Cheesy Beef Empanadas
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Many different cultures have put their own spin on these stuffed pastries. But the empanadas I grew up eating aren’t traditional by any particular cuisine’s standards. While Mexican empanadas are usually made with masa, my grandma—a woman who grew up in Culiacán, a city in northwestern Mexico—made hers with pot sticker wrappers. (She liked a thin pastry and found stretching and rolling the dough to her desired thickness too difficult.)
The dough
During the development of this dish, I figured that if you’re searching for an empanada recipe, you’re mostly not looking to fry them in pot sticker wrappers. So, our associate food editor (and pastry queen) Makinze Gore developed an amazingly easy and flaky homemade dough.
The filling
The filling is loosely adapted from my grandma’s top-secret recipe. The main idea is there: ground beef flavored with sautéed onion, garlic, oregano, tomato, and pickled jalapeños. But if you really want to up your game, I highly recommend adding a splash of red wine vinegar, some finely chopped capers and green olives, and a good squeeze yellow mustard. It’s the María Picos Clark way.
Pot sticker wrappers
If you’d like to go the pot sticker route, fill each wrapper with about 1 teaspoon of meat. (If you add too much filling, the wrapper will break.) Dip a finger in water and run alongside the edges of the wrapper, then fold and seal with tines of a fork. Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan (or a wok, like my mom), and fry in batches until empanadas are deeply golden and bubbly on surface.
Have you made this recipe? Let us know how you liked it in the comments below.
Editor’s note: The introduction to this recipe was updated on August 31, 2020 to provide more information.
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Egg wash, for brushing
Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish
Sour cream, for serving
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut butter into flour using your hands or a pastry cutter until pea-sized. Add water and egg and mix until a dough forms. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 minutes. Drain fat.
- Return pan to medium heat, and stir tomato paste into beef. Add oregano, cumin, and paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and jalapeños and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll one half out to ¼” thick. Using a 4.5” round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Repeat with remaining dough. Reroll scraps once to cut out more rounds.
- Lightly moisten outer edge of a dough round with water and place about 2 tablespoons filling in center and top with cheddar and Monterey. Fold dough in half over filling. Use a fork to crimp edges together. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.
- Place empanadas on prepared baking sheets and brush with egg wash. Bake until golden and filling is warmed through, about 25 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 minutes. Drain fat.
- Return pan to medium heat, and stir tomato paste into beef. Add oregano, cumin, and paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and jalapeños and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll one half out to ¼” thick. Using a 4.5” round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Repeat with remaining dough. Reroll scraps once to cut out more rounds.
- Lightly moisten outer edge of a dough round with water and place about 2 tablespoons filling in center and top with cheddar and Monterey. Fold dough in half over filling. Use a fork to crimp edges together, then brush with egg wash. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.
- Place empanadas in a parchment-lined Air Fryer basket, making sure they don’t touch, and cook in batches at 400° for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream.
