How to make Homemade Chicken Empanadas
Paul Greenblatt, Director of Customer Marketing & Culinary
About Ground Chicken
Our ground chicken really simplifies meals for time-starved families. There is a myriad of dishes one can make from ground chicken: from chili con carne to tacos or even a queso dip. Once of my favorite applications is an empanada as we are featuring here.
About Empanadas
Empanadas have Spanish and Portuguese origins and are a savory pastry turnover that can be fried or baked as we prepare in this recipe. They can be filled with just about anything and we love them for a sit-down dinner but also convenient when on the go. They give us an opportunity to take something delicious with us.
The preparation for the filling is pretty quick to make and your best bet is to prep all of your veggies before searing the ground chicken so they are ready to add once you get some color on the ground chicken. 
Once you start to sear the meat, take your pastry rounds or empanada dough out of the freezer so it can be filled and crimped by the time your mixture is done. Make sure to give your mixture a few minutes to cool before getting ready to fill your empanadas.
If you buy frozen, prepared empanada dough and they come separated by wax paper or a small plastic sheet, keep them on those sheets to make moving and filling the rounds easier. These sheets also prevent the dough from sticking to each other.
When making these at home, make sure you have enough space to work, about 24” x 36” space is adequate. You can work directly on the counter or a cutting board to fill the doughs. Some folks prefer to make these by hand, while others use an empanada maker/crimp. No matter what your technique is, the both deliver delicious results. To get a good seal, make sure to keep the filling off the edges!
Once the doughs are sealed, place them on to a parchment lined cookie sheet. I lightly spray the parchment with a nonstick vegetable oil to help them crisp on the bottom. Often, I’ll make a couple spicy empanadas by adding some chipotles in adobe to the filling. Make sure to mark them though!
The flavor of the Bell & Evans ground chicken is so versatile and can be paired with so many accompaniments. For this recipe with empanadas, I like a chunky guacamole with some pico di gallo mixed in with some extra lime juice. The acidity of the lime and pico de gallo give a fresh, brightness to the dish. Another easy accompaniment is a compound sour cream. It can be as simple as adding some lime zest and chopped cilantro!
One other way that I season the empanadas is to sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top of the empanadas before I bake them. The cheese will add a little bit of fat to the exterior of the dough that will help them to bake nicely and the cheese will crisp up on the top of each empanada giving a little extra crunch!
These are such a hit as an afternoon snack or for dinner. We always make extra since we usually have an unplanned guest or two at our house. If they don’t all get eaten, we never worry since these reheat perfectly in the air fryer!
Chicken Empanada
A few clever shortcuts, like frozen pastry dough and Bell & Evans Ground Chicken, make DIY empanadas totally doable for your next gathering. Assembling these savory pockets of goodness is a fun task for kids, so get the whole family involved for a fiesta in the kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Bell & Evans Ground Chicken
- 2 TB Dry taco seasoning
- 2 TB Olive oil
- 1 large Yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup, Russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 cup Chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup Frozen peas
- 1/2 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 large Egg, beaten
- 2 10-oz packages Frozen empanada dough for turnover pastries (like Goya)
- 1/4 cup Fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup Guacamole
- 1/2 Red onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup Sour cream
Preparation
- NOTE: Don't forget to check out our Cooking Blog for step by step directions on how to make them!
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and taco seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally until well-browned, about 5-8 minutes.
- Remove frozen pastry rounds from freezer and allow to temper on countertop. Leave plastic dividers between layers.
- Add onions, potatoes and peppers to chicken and cook until slightly softened, about 7-10 minutes. Add peas and remove from heat. Allow to cool 5 minutes, then stir in cheese to combine.
- One at a time, take a pastry round with plastic divider and place on a work surface. Place 2-3 tablespoons chicken mixture in center of dough round. Brush edge of round with egg. Using plastic base, fold pastry in half. Discard plastic and crimp edges with a fork. Transfer filled pastries to prepared baking sheets 1-inch apart. Brush tops with egg.
- Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden-brown, about 25-35 minutes. Serve hot with guacamole, cilantro, red onion and sour cream.
Chopped cilantro is listed in the ingredients, but doesn’t appear in the preparation. When is it added, please?
Hi Edward, Good catch! It would be in the same category as guacamole and sour cream. Serve the empanada with it so that it can be used as a topping. It has been added to the recipe. Thank you for catching that!
I cannot find pre made dough, Do you have a recipe for it.
Hi Dorothy! Goya Empanada Dough is in most stores in the freezer section. Can you ask someone at your store if they carry it? If you still can’t find it, here is a recipe for baking dough that looks pretty good. How to make empanada dough for baking – Laylita.com