Beef Empanadas
with roasted chili-garlic broccoli
Refrigerated or frozen pie crust is the only short-cut you need to make these flaky stuffed pastries that are sold as street food in many Latin American countries.
Smarts: Each pie crust has its own defrost instructions. Make sure to check these ahead of time so the pie crust will be ready to go when it's time to cook.
Ingredients
- Pie crusts, frozen or refrigerated (9" / 23cm) - 1
- Green onions - 2 stalks, chopped, green and white parts separate
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Chili powder - 1 tsp
- Oregano - 1/2 tsp
- Beef, ground - 3/4 lb
- Corn kernels, frozen - 1/2 cup
- Tomato paste - 1 Tbsp
- Adobo sauce (usually found with canned chipotle peppers) - 2 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
- Garlic - 2 cloves, sliced
- Broccoli florets - 12 oz
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Pie crust - Defrost pie crust according to package directions (most refrigerated crusts just need to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes).
- Garlic / Broccoli - If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing with prep. Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
- Green onions - Chop, keeping green and white parts separate. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F / 204C degrees.
- Toss garlic and broccoli with cooking oil (the portion for the broccoli), chili powder (the portion for the broccoli) and cumin. Season with some salt and pepper. Spread broccoli on a sheet pan and transfer to oven. Roast broccoli until tender, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
- While broccoli roasts, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil (the portion for the empanadas) and then white parts of green onions, chili powder (the portion for the empanadas) and oregano. Saute until fragrant, ~1 minute.
- Add ground beef with some salt and saute until browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Pour excess oil out of the pan. Add corn and continue cooking until corn is defrosted. Remove from heat and stir in tomato paste, adobo sauce and green parts of green onions. Taste and season with additional salt (if needed) and pepper.
-
Slice pie crust into four wedges (for 4 servings; adjust if customizing) and place on a second sheet pan. (See image below.) Divide beef filling between wedges (note: fill wedges just enough so that they will easily close without breaking; if you have leftover filling serve it on the side or save it for a taco or burrito bowl later in the week). Dampen your fingertips with water and run them over the edges of crust (a bit of water acts like glue to hold the crust together). Fold crust over filling and seal, using the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.
- Bake empanadas until pie crust is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Serve empanadas with yogurt on top and broccoli on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
53 reviews
Definitely had almost 2x too much filling, but it was great! Added an egg wash to the pie crust. Next time I think I'll try adding green chilies to the meat mixture.
0 HelpfulWhile filling was great the crust left little to be desired (as most store bought does). Will definitely make my own crust next time and recommend a light egg wash before cooking.
0 HelpfulMy pie crust definitely fell apart, and the empanadas were pretty messy, but they still tasted good, so we were happy!
0 HelpfulThis was really fun to make! I especially enjoyed whipping up a pie crust (they don't sell them where I live), and was surprised how simple and easy it was. I paid attention to other commentors who said this was dry, so incorporated some salsa into the meat as it was cooking. I also waited for it to cool before putting into the pie dough, to avoid having it break up like it did for other people. Perfect! Tasty! And I've learned something new. :)
0 Helpful