Spicy Argentinian Beef Empanadas

Crusty savory hand-sized pies filled with a flavorful ground beef mixture are the perfect snack with a taste of Latin America! Make these beef empanadas at home!

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What are Empanadas?

Empanadas are crescent-shaped savory pastries that are filled with beef, chicken, pork, fish, cheese or vegetables. You could think of an empanada as a turnover that doesn’t use flaky pastry and can be eaten fried or baked.

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Types of Empanadas

Most empanadas have the same place of origin – Galicia, Spain.

In her book Cuisine and Empire, the food historian Rachel Laudan talks about how the First Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca, Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano held a 3-day feast in 1538 that included huge empanadas. Laudan wrote about how live rabbits and birds came out of some of the empanadas, while the others were filled with game meat, fowl, and seafood.

But before the empanadas got to Latin America, they existed in Galicia, Spain. The Iberian cookbook called Libre del Coch published a recipe for empanadas in 1520. Empanadas come from the word empanar which means to coat with dough or bread crumbs.

But delve a little deeper and you’ll find that empanadas didn’t really originate in Spain. The Moors brought the recipe for the empanadas with them to Spain, somewhere between the 8th century and the 15th century. And historians theorize that they probably adapted the recipes from the Indian-filled pastries.

It’s only fitting that the Spanish then took the empanadas to the territories they conquered in the New World, creating a wave effect.

Found all over Latin America, empanadas come in various shapes and sizes. They’re square in Belize, moon-shaped in Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela, Indonesia, Sicily, and Colombia, pie-shaped in Galicia, and more.

You’ll also find some empanada casings made of cornflour or plantain dough. Empanadas also go by different names and use many different fillings.

Some popular empanadas include the Chilean empanada de pino that’s stuffed with half a boiled egg, sauteed ground beef, olives and raisins.

Bolivian saltenas have a similar filling but also include a sweet sauce. Cabo Verde has the pasteis filled with spicy tuna.

Ecuador has empanadas de viento filled with cheese and onions. Venezuela has meat empanadas called pastilito andino. Belize has panades made of corn dough stuffed with chicken or fish. And Argentina has as many different types of empanadas as it has regions.

Especially popular in the Mexican state of Tabasco is the corn dough empanada filled with fish. Or the Central Mexican empanadas chiapacorceñas filled with spiced pork, or the meat empanadas, or the sweet empanadas, and more.

My favorite are these popular beef empanadas that are easy to make at home!

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Recipe Pointers For Beef Empanadas

• Make empanadas on 8th April – National Empanadas Day in the US.
• You can replace the beef with any other ground meat of your choice.
• Too busy for ground meat? Use diced ham or bacon with parsley and cheese.
• Want them spicier? Add more chili powder.
• To make vegetarian empanadas, replace the beef mixture with some fried black beans mixture.
• Serve the empanadas with a guacamole dip, sour cream, or Mexican crema.
• To turn meat empanadas into a dessert, replace the beef filling with chopped apples, cinnamon, and honey.

FAQs about Meat Empanadas

Can I bake beef empanadas instead of frying them?

Yes, you can bake them. Brush the prepared empanadas with egg wash to give them a pretty golden-brown crust. Bake at 400 F for 35-40 minutes.

Can empanadas be made ahead of time?

You can prepare the dough 2 or 3 days earlier and wrap it with plastic. Store in the refrigerator till you’re ready to use it. The filling can also be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated overnight. Put them together and fry or bake before serving.

What do you eat with empanadas?

Serve the emapandas as snacks with salsa, hot green chili, sour cream, cilantro-lime dressing, or mayonnaise. If you want to make it a meal, serve with a big salad.

Can I use store-bought dough for the empanadas?

If you don’t want to do the homemade dough, store-bought pie crust or pizza dough will work perfectly too.

How long can I store leftover beef empanadas in the refrigerator?

You can place the leftover beef empanadas in an airtight container or wrap with foil and store them in the refrigerator for 3 days.

How to freeze empanadas?

I prefer to freeze empanadas uncooked. First, place them on a plate with a bit of space in between them and then refrigerate for 1 hour. Then transfer them to an airtight container and freeze. This helps to separate them easily when you remove them later.

You don’t need to defrost them before frying again.

How do you reheat meat empanadas?

The best way to reheat empanadas is in an air fryer. It gives back the crispiness at the edge and warms it faster than the oven.

But if you don’t have an air fryer, you can use an oven or deep fry them too!