Easy Beef Empanadas
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Bring a little flavor-packed fun to your kitchen with this easy beef empanada recipe—golden, cheesy, and ready in under an hour.
Empanadas! Just the name sounds festive. This empanada recipe is inspired by the savory turnovers popular across Spain and Latin America, traditionally filled with beef, cheese, chicken, or veggies. Baked or fried until golden, they’re the ultimate finger food. The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning “to wrap or coat in bread,” which pretty much sums them up.
Traditional empanadas are made with homemade dough, but I use store-bought empanada wrappers, found in the freezer aisle of most supermarkets. They make this beef empanada recipe a breeze to whip up.
If you’re cooking with kids, let them help with the wrapping—it’s fun! This recipe yields 10 to 12 empanadas, perfect for a quick dinner or an easy appetizer. If you’ve got a crowd, go ahead and double the batch.
Want sides? Try grilled Mexican street corn, guacamole, or a simple black bean salad with lime vinaigrette. And if you’re a dipper, salsa make a great accompaniment!
“Delish—love the convenience of store-bought wrappers! I doubled recipe—extras are in a freezer bag for the next football game. Total time was spot on!”
What You’ll Need To Make Beef Empanadas
- Ground beef, shallot, and garlic – This combo forms the base of the filling. 85% lean beef stays juicy without being too greasy, and the shallot and garlic add great flavor.
- Tomato paste, salt, cumin, and chili powder – These amp up the flavor with richness, a little tang, and warm, smoky spice.
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese – Melts like a dream and and adds a creamy, savory layer to the filling.
- Fresh cilantro – Adds a pop of freshness and ties it all together.
- Egg – Just one, for sealing the empanadas before baking.
- Empanada dough – The flaky wrapper that holds it all in (see photo and note below).
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
When making empanadas, it’s important to choose the right type of wrapper for your preferred cooking method. Goya sells three different kinds of empanada wrappers: Empanada Dough for Frying, Empanada Dough for Baking, and Empanada Puff Pastry for Baking.
For this recipe, be sure to get the puff pastry version for baking pictured below. If you can’t find them, frozen puff pastry (like Pepperidge Farm) works well too. Standard pie dough is fine in a pinch, but puff pastry will be flakier.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the beef filling. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the beef, shallot, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it’s no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the water and cook for 1 minute more.
Pro Tip: Cooking the spices with the beef allows their flavors to bloom, making the filling more aromatic and flavorful.
Step 2: Cool the filling. Transfer the beef mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes (pop it in the fridge to speed things up). It’s important to let the mixture cool; cooling it completely before assembling prevents the pastry from softening too much, which can make it difficult to handle.
Step 3: Add cheese and cilantro. Once the filling has cooled, stir in the cheese and cilantro.
Step 4: Fill the empanadas. Working with one piece of dough at a time, place about 1½ tablespoons of filling in the center and brush the edges with the egg wash.
Pro Tip: Be careful not to overfill—too much filling can make sealing difficult and may cause the empanada to burst open while baking.
Step 5: Seal the edges. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling. Starting at one end, pinch the edges together.
Step 6: Crimp the edges. Pinch and twist along the edges to create a rope-like crimped pattern.
Pro Tip: This traditional “repulgue” technique (repulgue translates to “stitch” in Spanish) not only looks great but also ensures a tight seal, preventing leaks during baking. If you find this technique challenging, you can use a fork to crimp the edges instead.
Step 7: Prep for baking. Transfer the unbaked empanadas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Step 8: Bake and serve. Bake in a preheated 425°oven for 15 to 17 minutes, until puffed, golden, and flaky. Let the empanadas cool for about 10 minutes before serving. You can assemble them up to 1 day ahead and chill, or freeze for up to 3 months before baking.
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Beef Empanadas
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 oz 85% lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons minced shallot, from 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 package Empanada Dough-Puff Pastry for Baking, thawed but cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a 13 x 18-in (33 x 46-cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the beef, shallot, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until the beef is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the water and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes (speed this up in the refrigerator if necessary).
- Once the filling is cooled, stir in the cheese and cilantro.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, place about 1½ tablespoons of the filling in the center of the dough. Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg, and then fold over to seal. Starting at one end of the pastry, use your fingers to pinch and twist the edge of the pastry into a small rope-like shape. Continue to pinch and twist the edge of the pastry, working your way around the empanada until you reach the other end. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and flaky. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These are the ultimate hike dinner food! I make a huge multiple batch in the afternoon, place them in a ziploc after cooling slightly, and then we enjoy them with our kids and friends when we get to a good dinner spot on the trail! No forks, plates, napkins, or trash 👌
I’ve been cooking your recipes exclusively for about 6 years now and am starting to feel brave enough to experiment (🤣), so I want to try an Indian variation this time around and go for a lamb samosa vibe. I’m switching out the beef for lamb, adding frozen peas, omitting the cheese, and switching up the spices (fresh ginger, curry powder, garam masala? Any others?). Any pointers or possible issues I might run into? Should I still use the tomato paste with lamb?
Thank you!!
So glad you like the recipes and the empanadas sound like a fun dinner to have mid-hike! What you’ve suggested for a lamb samosa version of the empanadas sounds good, but I don’t think you’d need to use both curry powder and garam masala. I would use the tomato paste, and the only other thing I’d be cognizant of is that lamb is a bit fattier than beef, so you may need to drain off some excess fat. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Has anyone in California (northern) found empanada wrappers at a store? I’m dying to try this recipe but haven’t found the wrappers. Any other substitute that people have tried?