Published: Modified: by GG · This post may contain affiliate links
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Cheeseburger Empanadas are bursting with a ground beef, ketchup and cheese filling, making them the perfect kid friendly snack! Serve our empanadas as an appetizer, side dish or an on-the-go snack. Any way you serve them they'll be a hit!
Cheeseburger Empanadas
National Empanada Day is April 8th! Kids will love celebrating this national food holiday this year with Cheeseburger Empanadas.
Filled with a ground beef, ketchup and cheese filling, theseempanadas are the perfect kid friendly snack!
Everyone will love this easy and flavorful cheeseburger filling surrounded by a tender and flaky crust.
Traced back to Spain these pockets of deliciousness have many versions from places such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Italy, India, Venezela and even the Philippines.
Defined as a pastry turnover filled with a variety of savory ingredients, our empanadas today have an American flair with our all-American beloved cheeseburger flavors as their filling.
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Feel free to stir in a little hamburger relish for an extra punch of flavor!
Baked Cheeseburger Empanadas are healthier than their deep-fried counterpart, and we all love healthier especially when it tastes so fabulous!
I love setting up my table with a Mexican inspired theme and I start with a colorful Mexican serape table runner.
Make it fun and serve drinks with these whimsical Mexican fiesta decorative party straws and always include neon maracas for that special fiesta flair!
How to make empanadas
Be sure to visit the Swirls of Flavor Amazon Storefront for GG's personal kitchen recommendations!
How to make empanadas
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Brown beef in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; drain any excess fat drippings.
- Stir in ketchup, brown sugar relish (if desired) and kosher salt. Heat until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and let mixture cool slightly.
- Stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Place one piece of dough on lightly floured surface. Arrange about 1 Tablespoon of beef mixture in center of bottom half of dough about 1-inch from edges. Top with 1 teaspoon of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Brush edges of dough with cold water. Fold top half of dough over filling and seal. Arrange on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough, filling and cheese.
- Brush tops and sides of empanadas with lightly beaten egg and bake 20 minutes or until golden.
Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
- Be sure to cool the cheeseburger mixture before shaping into empanadas
- It is important to brush the edges of the dough with cold water to help seal the empanada edges
Substitutions
- Substitute ground turkey for the ground beef
- Substitute ground chicken for the ground beef
- Substitute your favorite shredded cheese for the shredded cheddar cheese
Related Recipes
- Sloppy Joe Pockets
- Mac and Cheese Bites
- Ravioli Bites
Ingredients for cheeseburger pockets
- ground beef
- ketchup
- brown sugar
- hamburger relish
- kosher salt
- shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- frozen dough for turnovers pastries
- 1 egg
Mexican Inspired Recipes
Looking to add more recipes with a Mexican flair to your menu? Look no further because Swirls has a choices galore!
Bursting with cheesy goodness and a hint of spice, Creamy Corn and Black Bean Dip, served with tortilla chips or fresh veggie dippers, is a warm dip with a silky texture from a cream cheese and sour cream winning combination.
If you're craving tacos, then go for the beef and season slices of juicy skirt steak with a few basic spices and enjoy them nestled in a crunchy corn shell topped witha lime-scented mixture of fresh heirloom tomatoes.Spiced Skirt Steak Tacosare a party in your mouth with a burst of flavor in every bite!
Make a Brown Rice Taco Bowl, with seasoned beef and salsa, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, cheddar cheese and red onion over good-for-you brown rice. All the flavors of a taco in a bowl for your next Taco Tuesday!
When you feel like doing Taco Tuesday on Meatless Monday thenOven Roasted Cauliflower Tacoswill beperfect choice for you! Cauliflower slow roasts to delicious goodness and then combines with mushrooms giving a meaty flavor to this meatless taco filling.
And don't forget dessert!With a creamy chocolate ganache on top and a hint of spice inside Chipotle Brownies will be the grand finale at your Cinco de Mayo fiesta!
For those who prefer a fruity dessert that will make you pucker, Mojito Key Lime Barsis an easy dessert recipe with all the flavors of summer and a Mojito together in a dessert bar.
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4.67 from 3 votes
Cheeseburger Empanadas
Cheeseburger Empanadas are bursting with a ground beef, ketchup and cheese filling, making them the perfect kid friendly snack!
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine American, Mexican
Keyword cheeseburger, cheeseburger empanadas, empanadas
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 40 minutes minutes
Servings 12 empanadas
Calories 85kcal
Author Gwynn Galvin
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 Tbs. packed brown sugar
- 1 Tbs. hamburger relish ,optional
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese ,divided
- 1 (11.6 ounces) pkg. frozen dough for turnovers pastries ,thawed, Goya brand
- 1 egg ,lightly beaten
I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 425F.
Brown beef in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; drain any excess fat drippings.
Stir in ketchup, brown sugar relish (if desired) and kosher salt. Heat until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and let mixture cool slightly.
Stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
Place one piece of dough on lightly floured surface. Arrange about 1 Tablespoon of beef mixture in center of bottom half of dough about 1-inch from edges. Top with 1 teaspoon of shredded cheddar cheese.
Brush edges of dough with cold water. Fold top half of dough over filling and seal. Arrange on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough, filling and cheese.
Brush tops and sides of empanadas with lightly beaten egg and bake 20 minutes or until golden.
Notes
Makes 12 empanadas.
Nutrition
Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 82mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 116IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
First Published: April 7, 2017... Last Updated: March 18, 2023, for better readability and user experience
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About GG
Gwynn Galvin, known to many as GG, is the creative and talented chef and nutritionist behind Swirls of Flavor. Gwynn is an award-winning culinary professional with over twenty five years of recipe development, food styling, test kitchen management and culinary innovation experience. Gwynn's passion is gathering people around the table with her simple real food recipes to savor the moments together.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Bryan
Amazing!!- GG
Thanks so much Bryan! And thanks for following Swirls! Happy cooking!
- Trisha L Monroe
Hi, these look yummy. I haven't made them yet and have a couple of questions before I do.
1. Do the flavors give it a taste of sloppy joes?
2. I will use the puff pastry. Is this correct? If so, how large are the squares that need to be cut?
Thank you for the help. 🙂
Trish - GG
Hi Trisha, the flavor is more cheeseburger than Sloppy Joe. Sloppy Joe would be a bit sweeter. I do have a Sloppy Joe Pockets recipe if you want to give that a try. Here's the link https://swirlsofflavor.com/sloppy-joe-pockets/. I did not use puff pastry. The product I used is also found in the frozen section of your grocery store but it is an ethnic product made by Goya and already precut to the size you need. Hope that all helps! Savor The Moments, GG
- Sandy
I have a couple questions. Can you freeze these 0nce you seal them up in dough ? Would be great to grab a fewfor a snack.
The dough looks like puff pastry in picture. But you said Goya. So is it Goya empanada dough? - GG
Hi Sandy, thanks for stopping by. I personally have not made these and then frozen them to bake off later. My hesitation with that is that the dough is originally frozen so refrezzing it before baking them might change the performance of the dough. My recommendation is to make the recipe all the way through. Let them cool and then freeze. That way you can just reheat the empanadas one or two at a time. The recipe is not made with puff pastry. You are corrext that the dough that I used is made by Goya and not puff pastry dough. I find this Goya product in my local grocery store's frozen department. I have seen the Goya product in both a box and cellophane packaging. Hope this all helps! Happy cooking, GG https://amzn.to/3bpb4l0
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