Baked Empanadas For Cinco De Mayo

I love trying out new recipes and spending time perfecting them in the kitchen. I’m finding joy in trying out new recipes, and have been making it a point to do fun theme nights each week. This week was all about celebrating Cinco De Mayo! There’s something about chicken or beef empanadas topped with sour cream and wrapped in empanada dough toasted golden brown that has my mouth watering. This is a perfect week night dinner, as well but with Cinco de Mayo coming up, we wanted to find easy recipes the whole family will love. Happy Cinco de Mayo week!

Firstly, the kids already requested shrimp tacos, but I had left over grilled chicken from the night before, so I decided to whip up empanadas. Mind you this is something I’ve never made before and have to say they weren’t as hard to make as I thought and were such a hit! Moreover, taco empanadas are also a great idea, you really need ground meat, taco seasoning and then you have the perfect taco Tuesday recipe or Cinco de Mayo recipes to have on hand. Homemade empanadas are easier than you think and only require a few ingredients, which I bet you already have most of in your fridge. Henceforth, grab a large skillet, small bowl, baking sheet and let’s get to this simple recipe!

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 packages of frozen puff pastry dough or pie dough

1 cup shredded chicken but you can do ground turkey or beef

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp chili powder

1 onion

1 pepper

1/2 jalepano

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup cheese

1/2 black beans

Directions:

Secondly, make sure your dough is defrosted before starting everything. These are simple ingredients and they taste better when they are prepped well. If your meat isn’t cooked, I suggest browning that first in a skillet pan. Remove cooked meat and set aside. Furthermore,  you’ll want to sauté your peppers, onions, jalepanos. Cook till tender, then add beans and meat back in. Add the spices: cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder. Mix everything together. Specifically, if you mix looks dry, add in two tablespoons of water. Next you’ll want to fill your empanadas. Cut round circles into the dough. I used a round bowl, and kept rolling out the dough till I used up all of the extra scraps of dough. And be sure to get the kids involved. The girls loved filling them!

Finally, put about a tablespoon of filling inside the dough (don’t overfill), top with cheese. Fold over the dough making sure all of the filling is tucked inside and seal with a fork around all of the edges. Press edges of the uncooked empanadas to seal them well and make sure the edges meet. Place finished empanadas on a non-stick pan. Moreover, brush each one with egg whites before popping into a 375 preheated oven for about 20 minutes. This is something you can also make in an air fryer for the perfect way to serve an easy dinner recipe or perfect appetizer. Serve with guacamole!

Next year, we’ll be trying out dessert empanadas with pastry turnover. These store well in an airtight container for a few days in the fridge and the next time you make them, you’ll want to make enough to save and have throughout the week!

I’m excited to try other variations of them for the kiddies. Enjoy!

This post was originally published May 7th, 2020.

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