Beef Empanadas
Baked beef empanadas wrap juicy ground beef, diced russet potatoes, grated vegetables, and warm spices inside flaky, buttery homemade pastry. Fold, seal, and bake at 375°F until deep golden brown.
Equipment
- Food processor
- Medium saucepan
- Large Skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- Rimmed sheet pan
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry brush
- Fork
Ingredients
Empanada Dough
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) chilled, cut into ¼- inch cubes
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup ice water plus more as needed
Beef Filling
- 1 medium russet potato peeled and cut into ⅓-inch diced (about 1½ cups)
- ¾ pound 80/20 ground beef
- ½ medium yellow onion grated
- 1 medium carrot grated
- 1 celery rib minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup frozen peas thawed
- ¾ cup beef stock
Instructions
Mix and Chill the Flaky Empanada Dough
- Give the flour and salt about 5 pulses in a food processor, then add the butter, 1 egg, and ice water and pulse about 20 times, adding extra ice water by the tablespoon only if necessary. Stop when the mixture gathers under gentle pressure but still looks crumbly, with some larger butter pieces visible.
- Gather the mixture on your work surface into a ball, cover it snugly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The chilled dough should feel firm, with the butter kept cold for a flaky crust.
Simmer the Savory Beef and Potato Filling
- Boil salted water in a medium saucepan over high heat, cook the diced potato for 3 to 4 minutes, and drain it. The cubes should be just tender and still hold their shape.
- Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the beef, onion, carrot, and celery for 8 to 10 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces. Look for browned beef and softened vegetables that blend into the mixture.
- Add the cooked potato, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, peas, and beef stock, then cook for about 5 minutes with occasional stirring before taking the skillet off the heat to cool slightly. The filling should gather together with most of the stock absorbed, and the cool-down helps protect the cold butter in the pastry.
Roll, Fill, Seal, and Bake Until Golden
- Heat the oven to 375°F with its rack in the center, line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment, and divide the chilled dough into 10 portions of about 2.2 ounces each before rolling them on a lightly floured surface into thin, 7-inch circles. Aim for even thickness so the pastry bakes consistently from the folded edge to the center.
- Spoon a heaping ⅓ cup of filling onto half of each circle with a ½-inch border, beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water, brush the border with this wash, and fold the empty half over before sealing firmly with fork marks or hand-crimped edges. The finished pocket should have a continuous seam with no filling caught between the edges.
- Transfer the sealed pockets to the lined sheet pan, coat their tops with the remaining egg wash, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Use a deep golden-brown crust as the finishing cue rather than pale pastry.
- Give the empanadas 5 minutes to cool before serving. This short pause lets the hot filling settle while the pastry remains crisp.
Notes
Texture tip: Leave small, visible butter pieces in the dough rather than blending it into a uniform paste so the pastry bakes up flaky and tender.
Filling tip: Simmer the beef mixture until most of the stock is absorbed and let it cool slightly before assembly to prevent soggy pastry bottoms and melted butter.
Sealing tip: Keep the half-inch dough border completely clean of filling and gently ease out any trapped air pockets before pressing the edges shut so the seams do not split in the oven.
Doneness: Check with a food thermometer that the ground beef reaches a minimum internal temperature of 160°F, and bake the pockets until the crust is deep golden brown.
Storage and reheating: Refrigerate baked leftovers promptly in a covered container, and reheat them in the oven rather than the microwave to restore a crisper crust while warming the filling through.
Nutrition information is an estimate based on common ingredients and serving sizes. Values may vary depending on brands, portions, and substitutions.