Beef and Bean Empanadas
Pockets of flaky pastry filled with juicy ground beef, savory black beans, green chiles, warming spices, and gooey Mexican cheese. The pastry is crisp and golden, and the filling is moist and cheesy.
These empanadas are super easy to make. The filling is a quick-and-easy blend of beef, beans, chiles, and spices, and it comes together in minutes. In fact, there are very few ingredients in the filling, but each element dishes up tons of flavor so you need little else. And thanks to store-bought pie crusts, the dough is ready to go once the filling is made.
Tons of flavor comes from the beans and chiles. I love when one ingredient does double-duty. This recipe calls for seasoned beans, and I used seasoned black beans. Seasoned beans are sold next to the other beans and they come in a savory sauce that’s ramped up with herbs and spices. You can choose any seasoned beans you like, including chili beans. If you have regular beans and don’t want to run to the store, no problem, you can use them instead (rinse regular beans before using to remove excess salt).
The green chiles also deliver great flavor. If you haven’t cooked with green chiles before, you need to grab a can! I used fire-roasted green chiles in this filling and they not only added great, smoky flavor, they delivered a tiny bit of heat. Green chiles are also sold mild and hot – so choose what flavor you want in your empanadas. Green chiles are sold with the other Mexican ingredients in the grocery store.
No pastry cutter? No problem! To make 4-inch circles, you can use any small bowl you have, or even the top of a glass or mug. Me? I used a small prep bowl!
Beef and Bean Empanadas
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup canned seasoned black beans, or chile beans of choice, or any canned beans, rinsed and drained (don’t rinse the seasoned beans)
- 4- ounce can diced green chiles
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 2 9-inch refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Salsa of choice for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Brown the beef in a large skillet, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the cumin, chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to coat.
- Add the beans, green chiles, and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in the cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Unroll the pie crusts on a clean, flat surface. Using a 4-inch round pastry cutter, cut circles from the dough (combine the scraps, roll them out, and cut again until all the dough is used). You should have twelve 4-inch rounds.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture into the center of each circle. Fold the dough over and use a fork to seal the curved edge.
- Transfer the empanadas to the prepared pan, in a single layer, not touching each other. Brush with the egg.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown (it’s OK if some burst open, it makes for a rustic presentation!).
- Cool slightly before serving with salsa.