The Empanadas of Latin America: Recipes to Try With the Kids

Healthy Eating Habits
empanadas for national empanada day

April 8 is here, and you know what that means: it’s National Empanada Day

Historically, empanadas were brought from Spain before they spread throughout Latin America. These easy-to-make pastries were first mentioned in 1520 in a cookbook published in Catalan. 

The word ‘empanada’ is derived from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb ‘em pandar’, which means “to wrap in bread”. Today, there are a wide variety of Latin empanadas

Empanadas are a staple in South America, and you’ll find them everywhere, from local bakeries to stalls on the street. To celebrate National Empanada Day, families from all over Latin America cook and bake their favorite empanadas. We’ve provided a few recipes so you can try it with your kids!

Common Empanada Recipes in Latin America

There are different types of empanadas in Latin America, so you have a lot of choices to choose from!  We’ve compiled a list of Latin American empanada recipes below.

Beef Pastelitos

These pastries are popular in Honduras and Cuba, and they’re called “pastelitos.” They have either savory meat or sweet filling. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 cup ice water 
  • 350g ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 200g tomato sauce

Instructions: 

  1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, shortening, and water into a bowl
  2. Knead the dough and let it rest for two hours
  3. Divide the dough into 12 even parts and roll them flat
  4. Place the fillings in the middle of each pastry 
  5. Fold over and pinch the border to close the empanadas
  6. Preheat oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry with oil on medium-high heat until golden brown

Sweet Empanadas

Sweet empanadas are one of the most popular Mexican empanada recipes. These dessert delights can have fruit, jam, and cheese filling. You can add cajeta or “goat milk caramel” as your filling for an extra touch. It’s a sweet confection that will surely leave your kids hungry for more!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Mexican vanilla bean
  • 4 cups of fresh goat milk
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • Pastry dough

Instructions:

  1. Split the vanilla bean with a knife and add to the pan
  2. Add the goat milk, sugar, salt, and baking soda into the pan
  3. Heat up and stir the ingredients for 15 minutes
  4. Let it simmer and stir occasionally to avoid burning
  5. Let it rest and refrigerate for 2 hours
  6. Place the filling in the middle of the pastry dough pieces 
  7. Fold and seal the empanadas
  8. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown

Empanadas Mendocinas

These beef empanadas originated from the Mendoza region of Argentina. Here’s how to prepare them:

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup of butter 
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1lb ground beef
  • 2 sliced large white onions
  • 2 tablespoons of paprika
  • 1 tablespoon of oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, egg, butter, milk, and salt into a bowl
  2. Knead the dough and divide into eight even parts before rolling them flat
  3. Cook the ground beef and onions before adding eggs to the pan
  4. Season the beef with paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper
  5. Place filling in the middle of the small dough parts 
  6. Fold and seal the empanadas using a fork
  7. Brush egg wash over the empanadas
  8. Preheat oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 

Pastel de Queijo

Satisfy your family’s cravings with these cheese-stuffed Brazilian pastel pastries! You can make them into squares or semicircles. The original recipe for Pastel de quejio uses two tablespoons of rum or vodka. However, you can substitute the ingredient with white vinegar, especially if you’re serving the snack for your kids. The filling for these empanadas is either beef or cheese.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 lightly beaten egg
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons of white vinegar for the dough 
  • 8 ounces of mozzarella or preferred type of cheese

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, salt, water, egg, oil and vinegar into a bowl
  2. Knead the dough and divide into 12 even parts before rolling them flat
  3. Place the cheese in the middle of the dough pieces 
  4. Close and seal the borders of the empanadas with a fork
  5. Preheat oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 

Empanadas de viento

These sugar-coated empanadas hail from Ecuador and have a delicious cheese filling! Fun fact: viento means “wind”, and there’s a running joke about how these empanadas contain more air than cheese.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 ounces grated cheese
  • 1 cup of sugar for coating

Instructions:

  1. Mix your flour, salt, butter, baking powder and milk
  2. Knead the dough and let it rest
  3. Divide the dough into eight smaller parts and roll them flat
  4. Place grated cheese in the middle of each dough part 
  5. Fold and seal the empanadas with a fork
  6. Preheat oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 
  7. Coat the empanadas with sugar 

Yucca Empanadas

Otherwise called Cativías or Catibías empanadas, these tasty treats are made from yucca flour and originate from the Dominican Republic. They’re gluten-free, healthy, and delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of tapioca flour
  • 1 cup of boiled water 
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 2 cups vegetable oil
  • ½ pound/115g of minced beef
  • 1 chopped red onion
  • ½ cup of tomato sauce
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, water, salt and oil into a bowl
  2. Knead the dough divide into eight even balls before rolling them flat
  3. Cook the ground beef and onions before adding the tomato sauce
  4. Season the meat with salt and pepper
  5. Place the filling in the middle of the small dough pieces
  6. Fold and seal the empanadas with a fork
  7. Preheat oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 

Empanadas de plátanos

Popular in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, this South American empanada recipe is made from boiled plantains mashed and mixed into flour to make dough. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 plantains 
  • 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces grated mozzarella

Instructions:

  1. Boil the plantains until soft and peel off the skin after letting it rest
  2. Mash with a fork on a board and add the into a bowl
  3. Add the flour, egg, butter sugar, and vanilla extract into the bowl and set aside
  4. Knead the dough divide into eight small balls before rolling them flat
  5. Add the cheese into the middle of each pastry 
  6. Fold over and seal the borders with a fork
  7. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 

Salteña

Bolivia’s empanadas have a ‘repulgue’ or braided seam. Unlike other types of empanadas, they’re baked upright. This cooking method creates a compact seal to make the empanada’s juicy filling more delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 5 tablespoons of shortening
  • ¼ cup of sugar
  • ¾ cup of water
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 4 sliced and peeled potatoes
  • 4 cups of beef/chicken stock
  • 1 large diced onion
  • 1 pound of sliced beef chuck or shredded chicken
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ cup of water
  •  A handful of olives 

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, butter, shortening, sugar, water, egg, salt into a bowl
  2. Add the potatoes, stock, onions, beef or chicken, seasonings, olives and water
  3. Cook the ingredients and let it simmer
  4. Chill the stew and set aside
  5. Divide the dough into 12 small balls before rolling them flat
  6. Add the filling to the middle of the dough pieces
  7. Close the empanada and fold the borders tightly 
  8. Create egg wash by creacking an egg into a bowl and beat it thoroughly with a fork
  9. Add about two tablespoons of water and a pinch of salt
  10. Brush the egg wash over the empanadas
  11. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and bake for 25 minutes upright on a baking tray

Empanadas al horno

These Chilean empanadas have Pino filling: a mixture of minced meat, olives, raisins, onions, and hard-boiled egg. And it’s super easy to make!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1½ teaspoon of salt
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 12 tablespoons of shortening
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup of water 
  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • Unsalted butter
  • 3 chopped large onions
  • 2 minced garlic
  • Chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar, shortening, unsalted butter, and water into a bowl
  2. Knead the dough and set aside 
  3. Cook the beef, vegetable oil, butter, onions, garlic and seasonings in a frying pan
  4. Divide the dough into 12 smaller parts before rolling them flat
  5. Add the filling to the middle 
  6. Fold and close the empanada with fork
  7. Create an egg wash by cracking an egg into a bowl and beat it thoroughly with a fork
  8. Add about two tablespoons of water and a pinch of salt
  9. Brush the egg wash over the empanadas
  10. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and bake for 20 minutes or pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat until golden brown 

Pastelillo

Though they may sound similar, pastelillos are not the same as pastelitos. These empanadas are Puerto Rico’s version of the empanada! They are fried and have a thin, crispy dough with ground beef filling. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 2 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup of water
  • Vegetable oil 
  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • 6 large diced olives
  • 1 diced onion
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce

Instructions:

  1. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, shortening and water
  2. Knead the dough and let it rest
  3. In a pan, add and cook the beef, vegetable oil, olives, onions, garlic cloves and tomato sauce and seasonings to taste
  4. Divide your dough into 12 smaller parts and roll them flat
  5. Add the filling in the middle and close the empanada
  6. Fold over and seal borders with a fork
  7. Brush some egg wash over the empanadas
  8. Pan-fry in oil on medium-high heat till golden brown 

Empanadazo

These giant Peruvian empanadas will excite your kids when they see how big they are! These empanadas are a filling meal, so you won’t have to worry about what to cook next for your kids.

Ingredients:

  • Pastry dough
  • ½ pound ground beef
  • ½ pound onions
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ teaspoon cumin 
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • Powdered sugar
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions:

  1. Roll the pastry dough and divide into four small parts
  2. Sautee the ground beef, onions, garlic, bay leaf on a frying pan then add seasonings under medium-high heat
  3. Add the filling into the middle of each pastry
  4. Fold and seal the borders with a fork
  5. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and bake the empanadas for 25 minutes
  6. Let the empanadas rest and top off with powdered sugar

Celebrate with Latin Empanadas for National Empanada Day

National Empanada Day is your opportunity to cook delicious food and bond with friends with family! For added fun, turn your cooking session into a fun game about guessing the ingredients to help develop your kid’s learning and development skills. 

To find more fun activities related to child and toddler development, visit our blog today.

April 6, 2022