This is my very favorite beef empanada recipe! It starts with making a buttery, homemade empanada dough. But don’t freak out! It’s really easy. Homemade empanada crust is as easy as pie crust, and you can make it ahead of time. Then, load that dough up with a hearty beef filling for pure hand-held, party-ready perfection.
Of all the empanada recipes in the world, I think my recipe is most closely related to Chilean beef empanadas, because they are baked (not fried) and use ground beef instead of shredded meat. For more easy, hand-held party foods, check out pigs in a blanket, sausage rolls, or these yummy chicken empanadas.
Beef Empanada Ingredients + Substitutions
- Ground beef: 80/20 (the same kind of beef you use to make burgers) is perfect.
- Potatoes: One potato, diced up super small.
- Vegetables: Onion, celery, frozen peas, and carrots.
- Seasonings: Fresh garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon so your beef empanada is full of warm spices.
- Beef stock: This is to keep the ground beef empanada filling from drying out. You could also use chicken stock.
- Empanada dough: You’ll need flour, water, butter and an egg for our homemade dough, or you can use homemade pizza dough in a pinch.
How To Make Empanada Dough
I am usually all for shortcuts, but in this case I am firmly in favor of making your own empanada dough. It’s just so much better and it isn’t hard! Plus you can prepare it 3 days ahead of time.
- Gather your dough ingredients: Flour, ice water, salt, butter, egg
- Use a food processor to mix the dough. Like with pie crust, take care not to over-mix.
- Shape the empanada dough into a ball, tightly cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
How To Make Beef Empanadas, Step by Step
For the full recipe instructions, check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare the empanada filling. Boil the potatoes, brown the beef in a skillet with the onions, celery and carrots.
- Season the filling. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, broth and peas.
- Roll out the dough.
- Fill the empanadas: Put the filling in the dough and seal it. More on this below!
- Bake the empanadas! Brush those beautiful pouches of beefy goodness with egg and bake them until they're golden brown.
How To Assemble Empanadas
You’ve made the dough, and you’ve made the filling, now you need to bring it all together into little crescent-shaped pockets of deliciousness! Here’s how to fill an empanada:
- Divide the dough evenly, and aim for 10 equal pieces of dough.
- Roll each piece into a little ball, and then use a rolling pin to roll each round into a thin circle that’s roughly 7 inches across.
- Fill! Add about 1/3 of a cup of the ground beef filling to the round.
- Brush with egg wash (this is just a raw, beaten egg with a little water) along the exposed edges. The egg wash is the “glue” that will hold the empanada closed.
- Fold. Carefully fold the dough over the filling and seal along the edge to form that classic crescent shape.
- Seal. Use a fork to press the edges of the dough together to seal the beef filling inside of the empanada.
Homemade Empanada FAQs
- Store-bought dough vs. homemade: Store bought pizza dough will work OK in a pinch, but homemade empanada dough is really worth the extra effort!
- To keep the filling from bursting out of the pocket as it bakes, don't overfill them, and be sure to seal the edges thoroughly with a fork. It also helps if the beef filling can cool down before you fill the empanadas.
How To Make Ahead & Store Empanadas
- To make empanadas ahead of time: Cover the tray of unbaked empanadas and refrigerate for up to two days. When you’re ready to eat, bake them at 400° for 40 minutes. They’ll emerge perfectly golden and steaming from the oven just as if you had baked them the same day.
- Leftover empanadas will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Beef Empanada Variations
- Make mini empanadas: Just divide the dough into smaller pieces and reduce baking time to 20-25 minutes.
- Make them cheesy: You could add a little shredded cheese mozzarella or cheddar for a cheesy version.
- Make them spicy: Add diced jalapeños or a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat.
- Use this empanada dough recipe, but use leftover picadillo as filling.
How To Freeze Empanadas
Empanadas freeze beautifully! To freeze beef empanadas: freeze them before baking them. When you’re done filling and sealing the empanadas, lay them on a baking sheet. Then, instead of baking them, pop them in your freezer. Freeze overnight, then transfer the frozen empanadas to an airtight, zipper-top freezer bag and store for up to three months.
When you’re ready to eat the empanadas, lay the frozen empanada directly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush on the egg wash and bake for 45 minutes at 400°F. You can also freeze the empanadas after baking, if you prefer. See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
More Ground Beef Recipes To Love
The Best Beef Empanada Recipe, Hands Down
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