Colombian Empanadas are a popular snack or appetizer in Colombia and are served by most Colombian restaurants in the United States with ají sauce.
Empanadas are popular in Spain and Latin America. Every country has an empanada recipe and even in Colombia we have different versions depending on the region and the cook.
Serving Suggestions
These empanadas are usually serve with Colombian ají sauce and lime wedges on the side. You can serve them as an appetizer, snack or as a meal with a salad on the side.
What are Colombian Empanadas Made of?
Traditionally, these fritters are made with precooked corn flour and filled with meat, potatoes, vegetables and spices. Some people use shredded pork and beef to make their empanadas, but in my family we always make them with ground meat.
Ingredients to Make the Filling
You will find the printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions below.
Vegetables: Potatoes, white onions, scallions, red bell pepper, tomato and garlic.
Spices: Sazón with azafran, chicken or vegetable bouillon, salt and black pepper.
Oil: Olive oil
Herbs: Fresh cilantro or parsley.
Meat: Ground pork and beef.
Ingredients for the Dough
Masarepa: Yellow precooked cornmeal.
Water: Lukewarm
Oil: I recommend using vegetable or canola oil.
Spices: Sazon with azafran and salt.
How Can I Make Meatless Colombian Empanadas?
In Colombia, empanadas are also sold outside of the churches. Those are usually very small and just have a potato filling, a great alternative for vegetarians and absolutely delicious. They are known as "empanaditas de iglesia".
For the vegetarian version of these empanadas, follow all the ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below. Just omitting the beef and pork.
How to Make Colombian Empanadas
To make the dough, place the masarepa in a large bowl. Add the sazón and salt, and stir to mix well. Add the water and oil and mix to form dough. Pat the dough into a ball and knead for 2 minutes or until smooth. Cover with plastic and set aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling.
To make the filling, place the potatoes in a pot with water and the bouillon tablet for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and gently mash the potatoes. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, green onions, garlic, bell pepper, cilantro, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes.
Add the ground pork and beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is fairly dry.
Transfer the meat mixture to the mashed potatoes bowl and mix well to combine.
To assemble the empanadas, break small portions of the dough, about 1 ½ tablespoons each one, and form each portion into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands.
Place the balls of dough between two pieces of plastic and roll each out very thinly to form a circle. Remove the top plastic and place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each.
Then using the plastic underneath, fold the dough over to enclose the filling, forming a half circle. Tightly seal the edges by crimping with the tines of a fork.
Fill a large pot with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat to 360° F.
Carefully place 3 or 4 empanadas at the time in the heated oil and fry for about 2 minutes until golden on all sides. Using a slotted spoon transfer the empanadas to a plate lined with paper towels.
How to Store
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, place them on a baking sheet and spray with cooking oil. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes or until they are warm and crispy. You can reheat them in the microwave, but the dough will be softer.
You can freeze these empanadas before frying. After filling them and pressing the edges together, transfer them to a lined sheet pan and freeze them until solid. Transfer the frozen empanadas to a freezer-safe container or bag and store them for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge before frying them.
Cooking Notes and Tips
*You can make smaller empanadas for a party or make them bigger if you prefer, just double the recipe.
*Yo can make the empanadas filling one day ahead, store in the fridge until ready to use.
*For the vegetarian version of this Colombian Empanadas recipe, follow all the instructions and just omitting the beef and pork.
*Colombian empanadas are traditionally served with aji colombiano.
Depending on how much your vegetables cook down and the size you cut them, you may have a little leftover filling. The leftover filling makes an excellent quesadilla or taco filling.
You can also freeze the filling for up to 3 months when the cravings strike for a quick and easy batch of empanadas.
More Traditional Colombian Recipes to Try:
Arroz con Pollo (Rice with Chicken)
Ajiaco Santafereño (Colombian Ajiaco)
Tamales Colombianos (Colombian Tamales)
Bistec a la Criolla (Steak with Creole Sauce)
Colombian Empanadas Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Lime and ají for serving
Dough
- 1 ½ cups precooked yellow cornmeal masarepa
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ tablespoon sazon Goya with azafran
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Filling
- 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
- 1 chicken or vegetable bouillon tablet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped white onions
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 1 chopped garlic clove
- 2 tablespoon chopped red bell pepper
- ½ pound ground pork and beef
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sazón with azafran
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Place the masarepa in a large bowl. Add the sazon Goya and salt and stir to mix well. Add the water and oil and mix to form dough. Pat the dough into a ball and knead for 2 minutes or until smooth. Cover with plastic and set aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling.
Filling
- Cook the potatoes in a pot with water and the bouillon tablet for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and gently mash the potatoes. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, green onions, garlic, bell pepper, cilantro, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes.
- Add the ground pork and beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is fairly dry.
- Transfer the meat mixture to the mashed potatoes bowl and mix well to combine.
- Break small portions of the dough, about 1 ½ tablespoons each one, and form each portion into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands.
- Place the balls of dough between two pieces of plastic and roll each out very thinly to form a circle. Remove the top plastic and place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each.
- Then using the plastic underneath, fold the dough over to enclose the filling, forming a half circle. Tightly seal the edges by crimping with the tines of a fork.
- Fill a large pot with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat to 360° F.
- Carefully place 3 or 4 empanadas at the time in the heated oil and fry for about 2 minutes until golden on all sides.
- Using a slotted spoon transfer the empanadas to a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with ají and lime on the side.
Bev Pimienta
THANK YOU!!! My husbands birthday is in February and so we celebrate the entire month & call it festival de santiago:) in honor of him. I love doing it for him and This year i came across your website and have made so many of your recipes!!! He was born in medellin and has wonderful memories of the food from growing up there and you have helped me bring a little of colombia to him!! You're an amazing cook and every recipe i have tried has turned out better than i imagined!!! THANK YOU!!!
Dante
Just discovered this site. Are you on Facebook or twitter? Lived in Bogota for a few years and really miss it!! It's nice to follow these recipes and pretend I am back in Bogota!!
Erica Dinho
https://www.facebook.com/mycolombianrecipes
https://twitter.com/colombianrecipe
Esther Scott
Felicitaciones, muy buena tu receta. Sabrias decirme por favor si habria una manera de cocinar las empanadas en minimo aceite? A veces yo las cocino a la parrilla, pero toman mucho mas tiempo. Otra sugerencia? Mil gracias, Esther
Mayuli
Me encanta esta receta ya la he hecho varias veces y a todo el mundo le encanta
Tengo una pregunta hay alguna recomendación para hacerlas al horno? O para recalentarlas una vez freídas sin que dejen de ser crocantes?
Erica Dinho
Voy a tratar una receta para hacerlas en el horno y les cuento.
Mayuli
Como te fue con las empanadas en el horno?
Carol
Erica,
This recipe is so fabulous that a friend has asked me to make 300 for a party. Worried about keeping warm. Any suggestions? Thanks for sharing!
Carol
ana
My boyfriend is colombian and i have been cooking a lot of your recipes. He rreally loves it. Ty for the site.
Helene
Thank you SO much for sharing this recipe. I had these for the first time at a friend's home. I have been craving them ever since. Unfortunately, the Colombian restaurants that I have been to do not seem to make them from scratch. These are so much better and they hit the spot. Thank you again.
JP
Erica, by the way, if you are interested in Argentine recipes, I'll be more than glad to share them with you. So far, I've learned to make pies, empanadas, pizzas, pastas, and lots of desserts!! (they have a great variety of combinations such as beef, ham & cheese, chicken, veggies, cheeses... and the list goes on and on!! 🙂
JP
Hi Erica,
I found your website and loved it! I will definitely try your recipes (particularly to make bandeja paisa, empanadas, aji, arequipe, pandebonos and pandequesos).... at least for now. I am originally from Colombia too, lived in the USA most of my life from the age of 12, and I am temporarily living in Argentina with my husband and kids. So, as you can imagine, I am trying to learn lots of Colombian and Argentine recipes to delight my kids and hubby with great food.
Thanks again for sharing!! 🙂
katie
Do you have a salsa verde dipping sauce to go along with these?
Erica Dinho
https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/colombian-hot-sauce-aji-picante/
Nina
I can't found masarepa here, but there are a lot of cornmeal. Would you be so kindly to tell me how do I make masarepa from cornmeal? Thanks.
Ashely Carlos
Can you use white masarepa?
Erica Dinho
Yes, but you should add some achiote to add color to the masa.
Lorena
Can we freeze Colombian Empanadas???
Freddy Vasquez
There is a trick we use. We use plastic sheets where we make the "tortilla". Then put the filling in the middle of the tortilla and fold with the plastic to prevent sticking to your mold. Freeze with the plastic attatched. It will prevent icr crystals which break the empanada. Remember they dont have gluten so if they are not frozen airtight the dough will change in consistency and break in the fryer.
Ana
You are such a lifesaver! I was born in Colombia and grew up in the US... but I have never been a good cook... now that I'm about to get married my fiance is expexting me to cook like my abuelita... uuhh very unlikely! But I'm ready to give it a whirl!!!
Thank you so much for posting all these awesome recipes!!!
Anonymous
Esta es la mejor pagina de recetas de comida Colombiana en el internet. Me gustan mucho tus fotos y la descripcion. Gracias.
Katy
Do you know if the dough can be refrigerated for maybe a day before using?
Freddy Vasquez
Yes it can but you gotta knead it to bring it back to temperature for shaping