This Beef Empanada Recipe features a savory puff pastry filled with ground beef, onions, spices and hard-boiled eggs. Baked in the oven and brushed with egg for a beautiful shine, they are a gorgeous and delicious meal to share!
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As a native to Michigan, I’m a huge fan of Michigan pasties. Pasties are pockets of dough that are most-often filled with meat, potatoes, and vegetables and then doused in gravy. The shape and design of the pasty makes it easy to carry around and eat on the go. This Michigan speciality is very popular in the Upper Peninsula of the mitten state and is my very favorite treat when I go to the UP.
Perhaps my love for pasties was how I knew I was going to enjoy this Beef Empanada Recipe so much. Truthfully, pasties and empanadas aren’t too distant from one another. Of course the spices and the accompanying sauces differ, but otherwise the two dishes are very similar. And they are both AMAZING.
What Ingredients are In This Recipe for Beef Empanadas?
Puff pastry sheets
Onion
Garlic
Scallions
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Cumin
Ground beef
3 hard boiled eggs sliced into thin strips
Egg yolk
Salt and pepper
How Do You Make Beef Empanadas from Scratch?
Thaw the puff pastry as instructed on the box.
Sauté onion, garlic and scallions in a saucepan.
In a small bowl, mix all spices and about 3 tsp of water to make a paste.
Add the paste to the onions and sauté to evaporate the liquid.
Add meat and stir to cook through. Strain when complete. Refrigerate filling for two hours.
Use a glass or a cookie cutter to cut circles in the puff pastry. Place a spoonful of filling in each circle. Add a piece of egg.
Use water to wet the edges of the dough. Fold it in half and crimp to seal. Brush each empanada with egg yolk for a smooth shine after baking.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, and increasing the time incrementally until empanadas are golden brown. Enjoy!
Is this Beef Empanada Dough the Same as Pie Crust?
This dish gave me a troubling start, as I initially wanted to make the pastry from scratch. This unfortunate experiment ended with a lot of kneading and some awful dough that was too dry to even form into the pastry base. Multiple attempts later, I still couldn’t perfect a dough I was supremely happy with.
After a third pursuit and too many minutes of kneading, I dumped my final batch of dough into the garbage.
“To hell with it!” I thought. “I’m simplifying this dish right now.”
I drove to the store and bought a brand new box of frozen puff pastry sheets. No, this may not be the most traditional way to make my Beef Empanada Recipe, but it did the job. And it did the job WELL, if you ask me.
No, the dough for a true Beef Empanada Recipe is not the same as pie dough or puff pastry sheets. However, you can substitute these things if necessary and they will work just fine!
Is it Better to Bake or Fry Empanadas?
Baking or frying your empanadas are both great options. This recipe specifically bakes the beef empanadas because it uses puff pastry sheets instead of empanada dough.
For this recipe, it is recommended to bake the empanadas instead of fry them. This better allows the puff pastry sheets to rise and create the desired effect.
Baking normal empanada dough leaves it more flaky and doughy. Frying the dough makes it crunchy and crispy!
If you are using a different type of dough instead and you want to fry your empanadas, that is totally an option as well!
Do you Eat Empanadas with Your Hands?
Yes! The best way to eat empanadas is with your hands, something that my friends at The World in a Pocket know a lot about.
Empanadas are NEVER eaten with a fork and a knife. You always hold the empanadas in your hand, eating from the corners and working your way out. This article about the 3 best ways to eat empanadas made me giggle.
What Countries Make Empanadas?
Though I made this Beef Empanada Recipe while cooking from Argentina, Argentina is certainly not the only country that’s known for making these delicious treats!
Other countries that make Empanadas include Bolivia, Paraguay, Portugal, Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Wherever you eat Empanadas from, I’m sure you’re going to love them! And if you make them at home, don’t forget to top them with this delicious Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce!
Did you like this Beef Empanada Recipe? If so, make sure to leave a comment letting me know what you thought! And don’t forget to share a photo of your creation on Facebook or Instagram and tag @TheForeignFork and hashtag #TheForeignFork.
If you liked this recipe, you’ll also like this Argentinian Recipe for Beef Stew in a Roasted Pumpkin Shell.
Beef Empanadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box freezer puff pastry sheets, thawed according to package instructions
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , chopped
- 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 egg yolk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thaw the puff pastry as instructed on the box.
- Sauté onion, garlic and scallions in a saucepan.
- In a small bowl, mix all spices and about 3 tsp of water to make a paste.
- Add the paste to the onions and sauté to evaporate the liquid.
- Add meat and stir to cook through. Strain when complete. Refrigerate filling for two hours.
- Use a glass or a cookie cutter to cut circles in the puff pastry. Place a spoonful of filling in each circle. Add a piece of egg.
- Use water to wet the edges of the dough. Fold it in half and crimp to seal. Brush each empanada with egg yolk for a smooth shine after baking.
- Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, and increasing the time incrementally until empanadas are golden brown. Enjoy!
Rabia Shaik says
This recipe was really easy to make. It tasted really good, too. In Indian culture, we have samosas and this is pretty similar to to that. I couldn’t find empanada dough, so I used puff pastry dough.
The only thing that I found a little difficult was the baking time. I wish the recipe instructions had a more concrete time. I put it for 15 minutes at 350, but it wasn’t done at all so I left it a little longer, and then some at 375.
Definitely will be making again!
The Foreign Fork says
Thanks so much for leaving a comment Rabia, I’m so glad you liked the recipe!! You’re right about the cook time, next time I make this recipe I’ll make sure to take more exact notes so I can update it. Thanks for the tip and the review! Have a great day.