Beef Empanadas Air Fryer Recipe
We LOVE empanadas in my house (Who doesn’t?!). I grew up on them and always have leftover picadillo in my fridge or freezer because I make it at least twice a month. These healthy air fryer empanadas are one of my favorite ways to use up the leftovers. Made with frozen store-bought empanada dough, they only take minutes to cook. They’re also excellent to pack in your kids’ lunchboxes – Madison loves taking them for school lunch. If you have an air fryer and need more dinner ideas you can see all my air fryer recipes here!
I always have ground beef in my freezer, and one of the ground beef recipes I make all the time is these empanadas with leftover picadillo. These air fryer empanadas are easy to whip up since they use leftover picadillo and frozen empanada discs you can find in the freezer section of many supermarkets. In the past, I would always bake them in the oven, but once I got an air fryer, there was no turning back. These beef empanadas turned out perfectly in the air fryer – golden and flaky on the outside with no oil! They also cook in half the time in the air fryer than in the oven. You can watch me make them here! As you probably know by now, I love air frying. So much so that I even wrote two cookbooks on it! Last year I got the GoWISE 7-Quart Air Fryer and have really liked it. It’s bigger than my last one and is very powerful. A few reasons why I love air fryers:
How To Cook Empanadas in the Air Fryer
Variations:
You can fill empanadas with just about anything!
Ground turkey empandas: Use ground turkey instead of beef in your picadillo. Chicken Empanadas: Stuff your empanadas with shredded salsa chicken. Chili empanadas: Use leftover chili instead of picadillo. Make pizza empanadas with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Taco empanadas: Use homemade taco meat to make taco empanadas. Lobster Empanadas: See my air fryer lobster empanada recipe here If you can’t find the frozen empanada discos, you can make homemade empanada dough or use store-bought pie dough. For spicy a version, add jalapeño to the meat. If you don’t eat eggs, skip the egg wash and just spritz with olive oil. Serve them with hot sauce, salsa, or guacamole.
How to Bake Empanadas in the Oven
No air fryer, no problem! If you don’t have an air fryer, you can also bake these. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400F degrees on a nonstick baking sheet for about 18 to 20 minutes until golden. The dough won’t have the same blistered texture and they won’t be quite as crisp, but they’ll still be tasty.
How To Freeze
Yes! You can flash freeze uncooked empanadas on a sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to three months so you can whip them up anytime. Air Fry From Frozen: Pop the frozen empanadas right into your air fryer and air fry 350F for about 12 minutes, turning halfway until golden and hot.
More Empanada Recipes You’ll Love:
Air Fryer Lobster Jalapeño Empanadas Caramelized Onion Empanadas Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Empanadas Taco Empanadas Jamaican Beef Patties
