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Vegetarian Empanadas are loaded with a colorful array of vegetables, including sweet corn, red and green bell peppers, protein-packed beans, and aromatic spices, all wrapped in an irresistible flaky, golden-brown crust!
While these savory hand pies can be enjoyed as hand-held snacks or appetizers alongside a creamy avocado cashew dip, they also make a hearty lunch.
Pair the empanadas with a serving of Cilantro Lime Rice, Mexican Cabbage Slaw, Mexican Street Corn Salad, or a light crispy salad, for an easy family dinner.
With a simple empanada dough, a no-fuss filling, and a speedy cooking process, you will be enjoying these mouth-watering Vegetarian Empanadas in no time.
These Vegetarian Empanadas have quickly become one of our favorite Mexican Recipes, and a nice addition to my Chicken Empanadas and Potato Chorizo Empanadas.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget Friendly. Vegetarian Empanadas offer a budget-friendly meal option that’s wholesome and loaded with mouth-watering flavors, textures, and spices.
- Hand Held. The empanadas are tasty savory hand pies that can be a meal or snack that can easily be packed and taken with you to work, on road trips, or as a delicious addition to the kids’ lunch boxes!
- Versatile. It’s easy to make and super versatile – simply adapt the filling ingredients to suit your preferences.
- Baked or Fried. There’s more than one way to cook your Mexican empanadas, which is excellent news if you prefer baking instead of frying.
- Make Ahead. Both the dough and the filling can be made in advance, saving you time and effort when you need to fry up a batch.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Instructions. This Empanada recipe includes easy step-by-step instructions with photos for making both the empanada dough from scratch, as well as the vegetarian filling.
- Pantry Ingredients. Most of the ingredients used in this recipe are likely to already be in your pantry. If not, they are readily accessible in your local grocery store.
- Recipe Tips. Furthermore, I’ve included helpful recipe tips and tricks to make your cooking experience stress-free and enjoyable.
- Tried and True. I’ve been making empanadas with various types of fillings for the family for years, which means that you can trust that I’m guiding you from tried and true techniques and processes.
- Variations Included. Recipe variations have also been included, so you can occasionally mix things up or make an assortment of empanadas to keep things interesting.
How To Make Vegetarian Empanadas
Equipment
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Ingredient Notes
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Empanada dough – This dough is super simple to make. You can use refrigerated pie crust dough, canned biscuit dough, or crescent roll dough if you don’t want to make the dough from scratch.
- Extra virgin olive oil – To be used in the filling for additional moisture. It has a delicate flavor without overpowering any of the other filling ingredients.
- Seasoning. Onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and ground cumin – These spices are responsible for the bursts of flavor in the empanada filling!
- Kidney beans – Beans provide an excellent source of protein in this recipe. If you’re not fond of kidney beans, Garbanzo chickpeas or Cannellini beans would also work well.
- Red and green bell peppers – You can opt to use only one color bell pepper or an assortment.
- Sweet corn – Canned, frozen or fresh corn will also work in your empanada filling.
- Tomato purée – Sometimes referred to as tomato paste. It’s a great addition to most pie fillings. It provides a depth of flavor and moisture to the filling without it becoming runny.
- Sea salt and black pepper – just enough to taste. I prefer using sea salt over table salt as it contains less iodine.
- Oil to fry – I used Sunflower oil, but you could also use Canola oil – both have a high smoke point which is ideal for deep frying purposes.
- Cashew avocado dip – While I love this dip with these vegetarian empanadas, feel free to use another type of dip or sauce.
Easy Instructions With Photos
- Make the dough.
- For detailed instructions on making the empanada dough, visit Potato and Chorizo Empanadas, for step by step instructions with the step by step photos.
- Make the filling.
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat with oil. Add onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, kidney beans, bell pepper, sweet corn and tomato purée.
- Stir all together with a wooden spoon and cook for about 2 minutes. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool down completely.
- Make the empanadas.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle some flour also on the dough. Roll to ¼" thick.
- Use a 3.5" round cookie cutter to cut the shape.
- Reroll scraps to cut more rounds. You will get 20-23 rounds.
- Divide the filling equally and place in the middle of each round. Fold dough in half over the fillings then use a fork to seal edges together.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat with enough oil to cover the empanadas halfway when frying. The oil must be hot before placing empanadas in it. Place aout 5 empanadas in the pan by leaving a bit of space in between. Fry each side until nicely golden brown. Remove and place on an absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess of oil. Repeat until no more uncooked empanadas left.
- Make The Avocado Cashew Sauce
- In a high speed blender, add cashew butter, avocado and lemon juice. Blend to combine.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice if you prefer.
- Serve the empanadas with the avocado sauce.
Pro Recipe Tips
Empanada Dough Tips
- For A Flaky Crust. Since it’s easy to overdevelop the wheat gluten in this dough (a similar problem with pie crust), I recommend pulsing part of the flour with the butter to keep the gluten development at bay. If gluten is overdeveloped, you lose that light and flaky element to your cooked dough, which is what it’s all about!
- Refrigerate. Don’t skip the refrigeration of your dough! It assists with producing a flaky crust.
- Unrolling Dough. The chilled dough can sometimes be tricky to roll out. A way around this is to roll the dough out on a piece of parchment paper, then roll it up in the parchment paper. After that’s done, wrap the dough tightly in saran wrap to store in the refrigerator for an hour. When you unroll the dough, it may break a little. If it does, just gently press it back together.
- Shortcut Option. If you don’t want to make this empanada dough, feel free to use refrigerated pie crust dough or crescent roll dough. The end result will be somewhat different from mine, but I can guarantee you that it’ll still taste great.
Vegetarian Empanada Recipe Tips
- Cool The Filling. Make sure that your empanada filling is completely cooled before you assemble your empanadas. Otherwise, you could melt the butter in your dough. Furthermore, it’s much easier to handle a firm empanada than one that’s soft because of being heated by warm filling.
- Don’t Overfill. Be careful not to overfill your empanadas when assembling, as this can result in the dough bursting or cracking open while frying.
- To prevent this from happening, divide the filling equally between all the empanadas and ensure that you place the filling right in the center in a half-circle mound.
- Seal The Edges. Double-check that you have sealed the outer edges of your dough when assembling the empanadas for frying. I use a fork to seal the edges, but you could add an egg wash on the inside of the advantages as glue as well.
- Make Ahead. You can reduce the overall recipe time by making both your empanada dough and filling in advance!
Recipe Variations
It is easy to change up the empanada filling to your taste preferences. Below are a few ideas of how you could vary this recipe:
- Versatile Filling. Use different vegetables to create your filling, such as broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, chives, carrots, or peas.
- Colorful Add-Ins. You don’t have to stick to one color of bell peppers. Go ahead and use a variety or a specific type other than what I’ve listed in this recipe.
- Vary The Beans. While I enjoy kidney beans in these empanadas, you could also use black beans or pinto beans instead.
- Vary The Cheeses. Add your favorite shredded cheese, like pepper jack cheese, to the filling! It’ll add some gooey cheesiness when you bite into your empanadas.
What To Serve With These Savory Hand Pies
The great thing about empanadas is that they can easily be enjoyed as a main or an appetizer. Whether you’re looking to bulk up this snack or meal or simply feel like adding a delicious side dish, consider these options:
- Easy Homemade Mexican Rice
- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail – Perfect for an appetizer party.
- Cilantro Lime Guacamole
- Best Skillet Queso
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I Bake These Vegetarian Empanadas Instead?
- Absolutely! When assembling your empanadas you'll need to egg wash the folded dough to give them that beautiful golden-brown crust.
- Once assembled and egg washed, bake your empanadas at 400℉ for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
How Can I Make These Empanadas Vegan-Friendly?
- To make the empanadas vegan-friendly, use soy milk instead of egg for the eggwash.
Can I Make Vegetarian Empanadas In Advance?
- Yes. The filling can be refrigerated overnight in an airtight container. You can also make the dough ahead of time, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then store it in the refrigerator the day before assembling.
Can I Use Premade Store-Bought Empanada Dough?
- Yes! Pie crust or pizza dough also works perfectly well if you don’t want to make the dough yourself. You can also bake the empanadas using these two alternative dough options.
How To Store Leftovers
- Store any leftover Vegetarian Empanadas in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also wrap your empanadas in foil.
How To Reheat Leftovers
- To reheat, pop your empanadas into an air fryer for a few minutes. I usually find that this is the best way to achieve a crispy exterior. It warms the empanadas up much faster than an oven does.
How To Freeze Vegetarian Empanadas
- I recommend freezing only uncooked empanadas. To do so, add them to the refrigerator for 1 hour and then transfer them to the freezer in an airtight container.
- You won’t need to defrost your empanadas before frying them, but it may add a few minutes to the overall frying time.
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Recipe
Ingredients
Empanada Dough Ingredients
- 1 recipe Empanada Dough (doubled) (use refrigerated pie crust dough or crescent roll dough.)
Vegetarian Empanada Filling
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 cup (150 g) kidney beans washed and drained
- 1/4 cup (50 g) red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 cup (50 g) green bell pepper diced
- ¼ cup (50 g) sweet corn washed and drained
- 3 tablespoons tomato purée
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- Oil to fry I used sunflower oil
Avocado Cashew Dip
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Sea Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make The Empanada Dough
- To make the empanada dough, follow the How To Make Empanada Dough Instructions in my Potato and Chorizo Empanadas. (See link in the ingredient list above as well as in the notes below.) Another option is to use refrigerated pie crust dough or crescent roll dough.
Make The Filling
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat with oil. Add onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, kidney beans, bell pepper, sweet corn and tomato purée. Stir all together with a wooden spoon and cook for about 2 minutes. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool down completely.
Make The Vegetarian Empanadas
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle some flour also on the dough. Roll to ¼" thick. Use a 3.5" round cookie cutter to cut the shape. Reroll scraps to cut more rounds. You will get 20-23 rounds.
- Divide the filling equally and place it in the middle of each round. Fold dough in half over the fillings then use a fork to seal edges together.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat with enough oil to cover the empanadas halfway when frying. The oil must be hot before placing empanadas in it. Place aout 5 empanadas in the pan by leaving a bit of space in between. Fry each side until nicely golden brown. Remove and place on an absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess of oil. Repeat until no more uncooked empanadas left.
Make The Avocado Cashew Dip
- In a high speed blender, add cashew butter, avocado and lemon juice. Blend to combine. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice if you prefer.
- Serve empanadas warm with avocado cashew dip.
Video
Tried this recipe?Please Rate this Recipe!
Mairead says
These empanadas look delicious but the avocado cashew dipping sauce makes them exceptional. So tasty and delicious.
Michele says
Hi Mairead,
I’m so glad you love the avocado sauce. It certainly is a hit with our family!
Michele
Alina says
I was making sweet empanadas recently. What a great idea this is for a lunch or snack!
Michele says
Hi Alina,
Yes, it is perfect for lunch.
Michele
Jenn says
I can’t decide what I like more – the filling or the dip! These are amazing and they got gobbled up so quickly. I’m already planning my second batch!
Michele says
Hi Jenn,
The good thing is that you don’t have to decide. You can enjoy them both!
Michele
Tavo says
Yummy! I’ll definitely be making these soon! We love empanadas!
Michele says
Hi Tavo,
Wonderful, I hope you like it.
Michele
Gina says
The empanadas are delicious but REALLY love that dip! Will definitely be making that over and over!
Michele says
Hi Gina,
I’m so glad you love the dip! It is awesome.
Michele
Lea says
I want to make this recipe for a pot-luck dinner party tomorrow night but just saw the side comment from you after the cashew butter that said “soaked and drained”. I found a jar of ‘cashew butter’ but you don’t explain about having to ‘soak and drain’ it. What does that mean and how do I do it with a bottled jar of ‘cashew butter’. Will the jar of cashew butter work okay?
Michele says
Hi Lea,
Thanks for pointing that out. It removed those words to avoid confusion. If you are using already prepared cashew butter, like what you would buy at the store, then you don’t need to worry about it.
Thank you,
Michele
Linda says
Can these be baked instead of fried?