Growing up in Miami, I loved Puerto Rican Empanadas. Similar to turnovers, empanadas are filled with savory or sweet ingredients. This recipe is for the classic beef and potato. Some of my other favorite flavor varieties are: chicken, cheese and pizza.
Empanadillas vs Pastelillos
Regionally on the island, Puerto Rican Empanadas are known as empanadillas or pastelillos. While this topic usually follows with an intense debate, for the purpose of this blog post, I’ll say all names are right. Consider me peace maker😊.
Beef Filling
The first step in Puerto Rican Empanadas is creating the beef filling’s flavor profile; and with almost every Puerto Rican dish, this recipe starts with sofrito! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it forever – sofrito is king. When made from scratch, with fresh herbs and spices, sofrito truly enhances any dish.
Here’s my sofrito recipe: http://nataknowsbest.com/puerto-rican-sofrito/
First saute sofrito with tomato sauce and olive oil. Then add the ground beef. It’s important to use lean ground beef in this recipe, because if the filling contains too much grease it can cause the empanadas to burst when frying.
A drier filling is crucial for a perfect empanada seam.
Next, as the beef renders begin to season the filling with hearty spices. My favorite spices, that compliment the sofrito are: ground cumin, dried oregano, adobo, sazon, and red pepper flakes. Once the meat is brown and crumbled, I add in the small diced white potatoes and cover with a lid. Since they’re diced small, the remaining liquid from the beef will quickly steam the potatoes until tender.
Empanada Assembly
First and most important step in assembling empanadas is preparing the dough. This Puerto Rican empanada recipe is a quick version, so I used frozen empanada discs from the brand Goya. I prefer my dough with some color, so I use discos with achiote.
Nata Tip: Defrost frozen empanada dough for 2-3 hours in a cool refrigerated area.
Once the dough is 90 percent defrosted and not too soft, roll the dough discs flat on a floured surface. For a crisper, flakier dough, roll the discs thin. This promotes more filling too, and who doesn’t love that?!
Then add the cooled filling in the center of the disc. Make sure to not overfill! A tablespoon of filling in more than sufficient. Fold the over and firmly press the edges with your thumbs. I call this the pre-seam. To ensure a true no-leak proof seam, crimp the edges with a fork.
Fry or Air-Fry
The great thing about this recipe is you can use a healthy alternative to cook the Puerto Rican Empanadas. With the rise of air-frying, these empanadas work great baked in an air fryer. For a true fried flavor and texture WITHOUT the excess oil, I opt for shallow frying a skillet. Below are the recommended cooking times based on your desired frying method.
- Deep Fried – 3 to 4 minutes in 350 degree hot vegetable oil
- Shallow/Pan Fry – 1 to 2 minutes on EACH SIDE in hot vegetable oil.
- Air Fried – 15 minutes on 350 degrees
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Puerto Rican Empanadas – Empandillas/Pastelillos
Ingredients
- 1 pound of lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup of homemade sofrito
- 1/3 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 packet of sazon con achiote
- 1 tablespoon of adobo all purpose seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 2 1/2 cups of small diced potatoes (frozen potatoes work too)
- 1 package of Goya Brand- Empanada Discos con Achiote
Instructions
- Defrost frozen empanada dough for 2-3 hours.
- On medium heat cook homemade sofrito with tomato sauce until fragrant. Then add lean ground beef.
- Crumble the meat and season with sazon, adobo, cumin, dried oregano and red pepper flakes.
- Once meat is brown add diced potatoes and allow remaining liquid to steam potatoes until tender. Cool your mixture.
- On a flat surface, sprinkle some all purpose flour and lay out your empanada dough.
- Add a tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of the dough. Fold over the dough and firmly press with your thumbs. To properly seal the seam, crimp the edges with a fork.
- In hot oil, fry the empanadas for 1 minute on each side. Let them rest on a paper-towel and enjoy!
