These crispy, cheesy, 30-minute easy beef empanadas are so simple to make with refrigerated pie crust and a savory beef and cheese filling. Whip up these yummy empanadas and serve with creamy, authentic Mexican guacamole for a delicious meal!
Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 25 minutesminutes
0 minutesminutes
Total Time: 30 minutesminutes
Servings:4servings
Ingredients
1/2poundground beef
1/4onion, diced
1/2teaspoonground cumin
1/2teaspoonchili powder, or chipotle chili powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
4ouncesdiced green chiles
4ouncesdiced pimento peppers
2tablespoonstomato paste
1/2cupshredded sharp cheddar cheese, or Mexican blend
2refrigerated pie crusts
1egg, whisked
HERDEZ™ Traditional Guacamole, for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper.
Unroll pie crusts on a clean, flat surface. Use a 3-inch round pastry cutter to cut circles from the dough. (If desired, combine scraps, roll out, and cut again.)
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef.
Stir in onions, cumin, chili powder, salt, green chiles, and pimento peppers. Saute 2-3 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, followed by the cheese. Remove from heat.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture into the center of each pie crust circle.
Fold dough over and use a fork to seal the dough all along the curved edge.
Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on prepared baking sheet. Brush empanadas with egg wash.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool slightly before serving with HERDEZ™ Traditional Guacamole. Enjoy!
Notes
Make ahead: these keep really well stored in an airtight container in the freezer. You can freeze just before baking (add about 5 minutes to baking time if baking from frozen) or bake and then freeze for a quick and easy meal later on. Reheat individually or in sets of 2-3 in microwave. Make it spicy: add one finely diced jalapeno into the pan along with the onions, chiles, and peppers. Pie Crust: want to make your own pie crust? Awesome! Here's my simple homemade (delicious!) pie crust recipe. Great for parties: we usually eat these as a main dish, but empanadas are small handheld delights that work great as an appetizer! I'd say this recipe makes enough as written for 4 as a main dish, or 8 as an appetizer. Easily double the recipe to feed a crowd!