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Beef Empanadas served on a wooden platter with a side of green sauce or salsa verde.
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4.58 from 19 votes

Beef Empanadas

These Beef Empanadas (recipe) are so tasty, hyper yummy and very simple to make. Made with a corn masa dough and a savory beef filling. Serve with salsa verde, red guajillo sauce or simply hot sauce. Absolutely delicious!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6
Calories: 274kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ Cups vegetable oil for frying

DOUGH (MASA) FOR EMPANADAS

  • 2 Cups Maseca Corn Flour found in the Latin section of most supermarkets
  • 1 ½ Cups water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 Ziploc bag for forming empanadas

RED SAUCE FOR MEAT

  • 6 Guajillo peppers stem and seeds removed
  • 2 Arbol peppers stem and seeds removed
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 4 roma tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • water

BEEF

  • 1 Pound beef chuck or sirloin
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 onion peeled and quartered

Instructions

Cook Beef

  • Cut beef into small 2 inch cubes. Cook over medium heat with 2 cups of water, onion and garlic cloves for 1 ½ hours or until tender.

Make Sauce

  • While beef is cooking, place all chile peppers and tomatoes in a sauce pan with enough water to almost submerge (3 cups). Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat until softened.
  • Remove peppers and tomatoes from sauce pan and place in a blender with garlic, cumin blend, salt and 1 cup of the water the peppers and tomatoes were cooked in. Blend until smooth.
  • Finally strain sauce through a strainer to remove extra pepper skin and seeds. Press down with a spoon to get as much sauce as possible (could even add a little water through strainer to make it easier).
  • Add sauce to the beef (can reserve a little to use for dipping once the empanadas are done). Once beef is cooked, shred beef with a fork if needed so its not in chunks.

Make Dough

  • Mix corn flour, warm water and salt (optional) together in a bowl. Knead dough until smooth. Divide dough into 6 to 12 balls depending how big you want your empanadas to be. (form balls in between both hands).
  • Cover with a damp cloth or paper towels so the dough doesn't dry while you start to make the empanadas.

Forming Empanadas

  • Take the Ziploc bag and open sides (with scissors or just pull apart with hands) so that you have two flaps (refer to pictures).
  • Now place one ball in between the 2 pieces of plastic (could also use wax paper) and with a heavy pot, press down to form a round disc.
  • Remove top wrap and spoon 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture to the center of it. Make sure to leave enough space to be able to seal the empanada. Fold over plastic to form a half moon. Press down on the edges.
  • Remove empanada from plastic and set empanada aside on a tray. Cover with a damp cloth or paper towel. Repeat process with the other balls.

Frying Empanadas

  • Add oil to a skillet and heat until hot. Fry empanadas until golden brown on both sides. (About 2 minutes on each side).
  • Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with any hot sauce of your liking or serve with the optional sauces.  Enjoy!!

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 539mg | Potassium: 562mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1315IU | Vitamin C: 8.9mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2.4mg