Empanada | Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanada
Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanadas are the perfect baked appetizer filled with juicy sweet onions and Gouda cheese. The flaky pastry crust of this Vegetarian Empanada just melts in the mouth.
We are on Day 5 of our A-Z Baking around the World, and I realized that I did not have that many savory bakes planned out at all. Going through my bookmarks, I came across this Vegetarian Empanada recipe from Argentina.
We love Spanish flavors, and I thought this Empanada would be something that everyone in my family would love. The website I got inspired from to make these Empanadas has 4 different vegetarian filling options to choose from, and I chose to make the Onion and the Cheese Empanada.
It is very interesting to realize that every cuisine has some similarities with them. Like this empanada in Central America, there is Calzone in Italy, and Samosa or Puff in Indian cuisine. There is a slight difference in the dough and the filling, which is altered based on the local availability of ingredients.
Outer shell/covering
The Empanada shells are easily available in the supermarket, but since I was making them for the special month-long Marathon, I decided to make my own. The dough for the empanada is quite rich and buttery.
It is more like a pastry dough that makes the empanadas very flaky and tender. This was the first time I had used Gouda cheese, and I was very happy to have tried it out. My boys loved the cheese and ate the leftover piece of cheese by itself.
Fillings -
I used Spanish sweet onions as the filling for my vegetarian empanada recipe. You can use any onion, but make sure you caramelize it and let it sweat under low to medium heat to ensure that it releases its sweet juices.
I also added crushed red pepper to satisfy our spice-loving palate. My MIL is here with us now, and she does not like cheese. I made a few of the empanadas with just the onions, and she really enjoyed it.
Shaping -
Coming to shaping the empanada, I wanted to try out the rolling technique that is used in many Indian desserts like this Kusli from Chhattisgarh. I used a fork to seal the edges when I made them a couple of years back, but this time, I tried out the rolling technique.
It was one of the most effective ways to keep the filling inside, and I would highly recommend trying this technique out instead of using the fork. It does take a bit of practice and is a little time-consuming, but definitely worth the effort.
Preparation time - 20 minutes plus 3 hours of chilling time
Cooking / Baking time - 20 minutes plus 30 to 40 minutes of baking time per batch
Difficulty level - Intermediate
Ingredients to make the Empanada - Makes about 24 medium Empanadas
For the Dough -
- All-purpose flour - 2 ½ cups
- Butter (chilled and cubed) - 8 tablespoon (1 stick)
- Cold water - about ½ cup
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Baking powder - ½ tsp
For the filling -
- Spanish sweet onions - 2 (large, thinly sliced)
- Gouda Cheese - ¾ cup
- Oregano (dried) - 1 tsp
- Crushed red pepper - 2 teaspoon (optional)
- Salt - to taste
- Oil - 1 tbsp
To Assemble the Empanada -
- Heavy cream or milk - to brush the empanadas
- Sesame seeds - to sprinkle
Procedure to make the Empanada -
To make the Empanada dough/cover -
- In the bowl of a food processor or a large bowl, measure the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix.
- Add the chilled and cubed butter and combine it well until it resembles bread crumbs. I used my food processor and hence pulsed it a few times to combine the butter with the flour. Make sure you don't run the machine continuously, as that will increase the temperature and melt the butter.
- Slowly add the cold water until a stiff dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 2 halves and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 3 hours.
To make the filling -
- Thinly slice the onions.
- In a pan, heat the oil and then add the caramelized onions. Add the salt, crushed red pepper, and oregano, and let the onions cook on low to medium heat until light brown and aromatic (about 15 minutes).
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
To assemble the Empanada -
- Remove the refrigerated dough and roll it into a thin circle.
- Cut out about 3-inch-wide circles from the dough using a lid or cookie cutter. You could use a bigger size as well. I made my empanadas about 3 inches wide.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough and then re-roll the scraps and cut them out again.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of onion mixture on one half of the circle and add about 1 teaspoon of grated cheese.
- Cover the filling with the other half of the dough (form a semi-circle) and pinch the corners well. At this point, you could seal the empanadas using a fork or by folding the edges over each other (like I did). Whatever method you follow, make sure you seal them well.
- Place the prepared empanadas on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Use a fork, make several holes in each empanada so that the steam can release when baking.
Baking -
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Brush the empanadas using egg wash, cream, or milk. I use a combination of cream and milk.
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the empanadas.
- Place the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Serve hot with salsa!
Similar Recipes
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Recipe
Empanada | Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanada
Equipment
- Oven
- food processor
- Rolling Pin
- cookie cutter
Ingredients
For the Dough -
- 2 ½ cups All purpose flour
- 8 tablespoon Butter chilled and cubed - (1 stick)
- ½ cup Cold water -
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
For the filling -
- 1 Spanish sweet onions large, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup Gouda Cheese -
- 1 teaspoon Oregano dried
- 2 teaspoon Crushed red pepper optional
- to taste Salt
- 1 tablespoon Oil
To Assemble the Empanada -
- Heavy cream or milk - to brush the empanadas
- Sesame seeds - to sprinkle
Instructions
To make the Empanada dough / cover -
- In the bowl of food processor or in a large bowl, measure the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix.
- Add the chilled and cubed butter and combine them well until it resembles bread crumbs. I used my food processor and hence pulsed it a few times to combine the butter with the flour. Make sure you don't run the machine continuously as that will increase the temperature and melt the butter.
- Slowly add the cold water until a stiff dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 2 halves and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 3 hours.
To make the filling -
- Thinly slice the onions.
- In a pan heat the oil and then add the onions. Add the salt, crushed red pepper and the oregano and let the onions cook in low to medium heat until light brown and aromatic (about 15 minutes).
- Remove from heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
To assemble the Empanada -
- Remove the refrigerated dough and roll it into thin circle.
- Cut out about 3 inches wide circles from the dough using a lid or cookie cutter. You could use bigger size as well. I made my empanadas about 3 inch wide.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough and then re-roll the scraps and cut them out again.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of onion mixture on one half of the circle and add about 1 teaspoon of grated cheese.
- cover the filling with the other half of the dough (form a semi circle) and pinch the corners well. At this point, you could seal the empanadas using a fork or by folding the edges over each other (like I did). Whatever method you follow, make sure you seal them well.
- Place the prepared empanadas in a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Using a fork, make several holes on each empanada, so that the steam can release when baking.
Baking -
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Brush the empanadas using egg wash, cream or milk. I use a combination of cream and milk.
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the empanadas.
- Place the baking sheet in the middle rack and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Serve hot with salsa!
I used your recipe to make empanadas for our weekly themed cuisine night. The them was "Argentinian," and as a vegetarian, I felt a little at sea with all the beef-centric recipes I was finding. This was perfect and I'll be coming back to it over and over. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!
Elizabeth, thanks a lot! I know, many relate to empanadas with meaty filling. We love making them and try different combinations. Glad you liked the recipe.
How about your recipe for the dipping sauce "SALSA"
I use my regular Mexican Salsa recipe for it.
Homemade Quick and Easy Salsa
It’s too bad the recipe cannot be printed! I like to have the recipe at hand while in the process of creating. It keeps my sticky fingers off my computer.
I am so sorry, the recipe does not have a card yet. I am updating the post with the card soon.
Love those crusty and sumptuous looking empanadas. The hand made pattern on the edges is so pretty.
I have a very good friend who is Spanish and she once baked me some empanadas, l loved them, and l'm a big fan ever since. Your recipe is absolutely scrumptious, such a treat!
I love empanadas as well! These look (unsurprisingly) very similar to Chilean empanadas that I have made a few times, which are quite different from the Costa Rican empanadas that my husband loves. Such a great bake!
Oh, I love Spanish flavors, so this is just perfect recipe to try something new. These Empanada look absolutely delicious. I love cheese onion filling and serving suggestions. Can't wait to make these for my family. PS I LOVE your alphabet recipe series !!! Such a fun 🙂
I LOVE the alphabet series!! Empanadas are amazing, I would love to serve these to my family. yours look fabulous!
Your empanadas look really tasty! I may have to try making them when my daughter comes home from college, she'd really enjoy the flavors.
I love that you made the dough from scratch. I'm always so tempted to buy store-prepared dough whenever I made empanadas at home. And, I've never added chili peppers to the onion mixture - I really have to try that!
We love Empanada in the Philippines and we certainly have our own version of this. Unfortunately I haven't tried making it but with your great tutorial, I am now inspired. YUM!
I love caramelized onions, so I am all about the gouda cheese and onion filling! I could totally make a meal out of these, but I also think these would make a great appetizer!
The empanadas look so delicious and I love the simple cheese n onion filling. It makes for a great tea time snack.
These sound really good with the caramelized onions and gouda cheese. What a great combination and I love your step by step pictures.
Empanadas are also very similar to the pasties us Brits love, so I am sure I would enjoy this lovely recipe of yours! Looks so tasty, I could eat three in one sitting no problem 😉
Little pockets of deliciousness! I grew up eating sweet empanadas and don't often eat savory ones but this combination of cheese and onions sound amazing!
Wow love the artwork on these tasty little gems. The crust is beautiful. I have had a Mexican version...which I think would be similar. These would be a crowd pleaser for sure.
Hi. Loved the recipe of empanadas.
Can I also fry the same.
Pls let me know if there is any change in recipe for fry ing the empanada.
Hi Rekha, absolutely you can fry them. There is no change. Make sure to seal them well so the filling does not ooze out.
These look delicious and Gouda is one of my favorite cheeses. I bet a nice smoked one would be delicious, too! They also look so versatile.
You got me at empanadas, my guilty pleasure. It is so nice that food can connect us all in such a great way. Beautiful recipe =) onion and cheese a classic combo!
Love Empanadas! These look so flaky. Onion and cheese are always a perfect combination. Yum
I want to eat like 10 of these! Those caramelized onions have me drooling!
Yummm.. onion and cheese wow heavenly combo. Great choice.
Every bite would be a heaven for this delicious Empanadas!!
Omg, this empanadas are seriously a real torture Sandhya, and that filling rocks yaar, i want to munch some. Tempting to the core.
It has been ages since I tried these savory bakes, Sandhya these definitely remind you of our Indian sweets , but truly what a delicious mouth watering stuffing. Would love to grab one:))
It's great to have the patience of making it from scratch! These empanadas look perfect especially with cheese & onion filling ....drooling here. Gouda looks cute on the side.
Your empanadas look amazing Sandhya.. Golden brown crust and cheesy filling -- yummy!!
A very filling version. Would love to take a parcel of those 🙂
mouthwatering, pass me some, i can see my self digging into this anytime , loved the color of the empanadas
So wonderful you made these from scratch Sandhya. I would surely love these. I prefer a savory bake anyday and this is just what I would love to dig in right now!