byYvette Marquezon January 24, 2018 (updated June 17, 2024)
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Empanadas, also known as hand pies, are tiny pockets made of dough, baked or fried, and stuffed with a delicious filling. These tasty Latin-American-style turnovers originated in Spain back in the 1500’s but can now be found enjoyed all over the world, from Indonesia to Italy to the U.S., with each region putting their own spin on the recipe.
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I prefer my empanadas baked, but I do like molotes fried (see recipes below). I take full advantage of their versatility when it comes to what goes inside the dough. I have made empanadas with sweet fruit preserves, savory roasted green chiles, and spicy chorizo. Empanadas are even great as leftovers as they can be conveniently and individually wrapped and frozen for months.
Feeling inspired to make one of these tiny irresistible treats? Keep reading on for a list of some of my favorite empanada recipes – there’s one for every occasion. So if you’re looking for big flavor without the fuss then look no further. One tip though…better make plenty, as your empanadas will disappear fast.
Table of Contents
Sweet Empanadas
Pumpkin Empanadas Recipe
4.44 (62 ratings)
This dough is a classic family recipe used by my grandmother, my mother and now my sister and I. We love this dough because it makes just enough to bake two dozen sweet empanadas. A sweet pastry pocket filled with pumpkin. These sweet treats are perfect with a cup of Mexican coffee before breakfast or after dinner. Our children love them because they are small enough and sweet enough to call dessert.
Baked Pineapple Empanadas (Mexican Empanadas de Piña)
4.64 (11 ratings)
Sweet, tart and perfectly spiced, my delicious Pineapple Empanadas recipe is a family favorite all year long. With a gorgeously golden and flaky homemade pastry crust and deeply flavorful fruit filling, you'd never guess these from-scratch dessert empanadas are made with just 11 ingredients and 25 minutes of prep work.
These flaky pastry empanadas are baked (not fried) and filled with tart warm apples, with a coating of sugar and cinnamon that lends an irresistible crunch to the crust. Such a great alternative to apple pie!
Delicious sweet cherry pies you can hold in your hand – what could be better? That's right – we are talking about Cherry Empanadas. There’s nothing quite like a good cherry pie—and these cherry hand pies are perfect for novice and seasoned bakers.
Membrillo is delicious on its own, or paired with cheese, but even yummier when you take the time to encase it in a lightly sweet and flaky empanada. Floral quince makes a lovely deep orange filling for these little hand pies.
If you’re looking for a fun and festive addition to your holiday dessert table, you need to try this recipe for Empanadas de Camote. These sweet potato hand pies are warmly spiced and encased in a deliciously flaky dough, perfect for ending any fall or winter meal. As a bonus, there’s no need to deal with the fuss of slicing and serving a whole pie!
My friends over at Melissa’s Produce sent me guavas and cinnamon for our Friendsgiving Tamalada and since I had some leftover we decided to make empanadas filled with homemade guava preserves.
For this dessert empanada recipe, I simmered the persimmons in canela and piloncillo similar to the way we make fresh homemade pumpkin purée and these tomato empanadas. The delicious combination with persimmons was an explosion of fall and winter holiday flavors all in one delicious bite.
These clever heart-shaped empanadas are filled with strawberries slowly simmered in piloncillo. The preserves are sweet but not overly sweet making these flaky baked empanadas delicious and comforting.
These empanadas taste like winter with a hint of summer and remind me of a peach pie or peach cobbler. Trying to make this more of a summer treat we added a scoop of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with a pinch of ground cinnamon. The sweetness of the peaches wrapped in a light pastry and topped with cold creamy ice cream is my idea of a perfectly sized rustic classic great any time of year.
The key ingredient in this delicious empanada dough recipe is beer. It’s tender and flaky, but not overly flaky and combined with roasted green chiles and cheese making these empanadas heavenly.
These empanadas are made with Marcela Valladolid Beef Flank Steak for Arrachera, which is a thinly cut flank steak rubbed with a bright blend of lemon, lime, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
Chorizo and Black Bean Empanadas with Grilled Corn Salsa
5 (1 rating)
These empanadas are savory filled with a mixture of chorizo, refried black beans, and colorful bell peppers. As if that weren’t enough deliciousness, the mixture is topped with gooey Oaxaca cheese—a mild, white melting cheese. Slightly spicy, these empanadas are sure to be a hit!
Molotes (the food) are a common street food, found in Oaxaca during Easter and Christmas time. They are made with a disk of fresh masa then usually filled with a chorizo and potato filling, fried, then topped with salsa, crema, queso fresco, and garnished with sliced radishes. Molotes make the perfect party appetizer or main dish as they can be made ahead of time and frozen up to one month prior to frying.
Molotes (Masa Empanadas) filled with Mushrooms, Roasted Green Chiles, and Cheese
4.50 (4 ratings)
Molotes are basically empanadas made with a disk of fresh masa then filled with your filling of choice. These molotes are little savory pockets filled with an earthy and spicy filling of sautéed mushrooms, roasted green chiles, and Oaxaca cheese. They taste great as is, but also taste fantastic drizzled with crema Mexicana, red chile sauce, or your choice of salsa. Molotes can be filled with any zesty filling you can think of. Authentic molotes are fried, but I baked them for a healthier alternative and then wrapped these mouth-watering hand pies in parchment paper for easy grabbing.
Think of this empanadas filling as veal “a la Mexicana”. After preparing the veal I added the cochinita pibil to our molotes recipe, which is a common street food, found in Oaxaca.
Yvette Marquezis an Emmy-winning producer and writer, award-winning food blogger, and author of Muy Bueno,Latin Twist, and Muy Bueno Fiestas. She is a second-generation Mexican-American, born and raised in El Paso, Texas and currently lives in Colorado. She has been sharing cherished family Mexican recipes since 2010. Her blog is the perfect destination for anyone looking to embrace their culture through food, fiestas, and family life. Yvette has been featured in several prominent publications, websites, radio, and TV. Follow her at: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / YouTube
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4 Comments on “Sweet, Savory, and Spicy Empanadas”
Henry Killingsworth —
I like how you explained that empanadas have a lot of versatility when it comes to putting things inside of the dough. My sister and her husband are wanting to start a breakfast restaurant in the small town they live in. It seems like empanadas could be a good food item to include on their menu. https://interstatecaterers.com/empanadas-wholesale
Patricia —
Everything looks so yummy!
Vangiet.v. —
I love empanadas and making all these different fillings is so much fun. Never gets boring. Love all of them
Maryann dittlinger —
Just over the xmas season, in thinking no way to baking. Then I see your recipes, and I’m in love with baking. Girst thing on 01/27/18 , I start baking with joy and happiness. Thank you.
4 Comments on “Sweet, Savory, and Spicy Empanadas”
I like how you explained that empanadas have a lot of versatility when it comes to putting things inside of the dough. My sister and her husband are wanting to start a breakfast restaurant in the small town they live in. It seems like empanadas could be a good food item to include on their menu. https://interstatecaterers.com/empanadas-wholesale
Everything looks so yummy!
I love empanadas and making all these different fillings is so much fun. Never gets boring. Love all of them
Just over the xmas season, in thinking no way to baking. Then I see your recipes, and I’m in love with baking. Girst thing on 01/27/18 , I start baking with joy and happiness. Thank you.