Savor the irresistible allure of Puerto Rican Empanadillas, where golden flaky pastry embraces a savory symphony of seasoned meat fillings. Portable and customizable, these mouthwatering Puerto Rican beef turnovers are the perfect fusion of convenience and culinary artistry.
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What is a Puerto Rican Empanadilla?
In Puerto Rico an empanadilla (em-pa-na-dee-yahs) is the same as what other latin countries refer to as empanadas, a pastry filled with meats, vegetables or cheeses. In Puerto Rico we call these pastries empanadillas or pastelillos. To which there is much debate in the matter as they are regional names for the same thing. However, it has become popular to use the term empanada since many cuisines worldwide, including Puerto Rico, have a variation as part of their cuisines.
What is the traditional filling?
For this recipe, I use Picadillo, or ground beef, as a filling since it is the most popular meat filling in Puerto Rican Empanadillas; however, your empanadillas are blank canvases for creativity that could be filled with many other options, which I will cover below. If you would like to try other appetizer recipes, check out another popular Puerto Rican fave, Pinchos, and for seafood lovers, Ceviche. My Chicken Wing Meatballs are great mix of bold flavor and texture. All the flavor and non the mess. And who could have a gathering without libations? Both my Red Sangria and Coquito are perfect to quench the thirst of any gathering.
Reasons you will love these empanadillas
- Versatility: In addition to the meat, you can add additional ingredients such as cheese, olives, vegetables, or even a touch of sweetness with raisins or dried fruits. This versatility allows for a wide range of flavor combinations.
- Portability and Convenience: Their small size and individual portions make them easy to eat on the go or as finger food at parties, just make the tortilla smaller before stuffing. This convenience factor adds to their appeal and popularity.
- Savory Meat Filling: It usually consists of seasoned ground meat, such as beef, pork, chicken, or a combination thereof. The meat is often cooked with onions, garlic, herbs, and spices, which infuse it with rich flavors. Combining the well-seasoned beef and the pastry creates a delicious balance of tastes and textures.
Ingredients Notes
Listed below are the ingredient for the empanadilla dough. For a complete list of ingredients on the filling, please visit my post on Picadillo. However if you rather not make the dough, try Goya Empanada Discs. Just follow the directions for preparation.
- Flour: you cannot make a pastry without flour, and I used all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Lard: Lard is vital to this recipe. There are substitutions for it, but lard allows for fat pockets. These pockets will dissolve while cooking, allowing for the airy, flaky, and crispy crust we enjoy while eating empanadillas.
- Ice water: Another critical element. The ice water keeps the fat from prematurely melting during preparation, allowing it to keep its hard state longer.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions
- Fats: Consider using butter or oil instead of lard. Duck fat would work as well, especially for savory empanadas.
- Cheeses: Cheddar, gouda, swiss for savory treats. Mozzarella and pizza sauce will make for a great pizza version of this snack.
- Meats: Any meat or combination of meats will work well in empanadillas. Picadillo mixed with Chorizo, shredded chicken, ropa vieja, octopus, and even my shrimp and scallop stew would make a great fillings.
How to make Puerto Rican Empanadillas de Carne
Here are the step-by-step instructions to make the dough for empanadillas. Please visit my post for Picadillo for complete instructions and ingredients to make the meat filling. It is best if picadillo is made the day before because it will be easier to handle while making the empanadillas. If not, make sure the picadillo or meat filling is completely cool before assembly.
- Sift the Flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Cut the fat into the flour mixture with a knife, whip, pastry knife, or a food processor with a dough hook. You want it to have the consistency of peas.
- Add small increments of water until the mixture comes together into one mass.
- Knead the mixture until it forms a ball—place in a bowl and cover. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Dust the table or work surface with flour. Lightly cover the dough with flour and begin to roll dough into a log, about 2 inches in diameter.
- Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces. If the ends of the roll are tapered, you may cut those larger than 1 inch.
- Roll the dough pieces into small discs using a rolling pin or tortilla maker lined with parchment paper. Avoid making them too thin, or they will rip during assembly. As you make your disks, layer them with parchment paper and place them in a baking pan. Once you have finished making all the discs, place the discs in the refrigerator for a few minutes to keep the fat from melting prematurely.
- While the disc chill for a bit, make an egg wash of one part egg and one part water.
- Place a portion of picadillo or meat filling on the bottom half of the disc. Leave a margin at the bottom half of the empanadilla for the top half to make the joint. Using your fingers or a brush, brush egg wash on the edge of the disc.
- Fold the empanadilla and crimp using a fork. You may use an empanada press. When using a fork, move the fork tines along the edge of the empanadilla and equally space the crimps.
- Deep fry or bake your empanadillas to a golden brown. For Deep frying: Use a cooking alarm to maintain the temperature of the oil and a deep frying pan. Bring the oil to a temperature of 350℉. Once the temperature is reached, add a few empanadillas to the oil one at a time. Be careful not to crowd the empanadillas in the oil. Cook until golden in one side and then flip to the other side. Once the empanadillas are nice and golden, remove them from oil and place them on a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- For Baking the empanadillas, Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the empanadillas 1 inch apart in all directions. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Expert Tips
- Immersion Thermometer: If you have a small kitchen as I do, you might not have room for the plethora of gadgets and equipment available in the market. An immersion thermometer will help you to deep-fry any item in a sauce or frying pan. It will also help you keep the temperature in roasts in the oven. I trust my Thermoworks Chef alarm for these tasks.
- When frying in a saucepan or frying pan. Do not fill the oil to the top. The oil will rise, expand, and bubble once you add the item you are frying. As the temperature of the oil levels off from the offset of adding the product you are cooking, the oil will return to its original level. Overflowing hot oil could cause a fire or bodily injuries if not handled appropriately. Always be careful when frying, even if using a small deep fryer.
- Make your discs or assemble empanadillas the day before, if possible. Layer the discs with parchment paper and allow them to rest covered in an airtight bag in the refrigerator.
- Before using, let them come to room temperature slightly before assembly. For already assembled empanadillas, they could be fried or baked while cold.
- Freezing discs: Frozen discs can last up to 3 months in the freezer in an airtight bag. If you already have the empanadilla discs in a ziplock bag, you may freeze them after refrigerating them for about 2-3 hours. Refrigerating them before freezer eliminates ice crystals from forming.
Recipe FAQs
The recipe above is for a basic dough. If you do not want to make your dough, you might want to explore biscuit dough, like Pillsbury Grands Flaky Biscuit dough, which makes for a more bread-like empanadilla. These could be baked in a muffin tin for a stuffed biscuit. Pizza dough from your local pizzeria or grocery store. You can roll the dough and cut it down into the desired shape. After all, Calzones are the biggest empanadillas I know 😉
Considering that almost all Latin American countries or countries colonized by Spain have a version of empanadillas in their cuisines, I would say empanadillas come from Spain. El Sur has a detail post on the origins of this delicious pastry. However, each country has their unique flavor profile and fillings as well as name for these treats. In Puerto Rico alone we call these pastries by either pastelillos or empanadillas (depending on the region). Other countries call these beef turnovers empanadas.
Hands down, homemade dough is not difficult to make. However, the store-bought dough is quite convenient. I have used Goya Empanada Discs and have made a great empanadilla. Just follow the instructions in the packaging for the best results. some problem with store-bought dough is broken discs and freezer burn. However, they are convenient and easy to use. If your discs are broken, once the discs come to room temperature, combine the pieces into a ball and roll it with the rolling pin.
I personally do not "dip" my empanadillas but if you would like to dip it into something consider:
MayoKetchup: If you are from Puerto Rico you know MayoKetchup goes with everything. A combination of Mayonnaise and Ketchup that is also sold bottled on the island.
Chimichurri Sauce: Chimichurri is like a pesto, made with parsley, garlic, chilis, and spices with oil and vinegar.
Aji-li-mojili: Aji-li-mojili is a garlic-based dipping sauce used with pork in Puerto Rico. I love garlic so much that I would put it on anything.
Some countries will add potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and raisins to their picadillo filling for empanadillas. I have tasted empanadas with spices like chilis, cumin, paprika, and sometimes cinnamon. Again, it depends on the region and culture. Please feel free to add any of these ingredients to your empanadillas.
More Puerto Rican Inspirations
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📖 Recipe
Puerto Rican Empanadillas
Equipment
- Thermoworks Chef Alarm
- Deep Frying Pan
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing Bowl
- Paper Towels to absorb excess oil
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon of table salt
- 2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 6 tablespoon of vegetable shortening chilled
- ½ cup of chilled water
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 1 tablespoon water
To Fry Empanadas:
- 1 part Frying oil peanut, corn or vegetable. enough to cover the empanadillas
Instructions
- Sift the Flour, salt, and baking powder.2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon of table salt, 2 teaspoon of baking powder
- Cut the fat into the flour mixture with a knife, whip, pastry knife, or a food processor with a dough hook. You want it to have the consistency of peas.6 tablespoon of vegetable shortening, ½ cup of chilled water
- Add small increments of water until the mixture comes together into one mass.
- Knead the mixture until it forms a ball—place in a bowl and cover. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Dust the table or work surface with flour. Lightly cover the dough with flour and begin to roll dough into a log, about 2 inches in diameter.
- Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces. If the ends of the roll are tapered, you may cut those larger than 1 inch.
- Roll the dough pieces into small discs using a rolling pin or tortilla maker lined with parchment paper. Avoid making them too thin, or they will rip during assembly. As you make your disks, layer them with parchment paper and place them in a baking pan. Once you have finished making all the discs, place the discs in the refrigerator for a few minutes to keep the fat from melting prematurely.
- While the disc chill for a bit, make an egg wash of one part egg and one part water.1 egg, 1 tablespoon water
- Place a portion of picadillo or meat filling on the bottom half of the disc. Leave a margin at the bottom half of the empanadilla for the top half to make the joint. Using your fingers or a brush, brush egg wash on the edge of the disc.
- Fold the empanadilla and crimp using a fork. You may use an empanada press. When using a fork, move the fork tines along the edge of the empanadilla and equally space the crimps.
- Deep fry or bake your empanadillas to a golden brown. For Deep frying: Use a cooking alarm to maintain the temperature of the oil and a deep frying pan. Bring the oil to a temperature of 350℉. Once the temperature is reached, add a few empanadillas to the oil one at a time. Be careful not to crowd the empanadillas in the oil. Cook until golden in one side and then flip to the other side. Once the empanadillas are nice and golden, remove them from oil and place them on a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.For Baking the empanadillas, Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the empanadillas 1 inch apart in all directions. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
-
- Immersion Thermometer: If you have a small kitchen as I do, you might not have room for the plethora of gadgets and equipment available in the market. An immersion thermometer will help you to deep-fry any item in a sauce or frying pan. It will also help you keep the temperature in roasts in the oven. I trust my Thermoworks Chef alarm for these tasks.
-
- When frying in a saucepan or frying pan. Do not fill the oil to the top. The oil will rise, expand, and bubble once you add the item you are frying. As the temperature of the oil levels off from the offset of adding the product you are cooking, the oil will return to its original level. Overflowing hot oil could cause a fire or bodily injuries if not handled appropriately. Always be careful when frying, even if using a small deep fryer.
-
- Make your discs or assemble empanadillas the day before, if possible. Layer the discs with parchment paper and allow them to rest covered in an airtight bag in the refrigerator.
-
- Before using, let them come to room temperature slightly before assembly. For already assembled empanadillas, they could be fried or baked while cold.
-
- Make your discs or assemble empanadillas the day before, if possible. Layer the discs with parchment paper and allow them to rest covered in an airtight bag in the refrigerator.
-
- Frozen discs can last up to 3 months in the freezer in an airtight bag. If you already have the empanadilla discs in a ziplock bag, you may freeze them after refrigerating them for about 2-3 hours. Refrigerating them before freezer eliminates ice crystals from forming.
