Easy Baked Beef Empanadas for the Freezer

Easy Baked Beef Empanadas make it look like you spent all day in the kitchen but are easy and delicious. With cooked ground beef from your freezer and pre-made pie crusts, this recipe for baked empanadas can make a great family dinner or even be cooked a few at a time in a toaster oven for a smaller meal. They make a great freezer meal, too, so make extra to freeze!

❓ What are empanadas

Empanadas are savory pastry turnovers which are either baked or fried. They originated in Portugal and Spain, with Spanish colonists bringing them to the Americas in the 16th century where they gained popularity. Different countries have their own popular versions with different names and various fillings ranging from seafood and fish to potatoes to beef.

Bakeries often mold the empanadas into different shapes based on their fillings so that customers can easily tell what is inside. Fun fact: according to the readers of Bearshapedsphere, there are three ways to eat an empanada, and from the middle ain't one.

⏲️ Time needed

You'll need about 45 minutes to roll out the dough and fill the empanadas. Baking time is about 25 minutes.

This recipe assumes you're using cooked ground beef from the freezer. If you have to cook the meat, add extra time for that.

🥘 Ingredients

• cooked ground beef
• taco seasoning mix
• water
• canned corn
• onion
• cheddar cheese
• salsa
• pie crust dough

🌾 Adaptations for dietary restrictions

Gluten-free. You can purchase gluten-free pie crusts from the freezer section of many grocery stores, or you can make your own crust (you can find links to a couple of gluten-free pie crust recipes with our Zucchini Quiche recipe).

📋 Instructions

If your cooked ground beef is not already taco-seasoned, simmer it with the taco seasoning and water for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it is already seasoned, you can just put all the ingredients except the pie crusts into a large bowl and combine.

Roll the pie crust dough out to about 1/16" thick. It's best to cut one 8" circle and make a test empanada before cutting out all of the circles to be sure that your thickness works well for folding and sealing. It's easy to make the dough too thin, resulting in a frustrating experience when filling and sealing. When you are satisfied with the thickness of the dough, cut 18 individual circles approximately 8" in diameter.

Fill each crust with ⅓ cup of the filling, fold the crust over to make a half-circle, and seal with the tines of a fork. Cut off any extra dough if necessary (see tips below for making the sealing process easier).

Bake at 375°F for approximately 25 minutes, or until the crust is light brown and crispy. Serve with queso dip or salsa.

💭 Tips

1. You can substitute pie crusts from the refrigerated section of the grocery store for the bulk pie crusts if you prefer.
2. Making empanadas, dumplings, and turnovers is much easier with a turnover press. This turnover press set from Amazon (affiliate link) comes with 5 presses of varying sizes ranging from 2-½" to 7":
3. If you use the 7" press (which is the largest size press I can find), you'll need to use slightly less than ⅓ cup of filling in each empanada but will be able to get 2-3 more empanadas out of the recipe.
4. To use the press, use the side without the fluting to press into the dough to cut out your circles. Once your circles are cut out, place them on the fluted side of the press, add the filling, then close the press to seal the edges. Make sure that your dough is not too thin (thin dough will sink in the center when filled, pulling away from the edges and causing a poor seal).
5. Leave the dough in the fridge until you're ready to use it. The warmer it gets, the harder it'll be to work with.

Recipe

Easy Baked Beef Empanadas

5 from 1 vote

Easy Beef Empanadas make it look like you spent all day in the kitchen but are easy and delicious. They make a great freezer meal, too—make extra to freeze!

AuthorAuthor: Mary Ann

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 18 empanadas

Calories 303

Equipment

• Turnover press
• Rolling Pin
• Pastry mat

Ingredients

  

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• 3 cups cooked ground beef, from the freezer, thawed
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• ⅓ cup water
• 15.25 oz. canned corn, drained
• ½ onion, chopped and sautéed
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup salsa
• 4 pie crust dough portions, unbaked

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Instructions

• If your cooked ground beef is not already taco-seasoned, simmer it with the taco seasoning and water for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it is already seasoned, skip this step.
• In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the pie crust dough.
• Roll the pie crust dough out to about 1/16" thick. It's best to cut one 8" circle and make a test empanada before cutting out all of the circles to be sure that your thickness works well for folding and sealing. It's easy to make the dough too thin, resulting in a frustrating experience when filling and sealing.
• When you are satisfied with the thickness of the dough, cut 18 individual circles approximately 8" in diameter.
• Fill each crust with ⅓ cup of the filling. Fold crust over and seal, cutting off any extra dough if necessary. Bake at 375°F for approximately 25 minutes, or until crust is light brown and crispy. Serve with queso dip or salsa.
• To freeze, place unbaked empanadas in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. When frozen, place in freezer containers and label with the following information: “Thaw. Bake at 375°F approximately 25 minutes, or until crust is light brown and crispy. Serve with queso dip or salsa.”

Notes

1. Nutrition data is per empanada.
2. You can substitute pie crusts from the refrigerated section of the grocery store for the bulk pie crusts if you prefer.
3. Making empanadas, dumplings, and turnovers is much easier with a turnover press. This turnover press set from Amazon (affiliate link) comes with 5 presses of varying sizes ranging from 2-½” to 7″:
   
4. If you use the 7" press (which is the largest size press I can find), you'll need to use slightly less than ⅓ cup of filling in each empanada but will be able to get 2-3 more empanadas out of the recipe.
5. To use the press, use the side without the fluting to press into the dough to cut out your circles. Once your circles are cut out, place them on the fluted side of the press, add the filling, then close the press to seal the edges. Make sure that your dough is not too thin (thin dough will sink in the center when filled, pulling away from the edges and causing a poor seal).

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 303 calCarbohydrates: 25 gProtein: 8 gFat: 18 gSodium: 616 mgFiber: 1 g

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