I’ve been experimenting at home lately with various bite-sized finger foods that are geared towards serving a crowd of people at a party. I discovered these incredibly thin empanada wrappers that are roughly four inches in diameter and incredibly thin, reminiscent of wonton wrappers. The recipe below includes seasoned ground beef, onions, and red peppers, although you can fill these empanadas with whatever you like.
Sometimes, if I have some leftover vegetables, potatoes, or cheese, I’ll add this to the seasoned ground beef mixture.
Mini Beef Empanadas
I’ve been experimenting at home lately with various bite-sized finger foods that are geared towards serving a crowd of people at a party. I discovered these incredibly thin empanada wrappers that are roughly four inches in diameter and incredibly thin, reminiscent of wonton wrappers. The recipe below includes seasoned ground beef, onions, and red peppers, although you can fill these empanadas with whatever you like.Sometimes, if I have some leftover vegetables, potatoes, or cheese, I’ll add this to the seasoned ground beef mixture.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion (small dice)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 16 oz 1 lb ground beef, 85% lean
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 red bell pepper (small dice)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 1 lime
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 package of empanada wrappers (containing 16 four-inch diameter circles of dough)
- 1 whole egg (whisked, for egg wash)
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil to a large sauté pan, and increase the heat to high.
- Add the onions, and cook while stirring for roughly 5 minutes, or until the onions are beginning to take on some color.
- Add the Kosher salt, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and ground cumin.
- Add the ground beef, and reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Cook the mixture until the ground beef is almost cooked through.
- Add the whole milk, and continue to cook until the milk has almost evaporated.
- Add the diced red bell pepper and the minced garlic, and cook until the red pepper is soft.
- When the ground beef is fully cooked and the vegetables are soft, remove the filling mixture from the heat.
- Add the zest and juice of one lime, along with ¼ cup of freshly chopped cilantro.
- Stir the filling mixture, and taste.
- Season the filling with some additional Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, if desired.
- When you are satisfied with the flavor of your filling, carefully lay the empanada wrappers out on a piece of parchment paper on a sheet tray.
- *Depending on the size of your sheet tray, you may have to assemble the empanadas in batches. I like to fill them all at the same time, as opposed to filling and wrapping them one-by-one.
- Place a scoop of filling roughly the size of 1 or 1.5 Tablespoons just below the center of each circular empanada wrapper.
- *Try to avoid overfilling the empanadas, as they will become harder to seal.
- Gently roll the empanadas to seal the edges together, leaving as few air pockets as possible.
- *The final shape of your filled and sealed empanadas should be a semi-circle.
- Use your fingers to press down firmly on the sealed edges.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Whisk together one whole egg.
- Gently brush the exterior surface of the filled empanadas with the whisked egg, being careful not to break the empanada dough as your brush on the egg wash.
- Bake the empanadas at 375F for roughly 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden-brown in color.
- When the empanadas have reached your ideal color, remove them from the oven, arrange them on a serving platter, and serve warm.
Notes
These empanadas are best eaten fresh, when they are still warm from the oven. If reheating the empanadas the following day, try wrapping them tightly in aluminum foil and baking for 20 minutes at 325F.