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Chicken Empanadas

This savory meat-filled pastry is a perfect hors d’oeuvre but can be made a little larger to be served with a salad as a luncheon or appetizers and yet even larger as an entrée or to be shared.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Appetizer
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • Pie Crust (store bought or prepared separately)

Filling

  • ¼ cup Olive OIl
  • 1 Finely Diced Onion
  • ½ tbsp Onion Powder
  • ½ tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 2 Very Finely Diced Chicken Breasts (or 1 lb ground chicken - or 1 lb chopped meat if making beef empanadas)
  • ¼ cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro
  • 2 tbsp Lime Juice
  • 2 tbsp Hot Sauce
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Crushed Black Pepper
  • ¼ cup Finely Chopped Almonds (optional for chicken filling)
  • ¼ cup Chopped Green Olives (optional for beef filling)

Instructions
 

Pie Crust

  • Roll pastry dough to ¼" thick and with a biscuit cutter cut into 2½" circles (or larger depending upon your needs and usage). Lightly flour dough as you go along and make a stack or two of the mini pie circles.

Filling

  • Sauté Olive Oil, Onion, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Cumin approximately 3 minutes.
  • Add Chicken (or beef) and cook until meat is cooked through.
  • Let cool and then add Mayonnaise, Cilantro, Lime Juice, Hot Sauce, Salt, Black Pepper and any additional options.

Assemble

  • Take a dough circle and lightly brush with water.
  • Place a teaspoon of desired filling in center of dough and fold over to make a mini pie. Fork crimp the edges to close and secure filling stays intact. If not frying or baking immediately, place on lined sheet pan and freeze. When frozen, place empanadas in zip lock bags for future use. When ready to use bake or fry from frozen.

Cook

  • Frying: Place empanadas in medium hot oil and fry approximately 1-2 minutes and turn for another minute or until golden brown (if frozen cook time will be an additional minute or so). Let drain and serve.
  • Baking: Place empanadas on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake in 350℉ oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

These delicious pastry pies can also be made sweet with any variety of fruit and/or preserve filling and dusted with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Keyword Chicken, Empanadas