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Homemade beef empanadas filled with seasoned ground beef, onions, and briny pimento olives are golden, flaky, and crispy! I make this recipe with refrigerated pastry dough, but you can absolutely make them 100% from scratch if you’d like.
These crispy, savory beef empanadas are exactly what I look for when I order them off the menu in a Spanish restaurant. They’re buttery, flaky, and golden outside, with a steamy, flavorful, beefy picadillo filling inside. I could eat a whole tray of these!
Empanadas make the best game day appetizer with a pitcher of sangria. I’m going to show you how to make them the easy way with refrigerated pastry dough.
What Makes This Beef Empanadas Recipe So Good
- Semi-homemade. I make the ground beef filling from scratch, and tuck it inside ready-made puff pastry. It’s not traditional, but it’s quick, easy, and the pastry is extra crispy.
- Baked, not fried. Baking empanadas is hands-free and less oily than frying.
- Snackable. Beef empanadas are a popular party appetizer, and they make a great starter to a seafood paella with dinner.
- Adapt the filling. You could even fill these with Mexican chilorio or leftover taco meat, or make chicken empanadas with the filling from my chicken flautas.
What Is an Empanada?
Empanadas are the Latin American equivalent of an American meat pie, Jamaican beef patty, Indian samosas, or Balkan burek. They’re made from flaky pastry dough filled with something hot and delicious, usually meat, seafood, vegetables, beans, and cheese.
You’ll Need the Following Ingredients
I’ll binge on pimento-stuffed olives straight from the jar, and I love adding them to the beef filling in these empanadas. The ingredients list is super simple. Scroll to the printable recipe card for the exact measurements.
- Olive Oil – For sautéeing. Any cooking oil will work here.
- Onion and Garlic – Diced yellow onion and finely minced garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic, substitute each clove with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Lean Ground Beef – You could also make this recipe with ground turkey, pork, or chicken.
- Spices – Cumin, paprika, and freshly ground pepper. Sometimes, I’ll use my homemade taco seasoning or fajita seasoning in place of the individual spices.
- Olives – I use pimento-stuffed manzanilla olives, but you can use any black, green, or kalamata olives you have in the fridge. Remove any pits so you can chop the olives into small pieces.
- Puff Pastry – Refrigerated puff pastry sheets work perfectly (and it cuts the prep time in half!). You’ll also find pre-made empanada dough discs in major grocery stores. Homemade pie dough also makes great empanada dough if you want to make it from scratch.
- Egg – To whisk with water for an egg wash. Brushing this over the edges of the dough helps seal the empanadas closed.
Easy Variations
- Cheesy. Make cheesy beef empanadas by stirring shredded cheese, like Monterey Jack, into the beef filling with the olives.
- Make it spicy. Add in cayenne pepper, chili powder, or chopped fresh jalapeños.
- Air fryer. Cook your empanadas in the air fryer to get the outsides extra crispy.
What to Serve With Beef Empanadas
Traditionally, empanadas are eaten as street food or an appetizer. I like to drizzle my beef empanadas with homemade chimichurri from this churrasco steak recipe. Or, I’ll serve them with sour cream, guacamole, creamy avocado dip, or the Peruvian green sauce (aji verde) from my Peruvian chicken recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Similar, but not quite the same. Traditional empanada pastry has a higher flour-to-fat ratio, making it tender and sturdy. However, pie dough, pastry dough, and even pizza dough are all good substitutes for empanada dough in a pinch.
Empanadas can be baked or fried. It depends on the texture you’re going for. I love the flakiness of baked empanadas. Frying will make them crispier. It’s up to you!
If your empanadas leak while they’re baking, this could be due to over-filling or because the edges weren’t sealed properly. Don’t overstuff the dough, and make sure to use an egg wash on the edges before you fold and seal the dough.
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Beef Empanadas
Ingredients
For the Empanadas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup chopped Pimiento Stuffed Manzanilla Olives
- 2 sheets puff pastry dough, thawed
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease 2 baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
- Sauté. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent. Stir in garlic and cook for 15 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Cook the beef. Add ground beef, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the chopped olives; set aside.
- Roll and cut out the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 6 circles, each should be about a 5-inch diameter. I use a large round cookie cutter. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry dough.
- Add the beef filling. Spoon about a tablespoon of the meat mixture onto the center of each dough round; set aside.
- Add an egg wash. In a small mixing bowl, combine egg and water and lightly beat with a fork. Using a pastry brush, paint the edges of the dough with the prepared egg wash.
- Fold the empanadas. Fold the dough over the meat, shaping it into a half-moon. Gently press down on the edges and twist to seal. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake. Transfer the empanadas to the baking sheets, leaving about 1½ inches of space between the empanadas. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.
- Serve. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Beef Empanadas
Cut out circles of puff pastry dough, fold the beefy filling up inside, and bake! Homemade empanadas couldn’t be easier, and they’re ready to eat in about 45 minutes if you make them with store-bought puff pastry. Here are the steps:
- Sauté the veggies. Start by heating oil in a skillet and sautéeing the onions until they’re soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, so it’s fragrant.
- Cook the beef. Next, add the ground beef and spices. Break up the beef while it cooks through. Then, take the pan off the heat and stir in the chopped olives.
- Roll and cut out the pastry. Roll out the puff pastry sheets one at a time, to about ⅛ inch thick. Cut the dough into six circles approximately 5 inches in diameter. Use a large round cookie cutter, or an egg ring can work here, too.
- Fill the dough. Place a spoonful of beef filling in the center of each dough circle.
- Make an egg wash. Meanwhile, whisk the egg with water in a bowl. Brush the egg wash lightly over the edges of the dough using a pastry brush or your finger.
- Fold the empanadas. Now, fold the dough over the filling, shape it into a half-moon, and press the edges together. Twist the edges downward to seal the empanada closed. Repeat with the rest of the empanadas.
- Bake. Place the empanadas onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Leave 1 ½-inches or so in between to account for spreading. Finally, bake your beef empanadas in a 375ºF oven for 18-20 minutes, until they’re puffed and golden. Serve right away, and enjoy!
How to Store and Reheat Empanadas
- Refrigerate. Baked beef empanadas are best served fresh. However, you can store the leftovers in an airtight container. Refrigerate the empanadas for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. The best way to get the empanadas crispy again is to reheat them in the oven, or you can use the air fryer if you have one.
- Freeze. You can freeze the baked empanadas for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the fridge before reheating.
