Beef Empanadas Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to fry or bake empanadas? ›

Sometimes empanadas are fried, and sometimes they're baked. We love these baked empanadas for many reasons: Not only are they easier to cook, but they are also a healthier option. Bonus: you don't have to figure out what to do with a pot of hot frying oil when you're finished cooking.

As mentioned above many people will use their favorite pre-made pie dough to make empanadas. This is because the ingredients for most dough recipes are very similar. Most pie doughs use flour, butter, salt, water, and sometimes egg; an ingredient list almost identical to those needed for this recipe!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Baked Beef Empanadas made with puff pastry, so easy and so delicious. Don't underestimate puff pastry, it's quite versatile and makes some delicious empanadas.

Empanadas have their origin in the Spanish action Empanar connoting “wrap in bread.” Traditional empanadas hence are simply beef stuffing wrapped in pastry dough. Beef empanadas are small palm-sized meat pockets. They resemble the Arabian Samosas and Italian calzones.

Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.

In much the same way, putting fried food on a cooling rack means the excess oil will drip off, but there's enough air circulating underneath the food that the bottoms don't get soggy.

Empanada dough is less flaky than pie crust (although you can substitute frozen pie crust dough in a pinch). It has a more tender texture that soaks up the filling without becoming soggy. This dough can be used for baked or fried empanadas, which are both great handheld dishes.

And while we love traditional empanadas, fussy pastry dough is a lot to tackle on a busy weeknight. Here, we use our favorite dough hack, ready-made pizza dough, for a quick-ready-to-roll crust. It's crisp and tender and works perfectly to enclose the grass-fed ground beef, bell pepper, and golden raisin filling.

When the Spanish hit the New World in the 16th century they shared their empanada recipe with the Aztecs and Maya. The Spanish recipe was made with bread dough, the Mexican recipe with corn masa dough. This is where Mexican empanada history takes over. Each region in Mexico has their own version of the empanada.

Adding a little vinegar to your dough will result in a tender, pliable, and flaky crust because it slightly inhibits gluten development, leading to a crust that is flakier and easier to work with. The great thing about vinegar is that you really only need a little bit of it to help your pie/empanada dough.

There's not a lot of difference — chief one being that you use ice water with empanada dough, and hot water for tortillas. Another difference is the flour.

Why are Colombian empanadas different? ›

Like the Venezuelan and Argentine empanada, the Colombian one has a half-moon shape. Its thickness is thinner, which helps make its texture crispier. They are also made with corn and some of the most popular are: Pipián: potato, hogao, egg, toasted peanuts and annatto.

Argentina has become world-famous for their empanadas which are widely available in Buenos Aires and across the country as fast-food options and restaurant staples. As with many recipes, that of empanadas was shared through generations and carried to many other nations.

Empanadas – pastry turnovers filled with a variety of savory ingredients – are either baked or fried and also can be known as empanadillas or pastelillos. They're similar to meat pies popular in other cultures like pasties in England, Natchitoches hand pies in Louisiana, and Russian blintzes.

Baked empanadas are easier because you can bake a whole ton at once and certainly lighter without all that deep fried goodness but they don't have quite the same flavor as the fried version. So I leave it up to you! Don't skip the egg wash if baking because it is what helps give the empanadas their color!

While any type of cooking naturally reduces the nutrients in food, frying reduces the most nutrients while absorbing fat from the oil. Baking, however, enhances some nutrients and makes the protein in some foods easier to digest, making it a better and healthier way of cooking food than frying.

The oxidised oils can cause many possible health problems including damage to the heart, kidney and lungs. Consuming oxidised oils can also lead to the increased risk of high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. As baking requires no addition of oils, it does not cause any oxidation.

These classic Argentinean empanadas are filled with chicken, chorizo, onions, garlic, paprika, chopped GOYA® Manzanilla Olives Stuffed with Minced Pimientos and raisins. And following the Argentinean tradition, they're baked instead of fried! Make them in a snap with GOYA® Empanada Dough-Puff Pastry for Baking.