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Argentinian Beef Empanadas

A bunch of forkcrimped beef empanadas on a platter one broken in half to reveal the filling.
Alex Lau

There are as many variations of empanadas as there are cooks in Argentina (though they’re popular throughout Latin America and Spain too). This version was developed by BA’s former test kitchen manager Gaby Melian, who is from Buenos Aires and was taught as a little girl by her mother and grandmother how to make them. She prefers these baked, not fried—the store-bought empanada dough (a variety of puff pastry) ensures you’ll still get all of those flaky layers. (If you prefer fried ones, try Gaby’s Ham, Cheese, and Onion Empanadas.)

This homemade empanada recipe has “saved me so many times,” writes Gaby in her step-by-step guide. “Birthday parties? Empanadas. Somebody’s coming over? Empanadas.” Keeping some in the freezer certainly helps. They can hang out there for three months—just be sure to freeze them on a sheet tray first so they don’t stick together.

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What you’ll need

Ingredients

Makes about 36

3

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2

lb. ground beef (20% fat)

2

medium onions, chopped

2

small red bell peppers, seeded, chopped

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

3

Tbsp. ground cumin

2

Tbsp. sweet paprika

1

Tbsp. dried oregano

¼

tsp. cayenne pepper

cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth

2

tsp. sugar

½

cup raisins

3

packages (12 each) Puff Pastry Dough for Turnovers/Empanadas (preferably Goya)

½

cup pitted green olives (Picholine or Spanish), rinsed well, cut in half lengthwise, divided

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot over high. Cook 2 lb. ground beef, breaking up with a spoon, until browned but not completely cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving as much fat in pan as possible.

    Step 2

    Reduce heat to medium and cook 2 medium onions, chopped, 2 small red bell peppers, seeded, chopped, and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, stirring, until tender but not browned, 6–8 minutes; season with salt and black pepper. Add 3 Tbsp. ground cumin, 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika, 1 Tbsp. dried oregano, and ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1½ cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth and reserved beef along with any accumulated juices to pot. Stir in 2 tsp. sugar, 4 tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until most of the liquid is evaporated, 15–20 minutes; taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. Stir in ½ cup raisins. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and chill at least 3 hours.

    Do Ahead: Beef filling can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

    Step 3

    Preheat oven to 375°. Let 3 packages Puff Pastry Dough for Empanadas sit at room temperature 15 minutes to temper. Remove 6 rounds from package, keeping plastic divider underneath, and arrange on a work surface. Place 2 Tbsp. filling in the center of each round.

    Alex Lau

    Step 4

    Top with 2 olive halves. Brush water around half of outer edge of each round. 

    • Hands adding olives to beef empanada filling.
    • Hands brushing water around edge of beef empanada dough.

    Step 5

    Using plastic divider to help you, fold round over filling and pinch edges to seal. 

    • Hands folding empanada dough around a beef picadillo filling.
    • Hands using the plastic wrapper to seal empanada dough around filling.

    Step 6

    Using a fork, crimp edges. Remove plastic and transfer empanada to a parchment-lined sheet tray, spacing 1" apart. Repeat with remaining rounds (you’ll get about 12 empanadas on each tray).

    • Hands using a fork to crimp the rounded edge of a beef empanada.
    • An assembly station for beef empanadas.

    Step 7

    Bake empanadas, rotating tray halfway through, until golden brown and slightly darker around the edges, 25–35 minutes.

    Alex Lau

    Do Ahead: Unbaked empanadas can be made 3 months ahead; freeze on sheet tray, then transfer to freezer bags and keep frozen.

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Reviews (149)

Back to TopTriangle
  • I have cooked this recipe four times already. I prepare a large batch at once and freeze part of it. As soon as it runs out, the family asks for more. Incredibly delicious!

    • Tatiana

    • Kazahstan

    • 1/14/2024

  • This was delicious and is going into the rotation at our house. We made a batch and froze half of them (before baking) -- it's so easy to just pull them out of the freezer and bake for a weeknight meal.

    • Anonymous

    • New York

    • 10/22/2023

  • Ditch the raisins and the oregano, add chopped hard boiled eggs and once you assemble the empanadas paint them with stirred egg, then to the oven they go. Thats the true Empanada Argentina.

    • Anonymous

    • 6/14/2023

  • Love these! They taste so great and this is my second time making them! Honestly these taste better than majority of the empanada joints around south Florida! Wouldn’t change anything in the recipe!

    • Kayla

    • Fort Lauderdale, FL

    • 5/27/2023

  • Hate the hate u give, DNCultists. Do without the raisins. Replace it with fig.

    • Ashley Biden

    • Charlotte NC

    • 5/11/2023

  • I haven't used Goya in years for a variety of reasons. The name calling here is making me re-think if I want to belong to a group that calls a patriot like myself that loves democracy and loves their country a communist. What's wrong with you people?

    • Anonymous

    • Oreland, PA

    • 4/30/2023

  • How to bake from frozen?

    • blips

    • NC

    • 10/17/2022

  • Great recipe! Sad that Trump Derangement Syndrome even stretches to cooking websites. Can we talk about Hunter Biden's laptop?

    • Paul Pelosi

    • Atlanta, GA

    • 9/22/2022

  • This recipe is fabulous and how could you not love Gabby? I did reduce the cumin by one part, however, as it was a little over the top for our palates, and having a mild heart condition I also reduced the salt in half, using sea salt or kosher salt you really cannot tell the difference. But they are still amazing. I have not mastered the dough yet, so I use the GOYA brand "grande" rounds for frying. It's now a weekly staple in our home.

    • KimH

    • Fort Lauderdale, FL

    • 5/24/2022

  • Political sniping on a recipe review? Can we not even unite on the joy of cooking and eating?

    • Anonymous

    • Denver,CO

    • 5/7/2022

  • This recipe is the closest I have seen to the way I was taught. My late husband was raised in Argentina & this is his family’s recipe. With one exception….they added hard boiled eggs.

    • Anonymous

    • Okc ok

    • 12/12/2021

  • How do I bake the frozen empanadas?

    • Ken

    • California

    • 12/9/2021

  • Goya used to get their dough from Argentina, now the come from Uruguay. As any empanada lover will tell you, it’s the dough. Goya for baking is by far the best you can get in the US.

    • Anonymous

    • Argentina

    • 11/24/2021

  • I love Goya and Badia. Mccormick is a ripoff with inferior products. There is NO room for politics in the kitchen. Stay in your lane or move to the west coast.

    • Anonymous

    • Tampa,FL

    • 11/21/2021

  • Can't even look at recipes without you communist libtards being yourself and spreading hate. you should all be ashamed, oh wait you have no empathy and are all narcissist's you have noting in you for being ashamed..

    • tired of libtards

    • Lubbock, TX 79410

    • 11/15/2021