Vegan Empanadas
These vegan empanadas are a special little treat that tastes like the real thing, yet are made without meat, eggs, or dairy. If you have never had an empanada, they are essentially a hand pie that can be filled with any sweet or savory filling that you want!
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I had my first empanada when I was living in Argentina as a foreign exchange student. One bite and I was in love. They are the perfect combo of savory fillings wrapped in a pie-like dough. At the time I was not vegan, so I would usually get them filled with ham and cheese, ground beef, or pizza toppings.
Empanada dough is sort of a cross between pie dough and pizza dough. Some recipes say that you can use pie dough or pizza dough instead, but I have found that empanada dough is an essential element in an authentic-tasting empanada.
Why make vegan empanadas
These little hand pies are great because you can fill them with just about anything. I like to fill them with my homemade vegan ground beef or TVP taco meat plus some melty vegan cheese. My kids love them with pizza fillings like vegan pepperoni and vegan mozzarella dipped in pizza sauce.
Ingredients and substitutions
Empanada dough
- Flour – all-purpose white flour works best. (I don’t recommend GF flour for this recipe.)
- Vegan Butter – Use a cold stick of vegan margarine like Country Crock plant butter, Earth Balance sticks, or my vegan stick butter recipe.
- Salt – for flavor
- Water – to get a stretchy dough. This is what turns traditional pie crust into empanada dough and is essential for the right consistency.
Empanada fillings
- Olive Oil – just a little oil to fry the onion in. You can use any type of oil you wish.
- Onion – a small yellow onion or a few cloves of minced garlic for flavor.
- Jalapeno – a jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped. (optional)
- Vegan Ground Beef – you can use my homemade vegan ground beef or any store-bought vegan beef crumbles that you wish.
- Cumin – for flavor. You can also use chile powder or herbs and spices that go well with your fillings.
- Vegan Cheese – use any shredded meltable vegan cheese that you want.
See more filling options below.
Helpful tools
- Rolling Pin – to roll out the empanada dough.
- A Food Processor – to mix the dough. You can also use a pastry cutter.
- A Glass or Container – to use to cut out 4- 4 1/2 inch circles. A largemouth glass or cream cheese or sour cream container usually works well.
How to make vegan empanadas
Make your empanada filling
Step 1 – Saute a small diced onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat until it becomes translucent.
Step 2 – Add 1 package of vegan beef crumbles, (or 2 cups of vegan ground beef, vegan taco meat, or vegan sausage crumbles) a diced jalapeno, and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, then cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 3 – Add 1/2 cup of vegan cheese and stir well.
Step 4 – Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the empanada dough
Step 5 – Place 3 cups of spoon-measured flour into a large food processor then add 1 stick (1/2 cup) of cold vegan butter cut into small pieces.
Step 6 – Pulse about 15-20 times until it has a sandy texture, then add 3/4 cup of cold water and pulse a few more times until a dough has formed.
Step 7 – Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick, similar to pie dough.
Step 8 – Use a 4 -4 1/2 inch circle to cut out rounds of the dough.
Step 9 – Fill the rounds with 2 tablespoons of filling and fold in half.
Step 10 – Start at one edge, pinch the two layers together with your thumb and index finger, and twist the pinched area. Move down the edge a finger length and repeat the process until the whole edge is sealed shut. You can also simply crimp the edges with a fork to make it easier.
Cook the empanadas
Step 11 – Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).
Step 12 – Place the completed empanadas on a baking sheet so that they are not touching. (You can line it with parchment paper, but I find that it’s not necessary.
Step 13 – Brush the empanadas with a vegan egg wash, or simply use some plant-based milk or oil to give them a little shine and help them turn golden brown.
Step 14 – Bake the empanadas at 375° F (190° C). for 15 minutes then turn the oven to broil for 3 additional minutes to make them golden brown.
Note – you can also deep fry the empanadas instead of baking them. To do this, you will need to submerge them in 370° F (187° C) oil for about 4 minutes until golden brown.
Pro Tips
- If you don’t have a food processor to make the dough, you can make it in a large bowl and just mash up the butter and flour with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly, then add the water.
- I know that 2 tablespoons of filling does not seem like a lot, but if you try to stuff too much in your empanada, it will not seal and it will break open.
- The possibilities of fillings are endless, this is just an example of one thing to put in empanadas.
Frequently asked questions?
If you want to make the empanada process easier, you can swap out the dough for ready-made pizza dough or pie dough, but it will not taste as authentic as if you make homemade empanada dough.
If you see vegetable empanadas in a store or restaurant, they are probably vegetarian but don’t assume that they are vegan. Traditional empanada dough usually contains eggs.
Vegan empanada fillings
Savory fillings
- Soyrizo
- TVP Taco Filling
- Vegan Sausage Crumbles
- Tempeh Taco Filling
- Vegan Ham
- Vegan Pepperoni
- Broccoli and Cheese
- Vegan deli meat chopped up with vegan cheese
- Vegan Spanakopita Filling (spinach and tofu)
- Corn and black beans
- Peas
- Carrots
- Refried beans
- Any Filling that you would use in vegan tamales
Sweet fillings
How to store and reheat vegan empanadas
Refrigerate: Keep your leftover empanadas in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Freeze: Vegan empanadas be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the empanadas in the microwave for about 1 minute or bake in a 350° F oven for about 10 minutes until warm.
Dipping sauces for empanadas
When I lived in Argentina, we usually ate our empanadas plain with no dipping sauce, but my family and I love to dip them in a spicy sauce for an extra burst of flavor.
More vegan recipes
Vegan empanadas recipe
Vegan Empanadas
Ingredients
Vegan beef filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups vegan ground beef
- 1 jalapeno , seeded and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
Empanada dough
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine, (stick verson)
- 3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
Make your empanada filling
- Saute a small diced onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat until it becomes translucent.
- Add 1 package of vegan beef crumbles, (or 2 cups of vegan ground beef, vegan taco meat, or vegan sausage crumbles) a diced jalapeno, and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, then cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup of vegan cheese and stir well.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the empanada dough
- Place 3 cups of spoon-measured flour into a large food processor then add 1 stick (1/2 cup) of cold vegan butter cut into small pieces.
- Pulse about 15-20 times until it has a sandy texture, then add 3/4 cup of cold water and pulse a few more times until a dough has formed.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick, similar to pie dough.
- Use a 4 -4 1/2 inch circle to cut out rounds of the dough.
- Fill the rounds with 2 tablespoons of filling and fold in half.
- Start at one edge and pinch the two layers together with your thumb and index finger and twist the pinched area. Move down the edge a finger length and repeat the process until the whole edge is sealed shut. You can also simply crimp the edges with a fork to make it easier.
Cook the empanadas
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Place the completed empanadas on a cookie sheet so that they are not touching. (You can line it with parchment paper, but I find that it’s not necessary.
- Brush the empanadas with a vegan egg wash, or simply use some plant-based milk or oil to give them a little shine and help them turn golden brown.
- Bake the empanadas at 375° F (190° C). for 15 minutes then turn the oven to broil for 3 additional minutes to make them golden brown.
Notes
- If you don’t have a food processor to make the dough, you can make it in a large bowl and just mash up the butter and flour with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly, then add the water.
- I know that 2 tablespoons of filling does not seem like a lot, but if you try to stuff too much in your empanada, it will not seal and it will break open.
- The possibilities of fillings are endless, this is just an example of one thing to put in empanadas.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
I grew up eating my Chilean Mom’s recipe. Loved the variety of flavors it offered. Definitely could be veganized minus the hard boiled eggs. I thought I would share a bit of a different flavor than what you listed above.
Olives, onions and the raisins. I chopped the raisins fine and the olives I quartered. In my mom’s recipe she would leave the raisins whole but i did not like biting into a big piece.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/chilean-style-beef-empanadas-3029728
That filling sounds really good. I have never had the Chilean style empanadas.
ground beer we are on a plant based diet we don’t eat meat
@Susan Wright – It literally say VEGAN ground beef in the recipe card. Click the link & It’ll take you straight to the recipe, which is made with TVP. Which are meatless crumbles.
The cheese is not listed in the ingredients
No need to cut a slit for steam venting?
Can the dough be made gluten-free? If so, what kind of flour?