cubes first) with a pastry cutter or just your fingers into the flour and salt, and then once the butter is evenly distributed and it looks sandy, start adding the liquids in until you get the consistency you want. Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
Ahhhh! Wonderful
I had a feeling that was it! Thank you for such a quick response!!!
haha me again
i’m actually about to make these, and i had just made some apple pie filling that i was going to freeze. since these make so many would i be able to make some up with the apple pie filling unbaked and then pull them out to bake? or do you think they would do better to freeze the dough and filling separate?
Thanks so much for your help!
Sorry, it’s a few days later and you’ve probably already made your decision! Unless the filling was REALLY thick, I’d probably freeze the components separately so they didn’t get soggy but let me know what you find!
Good luck!