Discover the ultimate in comfort food with our incredibly flavorful and easy-to-make air fryer empanadas with ground beef. Featuring a perfectly crispy exterior and a rich, savory filling, these delightful hand pies are made effortlessly with refrigerated pie crust. Whether you’re planning a fun appetizer for a gathering or a quick, satisfying dinner, these empanadas are sure to be a hit. Pair them with your favorite empanada dipping sauce for an unforgettable culinary experience.
These truly are the best air fryer empanadas with refrigerated pie dough! Each bite offers a burst of well-seasoned ground beef encased in a golden, flaky crust, making them an irresistible addition to your air fryer recipe collection. Their simple preparation and delicious outcome will quickly establish them as a family favorite.
Achieving Perfection: How Long to Air Fry Empanadas?
Who can resist a warm, savory, stuffed pastry like an empanada? This recipe transforms a classic into a quick-cook marvel, requiring just 5-8 minutes in your air fryer for a crispy finish. It’s one of our top air fryer ground beef recipes, celebrated for its speed and deliciousness. While ground beef is traditional, don’t hesitate to customize your filling. Spicy ground sausage or lean ground turkey are excellent alternatives, offering diverse flavor profiles. Feel free to incorporate finely diced onions and bell peppers, adjusting the spices to create a mild or robust flavor. This recipe is incredibly versatile, allowing you to tailor it precisely to your taste preferences. Inspired by recent successes with air fryer wontons, we discovered the joy of these “hand pies” – perfect finger foods that make mealtime fun, especially for families with children.
Expert Tip: For optimal results, always place food into a preheated air fryer. This ensures maximum crispiness and even cooking. Our preferred air fryer models include the Cosori, or for those with a Ninja Foodi, utilizing its attached air crisp lid works wonderfully for Ninja Foodi recipes. Learning how to properly preheat your air fryer is a crucial step before adding your food to achieve that desired crispy texture. For ultimate convenience, we offer a printable free air fryer cooking time chart that you can keep handy on your fridge.
Utilizing Your Ninja Foodi for Empanadas
You don’t necessarily need a dedicated air fryer appliance to achieve these perfectly crisp empanadas. If you own a versatile Ninja Foodi, its air crisp function is ideal. Simply use the attached lid and select the “Air Crisp” setting. The powerful circulating hot air within the Ninja Foodi will mimic a standard air fryer, delivering beautifully golden and crunchy empanadas with ease. This multi-functional appliance makes cooking diverse meals and snacks incredibly convenient.
Dough Selection: The Best Crust for Empanadas
For those who appreciate quick and simple meal solutions, refrigerated pie dough is an absolute game-changer. It’s pre-made and rolled to a consistent thickness, saving you significant time and effort. Simply cut the dough into approximately 4-inch circles, fill them generously, and proceed with the recipe. If you prefer a more traditional or homemade approach, consider making your own dough that resembles a pie crust but with slightly less dryness, ensuring a tender yet sturdy casing for your filling. The key is to find a dough that bakes up flaky and holds its shape while encasing the delicious meat mixture.
Key Ingredient Notes for Flavorful Empanadas
The star of our empanada filling is undoubtedly ground beef – a versatile and budget-friendly protein, perfect for feeding a crowd or a large family. Its robust flavor forms the base of this hearty dish. Beyond beef, you can explore other protein options such as precooked slow cooker Mexican shredded chicken or spicy ground sausage to vary the taste. The choice is yours, allowing for endless customization to suit different palates.
For the crust, we champion refrigerated pie dough due to its sheer convenience. It comes pre-rolled to the ideal thickness, drastically cutting down prep time. For best handling, simply remove the pie dough from the refrigerator about 30 minutes to an hour before you plan to start assembling, allowing it to reach room temperature for easier rolling and manipulation. If you’re a purist and prefer a homemade touch, our pot pie crust recipe can be adapted for these empanadas.
The filling is where the magic truly happens. Beyond the seasoned ground beef, we love to enhance it with diced bell peppers (any color adds vibrant visual appeal and flavor), a packet of taco seasoning (or a homemade blend for a more controlled spice level), a generous amount of shredded cheese, and finely diced onions. A splash of beef broth adds moisture, creating a texture reminiscent of a Sloppy Joes Recipe – flavorful and slightly saucy, ensuring the empanadas are never dry.
Air Fryer Empanadas Recipe
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Equipment
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1 air fryer
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1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small bell pepper, we chose 1/2 of 2 different colors, diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning, 1 oz.
- 1/4 cup beef broth, or water
- 1 pkg refrigerated pie crusts, 2 crusts total, bring to room temperature
- 1/2 cup cheese, shredded
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1 large egg, whisked
Instructions
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In a medium pan over medium heat, cook the ground beef along with diced green peppers, red peppers, and onions until the beef is thoroughly browned and the onions become translucent. Drain any excess fat.
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Stir in the taco seasoning and beef broth (or water) until well combined. Remove the pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. This cooling step is crucial to prevent the pie crust from becoming soggy.
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Unroll one refrigerated pie crust onto a clean, non-stick surface. Using a round cookie cutter, a bowl, or a glass with approximately a 5-inch diameter, cut out three perfect circles from the crust.
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Gather the remaining dough scraps, gently press them together, and roll them out with a rolling pin to a thickness similar to the original crust. Cut out a fourth circle. Repeat this entire process with the second pie crust, yielding a total of eight empanada pieces.
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Once the beef mixture has cooled, spoon 2-3 tablespoons onto the center of each dough circle. Top the filling with a generous sprinkle of shredded cheese. Carefully fold each circle of dough in half to create a crescent shape. Moisten the edges slightly with a bit of water, then press them firmly together to seal. Use a fork to crimp around the edges, creating a decorative seal and ensuring no filling escapes during cooking.
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In a small bowl, whisk the large egg to create an egg wash. Brush the top of each empanada with the egg wash for a beautiful golden-brown finish. Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5 minutes. Place 4 empanadas at a time into the greased air fryer basket, ensuring they are in a single layer and not overcrowding the basket.
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Cook at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5-7 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and crispy to your liking. Serve immediately with your preferred accompaniments such as sour cream, fresh salsa, creamy guacamole, shredded lettuce, or diced tomatoes. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Efficient Cooking: Making Empanadas with Leftover Ground Beef
Absolutely! This recipe is incredibly adaptable and serves as a fantastic way to utilize leftover taco meat or other seasoned ground beef. If you’re starting from scratch, the Idaho Beef Council recommends considering four main types of ground beef: regular, chuck, round, and sirloin, when making your selection. Key factors to focus on when choosing ground beef include:
- Lean-to-Fat Ratio: This impacts flavor and texture. Higher fat content (like ground chuck) often means more flavor, while leaner options (like ground sirloin) are healthier.
- Color: Look for bright red beef; avoid meat that is dull or brown.
- Packaging: Ensure the packaging is intact and there’s no excess liquid.
Using pre-cooked beef significantly reduces preparation time, making these empanadas an even quicker weeknight meal solution.
Air Fryer vs. Traditional: Is it Better to Bake or Fry Empanadas?
The culinary landscape now offers a superior method for cooking empanadas: the air fryer! Traditionally, empanadas were either baked in an oven or, more commonly, deep-fried on the stovetop. While deep-frying provides an undeniably crispy texture, it often leaves a greasy residue and introduces unhealthy excess oil. The air fryer revolutionizes this by using circulating hot air to achieve that sought-after crispy, golden-brown exterior without the heavy, oily taste or the associated negative health implications of submerging food in oil. This method results in a lighter, healthier, yet equally satisfying crunch, making air-fried empanadas a clear winner for many home cooks.
More Delicious Finger Foods You’ll Love
While these homemade empanadas require a little more effort than simply reheating frozen taquitos in an air fryer, the superior taste and texture are well worth it. Think of them as a more refined version of Ground Beef Hand Pies. The beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility; you can effortlessly tweak the filling to suit any occasion, especially if you’re serving them for a party. Experiment with different spices, cheeses, or even add a touch of corn or black beans for extra flavor and texture. These adaptable hand pies are sure to impress your guests and provide a delightful alternative to standard party fare.
Storing and Freezing: How to Save Leftover Empanadas
Proper storage is key to enjoying your delicious empanadas for longer. The same principles apply for storing them as you would for an air fryer chimichanga. Cooking times may vary slightly based on your air fryer model and how golden and crispy you prefer your empanadas. For us, 6 minutes generally yields perfect results. Planning for a busy week? Double the batch and freeze half for later! This makes future meal prep a breeze.
- To freeze unbaked empanadas:
- Follow the assembly directions up to the point of brushing with egg wash.
- Lay the unbaked empanadas in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring they do not touch each other.
- Freeze until completely solid (this prevents them from sticking together).
- Once frozen, transfer the solid empanadas into a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
- They will maintain their quality in the freezer for up to three months!
Reheating Frozen Empanadas for Optimal Crispiness
To reheat frozen empanadas, first place them on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring they don’t touch. Allow them to defrost in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours until thawed. Once thawed, air fry them as directed in the recipe instructions above, adjusting the cooking time as needed until they are heated through and crispy. This method ensures they retain their delightful texture, much like reheating air fryer flautas, which are rolled instead of folded.
Looking for more inspiring ground beef recipes? You’ll find plenty of ideas here and below, including our popular air fryer stuffed peppers and many others:
