Texas Beef Empanadas

Texas Beef Empanadas are great as an appetizer, snack, or a meal. Made with shredded Chuck Roast and jalapeños, the bold flavors inside are complimented with the flaky crust on the outside. Serve with the BBQ dipping sauce and a twist of lime. Delicious.

Texas Beef Empanadas

What a great appetizer, although I’ve eaten them as a meal before. Too good to eat just one.

They’re also a great way to use leftover shredded beef, like from a Slow Cooker Chuck Roast.

An appetizer of pie crust wrapping a beef-filled center served with a dipping sauce.

Making Texas Beef Empanadas

Take out the pie crusts according to package directions to let thaw or come to room temperature.

Also, get the baking sheets ready by lining them with parchment.

You can also lightly grease the sheets or spray non-stick if you don’t have parchment.

Scrumptious Dipping Sauce

Keep this recipe handy for other times you might want this sauce.

It’s so good and it’ll be great with other appetizers or at BBQs.

So, in a small bowl, mix the sour cream, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and some fresh lime juice.

Mix it up and cover with plastic wrap.

Then, let the magic of the refrigerator marinate the flavors together while you make the rest of it.

You can also preheat the oven to 375° now.

Beef Empanadas

In your skillet, heat the oil on medium and saute the onions and jalapeños until they start to soften.

This takes about 5 minutes stirring often.

Then, add the shredded beef, garlic, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce.

Continue to cook and stir for another 3 minutes to get everything well combined, then pour the beef mixture into a bowl.

Removing it from the skillet prevents anything from burning or getting too mushy.

Stir in the cheddar cheese.

Time to start the assembly line.

Assembly line for pie-crust-wrapped appetizers filled with a beef center.

In a small bowl, make your egg wash by whisking an egg with water.

Then, working one pie crust at a time, lay one out flat.

Now, using a cookie cutter or rim of a glass or bowl, cut out 4-inch circles.

Yes, the circles can be bigger or smaller, but 4-inches is a great place to start.

With a smaller circle, you get more crust to meat ratio.

With a bigger circle, you get more meat to crust ratio.

Appetizers brushed with egg wash, then baked.

Brush the edges of the circles with the egg wash and plop about a tablespoon of filling in the center.

I highly recommend sound effects during this phase.

Fold the circle over until the edges match up and crimp with a fork to seal.

If the dough doesn’t stretch that far, you have too much filling.

If they’re flat as pancakes, add more filling.

They should be plump little pillows that don’t burst at the seams when baking…fingers crossed.

Ok, then brush more egg wash over the tops to help them turn a beautiful golden brown.

Bake for 20 – 24 minutes and serve warm with that scrumptious dipping sauce on the side.

So good!

Texas Beef Empanadas

Appetizer Recipes:

I love a good party where there are lots of appetizers to nibble and graze from.

check out these recipes for your next party.

…or go to the Appetizers section for the whole list.

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5 from 4 votes

Texas Beef Empanadas

Shredded beef highlight the flavorful filling wrapped in a flaky crust, plus dipping sauce.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: flaky pie crust, jalapeños, shredded beef, tapas
Servings: 20
Calories: 167kcal
Author: Sweet Ordeal

Ingredients

Sauce:

  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. hot sauce
  • fresh lime juice, to taste

Empanadas:

  • 14.1 oz. box frozen or refrigerated pie crusts (2), such as Pillsbury
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
  • 1 1/4 cups cooked Chuck roast, shredded or finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. BBQ sauce
  • 1 tsp. hot sauce
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp. water

Instructions

  • If frozen, thaw out pie crusts according to package directions, then line two baking sheets with parchment.

Sauce:

  • In small bowl, mix together sour cream, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and lime juice. Allow sauce to marinate in refrigerator while you make empanadas.

Empanadas:

  • Preheat oven to 375°. Pour olive oil into skillet, heat to medium. Add onion and jalapeño. Stir and cook for 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.
  • Add to skillet shredded beef, garlic, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce. Continue stirring and cooking for another 3 minutes.
  • Transfer beef mixture to bowl. Stir in cheese until well combined.
  • Whisk egg and water in small bowl and set aside.
  • Lay pie crusts flat and cut out 4" circles. (Circles can be slightly smaller or larger.)
  • Brush egg wash on edges of crust circles. Place about 1 tablespoon of beef mixture in center, then fold over one side. Bring edges together and crimp edge with fork to seal.
  • Place filled empanadas on baking sheets. Brush egg wash over tops of each empanada, then bake for 20 - 24 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
  • Serve empanadas warm with dipping sauce on the side. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 114IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetordeal or tag #sweetordeal!

Texas Beef Empanadas

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Texas Beef EmpanadasTexas Beef EmpanadasCopyright © Sweet Ordeal. All content and images are copyright protected. Do not use any images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, make sure to re-write the recipe in your own words and only list ingredients making sure to link back to this post for the original recipe and directions.

5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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3 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I could barely wait to use leftovers from my son’s brisket to make these empanadas. It was worth the wait. These were delicious!

    The sauce was soooo good. I used Sirache sauce in place of regular hot sauce, since I didn’t have any. As Lori says, use whatever you have.

    The recipe was easy to read and follow. I made larger ones and used it as a main course, added air-fryer fries and okra.

    It was delicious!!!

    Thanks Lori for another scrumptious dinner!