Beef Empanadas Recipe
These Beef Empanadas are a delicious handheld lunch, dinner or snack. They have great flavor from beef, onions, paprika, garlic, olives, cumin and more.
Servings: 20 servings
Calories: 188kcal
Equipment
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.
Notes
You can do another 1/2 of the recipe if you like the empanadas really full.
See the post for more information, photos and tips.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 204IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2mg