Empanadas with Chicken Filling

Guys, we need more empanadas in our lives! Today I am presenting these turnovers very popular in all of Latin America with a chicken filling to you. My love for empanadas is pretty visible on my blog, I have a lot of recipes on here, for an overview, check out these eight empanada recipes in this blog post. Just a warning, yes, empanadas do require a bit of time. You will need to make the dough, you will need to make the filling, and then you need to make each empanada separately before baking them. However, what I do love about empanadas is the fact that you can do everything in advance. You may make the dough as well as the filling two days in advance. For me filling each empanada is better than yoga, it really calms me down. Once you get to the baking part, you will be awarded some delicious food!

This time around I decided to make a smaller batch of empanadas. The recipe below yields nine empanadas, which was perfect for the two of us as the main meal. As you can see on the pics, I decided to serve them with a fresh salad on the side and they were so delicious. The recipe can easily be doubled. Usually I freeze the second half and have another dinner ready quickly. However, I was also pleasantly surprised as to how quickly I was done forming empanadas this time around, I really got it done quickly. In this instance I made dough and filling on one day, formed the empanadas the next, covered them airtight in the fridge and then baked them on the thirs with some egg wash and sesame seeds. It was perfect for the two of us as we were both working from home on that day.

Print Recipe

Empanadas with Chicken Filling

Serves: For about 9 empanadas

Prep Time: 1hr 30min – Cooking Time: 25min – Total Time: 2hr

Empanadas are a staple in the Latin American cuisine, the turnovers are filled here mainly with chicken.

Ingredients

• Dough
• 30 grams of lard or, if you find, beef tallow, otherwise butter
• 115 grams of warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 300 grams of bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 
  
• Filling
• 350 grams of chicken breast
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 medium-sized carrot
• Salt, pepper, paprika powder, and dried thyme for seasoning
• 1 egg for egg wash and sesame seeds, if using

Instructions

1

For the dough place lard, warm water and salt in a large kneading bowl and stir. Add flour and oregano and either knead five miutes by hand or with the kneading function of your machine. Let rest covered for at least half an hour or overnight in the fridge.

2

For the filling boil the chicken in water for about 15 minutes. Then pull apart with two forks. Meanwhile peel and finely chop oinion and carrot. Then fry onion with a bit of oil in a frying pan, add the carrot pieces and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the pulled chicken and season generously. Let cool off. You can use the chicken broth otherwise and freeze it.

3

Roll out dough thinnly on floured surface. Cut out circles about 12-15cm in diameter. Mine have a diameter of 12.5 cm. This dough yielded 9 empanadas for me. Place about 2-4 teaspoons of filling on one circle, put a bit of water all around the edges and fold over the other half so that you have a half moon. Be sure to seal the edges with a fork. You may also braid the edges by always pulling one small part away and then folding in towards the center. For a visual, check this video. Repeat until you have no dough and filling left.

4

Meanwhile preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Brush empanadas with egg wash, sprinkle with seasame seeds and bake empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about 25min or until golden. Serve while still warm or on the day made.

Notes

Empanadas freeze beautifully fully prepared. Place frozen on baking sheet, brush with egg wash and bake for a few minutes longer.