This is my new go-to for weeknight dinners. I am in love with the taste of this empanada recipe, how simple they are to make and they are THE BEST to freeze and reheat. Make these for tonight or make them ahead of time when you know the evening will be crazy. I know there are a million things you can fill empanadas with, but this is such a delicious filling with so much flavor, you have GOT to give them a try.

Chop up your carrots, olives and onions. Measure your ground meat (I used ground turkey), raisins, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Heat up your pan with some added oil and cook the filling according to the recipe below.

The filling itself is incredible! If you have a gluten-free diet, just serve this over rice.

Prepare the defrosted puff pastry dough by rolling out each sheet. Remember to dust the dough and your rolling pin with flour. Next, cut the dough into 4 rectangles. I like using my pizza cutter for this step. This recipe makes 8 empanadas!

Place your cooled empanada filling in the center of each dough square and brush with egg wash. Fold into triangles and crimp down the edges with a fork.

Transfer the empanadas with a spatula to a greased baking sheet and brush them with the remaining egg wash.

Bake these beauties for 25 minutes at 350F degrees. Once cooled, serve them up with any side dish. Pictured with black beans and salsa.

Ground Beef Empanadas

February 3, 2016

by Katie

Category Eat

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground beef chuck or ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup drained green pitted olives, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 cup canned tomato puree or sauce
Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
One 1-pound package frozen puff pastry
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 large eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.
Add the olives, raisins, carrots and onions and saute for just a couple minutes until softened. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat off and cool to room temperature before filling the empanadas.
Grease a large baking sheet with some nonstick cooking spray. Unfold one sheet of defrosted puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the pastry out to a 1/4-to-1/8-inch thickness.
With a pizza cutter, cut out 4 equal squares measuring 4 1/2-by-5 1/2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooled filling to the center of the square. Brush the edge of each square with some egg wash and fold to shape into triangles. Crimp the edges with a fork.
Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheet and brush them with the remaining egg wash.
Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.