This homemade Beef Empanadas Recipe features a tender, from-scratch dough filled with a savory mix of ground beef, sautéed onions, hard-boiled eggs, paprika, and cumin. Rich in flavor and perfectly spiced, they’re a comforting and authentic taste of classic Argentine cuisine. I love to have them with fresh lemon juice. Delicious!
If you love South American food, then also try our Chicken Empanadas Recipe and our Alfajores Recipe.
In a nutshell, you need a juicy and flavorful filling along with a tender and flaky crust. The real secret is not the beef flavor but the onions. You put in as much beef as you do onions.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Love a handheld offering
- Just as good for a lunchbox as it is for dinner
- Great grab and go for anytime
- Empanadas can be so versatile and stuffed with many different ingredients
- Easily frozen for future
Helpful Items for This Recipe
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Empanada Maker Press, 4 Sizes (6″/4″/3″/2.6″)
Measuring Cups and Spoons Set of 9
Pyrex Colors Tinted 3-PC, Unlidded Small/Medium/Large Glass Mixing Bowls
What to put in Beef Empanadas?
Recipe Ingredients
Olive oil – Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil, but not a really expensive one. Save the expensive one for finishing.
Ground beef – Don’t use a lean beef as then your empanadas will be dry.
Yellow onion, diced – Lots of onions give your empanadas flavor.
Green onion, chopped – You can use spring onions if they are available also.
Garlic cloves, minced – A good helping of garlic also adds lots of flavor.
Eggs, hard-boiled – Eggs add another texture to your empanadas and again more flavor.
Green olives – These add a salty, briny flavor to the meat.
Salt, ground cumin and sweet paprika – These spices add the perfect balance to the other ingredients, rounding out all the flavors.
Egg wash – Adds a lovely browning when baked.
Lemons to serve – Brings some freshness to the empanadas and lets everything sing.
How to Make Empanadas
Making the Filling
First, prepare the filling. Add olive oil and diced yellow onion to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft. Add green onion and stir for 2 more minutes.
Incorporate minced garlic and ground beef. Stir over heat until meat is evenly cooked. Add salt, ground cumin, and sweet paprika. Stir to combine. Remove from heat.
Add chopped eggs and olives, and stir to combine. Let the filling cool down to room temperature. Refrigerate for one hour before making your empanadas. Having a cold filling helps when folding empanadas.
Making the Dough
In the meantime, prepare the dough. Mix boiling water with butter in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and stir until butter has melted.
Slowly incorporate the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until it is all combined. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until you get a soft dough. If the dough sticks to your hands, add more flour.
Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 18-20 balls. Let them rest for 20 more minutes, covered. It’s important to let the dough rest; otherwise, the dough will be too elastic to work with.
Once the filling has cooled down, you’ll make the empanadas. Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two baking sheets with oil.
Take one ball and flatten it into a disk shape. The best way is to use a rolling pin.
Place the flattened disk on your palm and add some filling in its center (Usually 2-3 spoonfuls are enough). Fold it in half to form a half-moon shape. Gently press the edges together with your fingers to close the empanada and prevent the filling from leaking out.
Take one end of the sealed edge and fold a small section inward toward the center of the empanada, like a little twist. Work your way along the edge, folding and pinching small sections inward one by one. This creates a rope-like or braided look. Tuck the last fold underneath or press it down firmly to secure it so it doesn’t open during baking or frying.
Continue with the remaining empanadas until you run out of filling.
Arrange the empanadas in the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between them. Finally, beat one egg and brush the top and sides of your empanadas.
Bake them for 20-25 minutes, or until nicely golden. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Recipe Pro Tips!
Tips
- Letting the dough rest and allowing the filling to cool completely are essential steps in this recipe. Skipping either can cause the empanadas to break open while baking.
- You might think there’s too much onion, but it’s actually what keeps the filling moist and flavorful.
- Also, be sure to use ground beef with a decent fat content—it helps make the empanadas extra juicy.
DO YOU LOVE HANDHELDS?
I love a grab-and-go kind of recipe that can be eaten at any time of the day. Here are some of our favorites.
Beef Empanadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound yellow onion diced
- 1/2 pound green onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 eggs hard-boiled
- 1/4 cup chopped green olives
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 egg for the egg wash
- Lemons to serve
Dough
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- First, prepare the filling. Add olive oil and diced yellow onion to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft. Add green onion and stir for 2 more minutes.
- Incorporate minced garlic and ground beef. Stir over heat until meat is evenly cooked. Add salt, ground cumin, and sweet paprika. Stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Add chopped eggs and olives, and stir to combine. Let the filling cool down to room temperature. Refrigerate for one hour before making your empanadas. Having a cold filling helps when folding empanadas.
- In the meantime, prepare the dough. Mix boiling water with butter in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and stir until butter has melted.
- Slowly incorporate the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until it is all combined. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until you get a soft dough. If the dough sticks to your hands, add more flour.
- Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 20 balls. Let them rest for 20 more minutes, covered. It’s important to let the dough rest; otherwise, the dough will be too elastic to work with.
- Once the filling has cooled down, you’ll make the empanadas. Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease two baking sheets with oil.
- Take one ball and flatten it into a disk shape. The best way is to use a rolling pin.
- Place the flattened disk on your palm and add some filling in its center (Usually 2-3 spoonfuls are enough). Fold it in half to form a half-moon shape. Gently press the edges together with your fingers to close the empanada and prevent the filling from leaking out. Take one end of the sealed edge and fold a small section inward toward the center of the empanada, like a little twist. Work your way along the edge, folding and pinching small sections inward one by one. This creates a rope-like or braided look. Tuck the last fold underneath or press it down firmly to secure it so it doesn’t open during baking or frying.
- Continue with the remaining empanadas until you run out of filling.
- Arrange the empanadas in the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between them. Finally, beat one egg and brush the top and sides of your empanadas.
- Bake them for 20-25 minutes, or until nicely golden. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Comments & Reviews
Lucretia says
I’ll be giving these tasty empanadas a shot!
Thank you!
Tara Noland says
Good luck!! We love making empanadas both beef and chicken.