Perfect home made dough for baked empanadas. This simple recipe can be use with your favorite savory or sweet fillings.
If making empanada dough from scratch intimidates you, don't let it!
What do you Need to Make this Recipe
This homemade empanada dough recipe requires only a handful of ingredients, all purpose flour, salt, egg, cold water and butter, and it comes together in under ten minutes!
I love using my food processor for my homemade dough because it is quicker and easier than making it using your hands. If you don't own a food processor or just prefer making it by hand, feel free. Follow the same directions, but use your hands instead of the food processor to mix the ingredients together.
How to Make Empanada Dough for Baking
Mix the flour and salt in the processor.
Add butter, egg and cold water to the flour mixture. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Shape the dough into a ball and wrap dough with plastic.
Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a thin sheet and cut out discs using a large biscuit cutter.
Brush the edges of the empanada discs with the beaten egg to help better seal them.
Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges with a fork or your fingers. Brush the top of the empanadas with the rest of the beaten egg. Chill the empanadas for about 20 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
This homemade empanada dough can also be prepared ahead of time, just seal tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
A good empanada is all about the crust for me. Learn how to make it, then choose from one of my delicious fillings:
S’mores Empanadas (See recipe here)
Guava Paste and Cheese Empanadas (See recipe here)
Dulce de Leche and Apple Empanadas (See recipe here)
Chicken, Mushrooms and Cheese Empanadas (See recipe here)
Simple Empanada Dough for Baking Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 stick of butter chilled and cut into small pieces
- 2 eggs Divided, one egg to seal the empnadas
- ¼ cup ice cold water
Instructions
- Mix the flour and salt in the processor.
- Add butter, egg and cold water to the flour mixture. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Shape the dough into a ball and wrap dough with plastic. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a thin sheet and cut out discs using a large biscuit cutter.
- Brush the edges of the empanada discs with the beaten egg to help better seal them.
- Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges with a fork or your fingers. Brush the top of the empanadas with the rest of the beaten egg. Chill the empanadas for about 20 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
MAbe
Can I fill the empanadas, cover them well, refrigerate them and bake the following day?
Thank you.
Erica Dinho
Yes, but wrap them very good.
Kara
Approximately how big are the dough circles when cutting them out?
Maria
Hola Ericka, me pregunto si puedo dejar la masa afuera en vez de refrigerarla?
Saludos cordiales!
Feliz 2022!
Anonymous
How much is a stick of butter? Can you give me a rough weight please?
Thank you
Erica Dinho
1/2 cup
Aims
When you say 1 stick butter does it mean the whole butter?
Heather
You can use your choice of butter. 1 stick is 1/2 cup. They say stick just because it's easier to cut it into small pieces where when measuring out 1/2 cup from a container - you pretty much have to use your fingers to pinch it into pieces.
Virginia Villalobos
I’m just going to try making Empanadas with your dough recipe, but need to know can I cook in air fryer???
Erica Dinho
I don't know! I don't have an air fryer.
Jak
If you use an air fryer I would reduce the temperature to like 350 and check them after 10 minutes. It’s a super efficient small convection oven so sometimes dough things burn before they are cooked on the inside. You can probably get away with two at a time in an average air fryer. I bake things in mine fairly regularly as it doesn’t heat the house up as much
Wayne
Do you brush both sides of the empanada with the egg wash or just one side normally?
Thanks
Erica Dinho
One side.
Melanie
Made these yesterday using gluten free flour and they were awesome! Gluten free beef empanadas for some friends were a dream come true. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Anonymous
Confused because I'm Colombian and this is more like a pie texture than baked empanadas I've tried even in Chile and Argentina. It's not bad but it threw me off.
Cassandra
Haha when I saw the title ‘Colombian’ it threw me off too.
Colombian empanadas are soooooooo yum with the corn flour that’s used. I had actually never seen empanadas out of this type of dough.
However they are yummy!
Vera
Hi! Thank you so much for the great dough recipe. Baked or fried this dough works. I have both ways in advance to freeze and it still comes out perfect. Since I have been making a lot, I have doubled the recipe. So versatile!!!