Low Sugar Easy Empanadas
These golden, hand-held pockets are packed with savory ground beef, smoky spices, briny olives, and chopped hard-boiled egg — a classic combination that delivers serious depth of flavor in every bite. The filling gets its richness entirely from real ingredients like smoked paprika, cumin, and caramelized onion and bell pepper, with zero added sweeteners needed to make it taste incredible. That's actually great news if you're keeping a close eye on what goes into your food, because store-bought empanadas and pre-made fillings often sneak in surprising amounts of added sugar through sauces, marinades, or seasoning blends. Here, you control every component from scratch. The dough comes together with flour, cold butter, egg, and a splash of white vinegar — that last ingredient is the quiet trick that keeps the pastry tender and flaky without any sweetened shortcuts. After a quick chill and a hot oven, the result is a deeply golden crust that shatters just enough before giving way to that hearty, spiced filling inside. These are the kind of empanadas that disappear fast, so consider doubling the batch.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
For the filling
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
For assembly
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. In a small bowl, stir together the cold water, beaten egg, and white vinegar, then pour over the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until the dough just comes together — it should be shaggy but hold when pressed. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 3–4 times until smooth, then flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 2
While the dough chills, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned throughout with no pink remaining, about 6–8 minutes. Drain off excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
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