Vegetarian Empanada Recipes

If you haven’t checked out the previous posts written on chicken empanadas, beef empanadas, seafood empanadas or ham empanadas, don’t miss out. However, if you are of the veggie preference or just want to find something without meat for a meal or two, you’ve come to the right place. Some of the most delicious empanadas that I’ve made have been vegetarian. With the right ingredients the meatless variety is something quite spectacular.

There are certain vegetables that work better inside empanadas than others like bell peppers, onions, broccoli, celery, carrots, spinach, green beans, chayote (a Central/South America vegetable) and potatoes just to name a few. Some veggies like squash and tomatoes, however delicious, need special instructions before putting them in the filling. For example, tomatoes can be very watery so it’s important to partially dehydrate them before mixing them in the filling. This can be done by placing the cooked tomatoes (or raw & chopped) into a fine mesh strainer for several hours. This will drain off the excess moisture. For zucchini, undercook slightly before combining them with the final filling mixture so they don’t get too mushy.

Before getting started take a look at a few dos and don’ts in preparing empanadas.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Empanada Filling

Filling Ingredients:

Makes 12 medium-sized empanadas.

• 4 Large Tomatoes, skinned and seeded
• 1 bunch Basil Leaves
• 3 Cups Shredded Mozzerella
• 1/8 C Olive Oil
• 4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
• 1 Tsp Salt

Directions

1. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds. Then peel off skin and remove end and seeds. Dice the tomatoes and place into a fine mesh strainer for at least 3 hours or overnight to drain off extra moisture.
2. Wash and remove basil leaves from stems. Coarsely chop.
3. Put tomatoes and basil in a medium-sized mixing bowl and add olive oil, minced garlic, basil and salt. Mix well. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
4. For an addition to the dough, add dried basil, garlic powder and pepper to dry ingredients.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Onion & Cheese Empanada Filling

Filling Ingredients:

Makes 12 medium-sized empanadas.

• 5 Medium sized onions
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tbl Honey
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 C. Mozzerella Cheese or other creamy white cheese
• 4 Tbl Unsalted Butter

Directions

1. Prepare the onion by peeling and quartering them and then slicing it into thin strips along the grain. (not diced)
2. In a large saute pan on medium-high heat, melt butter and place the garlic (minced) in the pan to cook for 2 minutes.
3. Cook for 3-5 minutes until soft.
4. Add the honey, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper and oregano and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once the mixture is cool, add the cheese and mix well.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Vegetable Empanada Filling

Filling Ingredients:

Makes 12 medium-sized empanadas.

• 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion; chopped
• 1 Jalapeno or Serrano chili
• 1 lg Garlic clove; finely chopped
• 1 tsp Ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp Ground yellow curry powder
• 1 pinch Ground nutmeg
• 1 lg Tomato; peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 C. Fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 C. Fresh Spinach, chopped
• 1 C Diced red bell pepper
• 1 Tsp Salt; to taste
• Freshly-ground black pepper;
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

Directions

1. To prepare the vegetables, dice onion, bell pepper and coarsely chop corn. Or use a good vegetable chopper. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove skin, top and seeds. Then dice the
   tomatoes.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large and deep saute pan on medium-high heat.
3. Saute onion until translucent and add minced garlic, jalapeño, bell pepper, cumin, nutmeg, curry powder and rosemary. Cook for 2 minutes more.
4. Add spinach and cook until limp, then add tomatoes and corn. Cook until almost all liquid evaporates (about 5 min).
5. Add salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Let cool.
6. For the dough, add curry, rosemary and black pepper to the dry ingredients. Top with garlic powder and salt after rubbing with egg wash.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Green and Black Olive Empanada Filling

Filling Ingredients:

Makes 12 medium-sized empanadas.

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 Tbsp Capers
• 1 Cup Black Olives, pitted
• 2 Cups Green Olives, pitted
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 tsp White sugar
• 1 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 3/4 Cup Olive Oil

Directions

1. Mince garlic and place into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients except for the cheese and use a submersion blender to mix into a chunky paste.
3. Or put all ingredients except for cheese into a blender and pulse 6-8 times to roughly chop.
4. Add cheese and mix well.
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sweet Creamed Corn Empanada Filling

Filling Ingredients:

Makes 12 medium-sized empanadas.

• 3 Cups Frozen corn
• 1 small onion
• 1 Cup Vegetable Broth
• 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
• 2 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/8 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Peel and dice onion and coarsely chop corn.
2. In a medium-sized pot on medium-high heat, melt butter and cook onion until transparent (about 2 minutes).
3. Add vegetable stock and chopped corn. Turn down to medium heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to soften corn.
4. Add cream, dijon mustard and flour. Allow mixture to thicken.
5. Fold in mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Stir in thyme and allow to cool.
6. Add fresh thyme and black pepper to dough. Top with egg wash mixed with dijon mustard and salt.