Homemade Beef Empanadas are just good. Luckily, this shortcut version is relatively easy to make. You know me; tedious work just isn’t my thing. To speed things along, I used pre-cut empanada wrappers sold in your grocer’s freezer.
What are Beef Empanadas?
Beef Empanadas are a meat-filled dough pocket. The type of dough you use is completely up to you.
What kind of dough should I use to make Empanadas?
- Pre-Rolled Pie Crust: You could also opt for a pre-rolled pie crust sold in the refrigerated section.
- Canned biscuits or crescent rolls: pressed and rolled thin for a flakier empanada.
- Empanada Discos: If the groery store near you carries them, thay are in the frozen food aisle near the international foods section of the freezer case. Smaller Asian, Hispanic, and international food stores may also carry them if you are having trouble finding them.
- Homemade Empanada Dough: similar to a pie dough, empanada dough is rolled out and cut by hand into small, typically 4-inch, circles.
What ingredients are in Beef Empanadas?
Beef empanada recipes vary by recipe to recipe and country to country but usually contains a savory, lightly spiced meat mixture. The ingredients in this recipe are:
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil. If you prefer, you may substitute another oil you have on hand.
- Ground beef: I use extra lean ground beef, if you substitute for another grade beef, remember to drain any excess fat. Converesely, if you substitute ground chicken or turkey, remember that you may need to add some extra oil and seasonings to keep the empanadas from being too dry and bland.
- Green bell pepper: These are a must have in a cuban sofrito. If you must, you may omit the peppers but there will be a significant loss of flavor.
- Red bell pepper: Another part of the trinity. red bell peppers add a sweetness to the sauce.
- Yellow Onion: Onons complete the onion and lend such a great flavor to the dish
- Tomato sauce: I like a fire-roasted or organic tomatoes which creates the base of the sauce.
- Cumin: Increase or decrease the cumin to your tastes. It has a warm, Earthy flavor but can be overpowering. Start with the basic amount and increase as you go.
- Ground cayenne pepper: Cayenne give the sauce its spiciness. If you prefer for spicier empanadas, increase the cayenne. A little bit goes a long way.
- Garlic: Garlic is sweet once it caramelizes in the pan but can turn bitter if burned, so be sure to watch it when you add it into the trinity of vegetables.
- Dried oregano: I use Mexican oregano, but if you don;t have any, regular oregano would do just fine.
- Salt: If you are watching your salt intake, start with the minimum amount listed and increase from there.
If you prefer the filling a little spicier, increase the amount of cayenne to taste. I like the hint of background heat that this dish brings to the party. It’s subtle and delicious.
How to Make Beef Empanadas in the oven:
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking tray with a silicone mat, parchment paper, or aluminum foil and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and green peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute being careful not to burn the garlic. Then add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it us with a spoon or rubber spatula, about 10 minutes. Drain off any excess fat and oil.
- Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, cayenne, garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.
- Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of meat mixture into the middle of the empanada wrapper, fold in half to form a half-moon; moisten the edges with water and pinch to seal or crimp edges with a fork.
- With a pastry brush, lightly brush egg wash over the top side of the empanada dough. This encourages browning.
- Place empanadas on a foil lined sheet pan (affiliate link) sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Bake Empanadas until crisp and golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Can Beef Empanadas be Frozen?
Absolutely!
- Prepare the recipe as instructed. After the empanadas come out of the oven, allow them to cool completely.
- Flash freeze the empanadas on a rimmed baking tray in the freezer to prevent them from sticking together. Transfer the empanadas to a freezer safe container or zip-top bag.
- To reheat, place frozen empanadas in a pre-heated 350 degrees F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Empanadas may be frozen for up to 3 months.
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Shortcut Beef Empanadas
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Prep Time: 20 minutes - Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 10 -
Category: Appetizer -
Method: Oven -
Cuisine: Cuban
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Homemade Beef Empanadas are just good. This shortcut version is relatively easy to make. You know me; tedious work just isn’t my thing. To speed things along, I used pre-cut empanada wrappers sold in your grocer’s freezer.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced fine
- 1/2 medium green pepper, diced fine
- 1/2 medium red pepper, diced fine
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (10-pack) package empanada wrappers, thawed
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking tray with a silicone mat, parchment paper, or aluminum foil and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it us with a spoon or rubber spatula, about 10 minutes.
- Add onions and green peppers and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more.
- Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, cayenne, garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.
- Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of meat mixture into the middle of the empanada wrapper, fold in half to form a half-moon; moisten the edges with water and pinch to seal or crimp edges with a fork.
- With a pastry brush, lightly brush egg wash over the top side of the empanada dough. This encourages browning.
- Place empanadas on a foil lined sheet pan (affiliate link) sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Bake Empanadas until crisp and golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Notes
- This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
- To Freeze Empanadas: Prepare the recipe as instructed. After the empanadas come out of the oven, allow them to cool completely. Flash freeze the empanadas on a rimmed baking tray in the freezer to prevent them from sticking together. Transfer the empanadas to a freezer safe container or zip-top bag. To reheat, place frozen empanadas in a pre-heated 350 degrees F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.Empanadas may be frozen for up to 3 months.
Keywords: beef, empanadas, easy
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Your site is so fantastic. I loved these empanadas!
Some Asian markets, multi-ethnic/cultural markets have them & are generally where phyllo dough, puff pastry, wonton/spring roll wrappers. The brand name is Goya. Good luck to all!
There are more than one brand of empanada discs in the markets, but I would agree that Goya is the brand I reach for first. My Asian market only just started carrying these wrappers. Publix sells out of them quite frequently. The Mexican market does carry them as well.
Yummy recipe! I have tried it with both Pillsbury dough and empenada wrappers. The dough gives a softer, flakier, buttery taste but the empenada wrappers are also a lot easier to use! Rolling the dough out is time consuming and also difficult because it easily shrinks.
I would agree with that. I prefer the empanada wrappers just for the ease of preparation.
Cant find the wraps can I just use pie crust instead ?
Hi Mary, you can use pie crusts but traditional pie crust is not the same texture, flavor or consistency of an empanadas wrapper. I’m sure, though, that it would taste great!
It’s look awesome and yummy , you make my stomach crying ,
I’m really appreciate thanks for your sharing !!!!!
daniel,
My favorite dip for empanadas and also any raw veggie, and tortilla chips, and….well everything! Is homemade sofrito mixed with sour cream. I also add a sazon packet. SOOOOO good.
I do that with salsa and sour cream. I can’t do much sazon because of the MSG. It is very yummy. Thanks for sharing.
How long do you thaw these wrappers? I bought frozen Goya brand wrappers at my local Mexican market and they have no instructions for thawing prior to use.
Hi Lucia, Mine did not have a thaw time either. I wait only long enough until I can peel them apart. I’ve waited until they were fully defrosted and they were quite warm and tore easily and wound up out of round. I’d say about 45 minutes defrosting on the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator overnight.
Coming back by to tell you these were amazing. My store carries the frozen wrappers you described which made assembling these a breeze. They tasted great (added a touch more salt) and freeze well, too.
Angelo, that is so kind of you to say. Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment. I am usually light handed with the salt in my recipes allowing you to adjust it to your own palette. I am so glad you enjoyed these!
Love empanadas.
We do, too! Thanks for stopping in today to post.
Can I freeze these and reheat them?
Yes! I have updated the recipe to reflect this. Freeze a 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.
Fully baked empanadas can also be frozen, though they lose a bit of their flaky texture. To reheat, unwrap as many empanadas as you want and warm in a low oven or toaster oven.
I like the shortcut method for the shells.
Thanks!
Sounds great. My Mom makes similar ones and we love them.
Thanks, Selene! That’s a wonderful testament. Thanks for popping in today to tell me!
Bookmarking your site and joining the RSS feed! I look forward to new updates.
Welcome!
Yummy! Just like my Auntie makes.
Thanks, Olive. I’m so glad you stopped by to comment.
Can I use ground Turkey instead?
Yes, though you may need to increase the seasonings to compensate for the ground turkey.
Seeing the picture of your empanadas make me miss my friend because we often ate these together when we were in college, thanks for this recipe.
Awwww, Abigail. That’s so sweet. Thanks for stopping in and sharing your memory.
I have never seen these wrappers. Where do I find them?
I buy them at my local grocery store in the ethnic section of the freezer section. If not there, a local ethnic store specializing in Mexican or Spanish ingredients would most likely carry them, too.
I love beef empanadas. My abuela used to make them all the time. Each family has their own special recipe but this looks very similar to hers. I will have to try it out.
Let me know. I’d love to hear more about your Abuela’s recipe, too!
Where can I get empanada wrappers?
I buy them in my local grocery store in the freezer section by the Spanish foods. Spanish markets would carry them and I believe my larger Asian market also carries them.
I get mine in the frozen food section of Shoprite.
Thanks, Eileen! Not all stores carry them. Here in my town, only Publix carries them as far as regular grocery stores go. Otherwise, I get them at the Spanish market.
These Beef Empanadas sound amazing! Going to put these on our game day snacks line-up!