Black Bean Baked Empanadas & Spanish Rice
An empanada, or stuffed turnover, is a wonderful tasting stuffed pastry that is often fried. Empanadas can be sweet or savory and remind me of my grandma’s amazing Latin cooking. As part of our Meatless Meals series, this delicious baked version calls for a store-bought pie crust – a great option when you are short on time! Pair these empanadas with easy Spanish rice and you’ll have an instant crowd-pleasing meal.
Baked Black Bean Empanadas
yield: 20 SERVINGS
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 15 MINUTES
total time: 35 MINUTES
Make these delicious flavor filled black bean baked empanadas!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup canned sweet corn
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
- 1/4 cup salsa (any variety)
- 1 tsp cumin, salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 pkg (14.1oz) refrigerated pie pastry
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- Optional: Egg white and small packet Sazon Goya seasoning
Directions
1
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2
In large bowl, mix corn, jalapenos, black beans, salsa, cumin, lime juice and cilantro. Set aside.
3
Unroll pie pastry on floured counter top or cutting board. Use a 4 inch wide cup or round cookie cutter to cut circles from the dough.
4
Roll out scrap pieces of dough for more circles (I was able to make 20 total).
5
Place bean mixture and a pinch of cheese on each circle. Fold over and use a fork to press down and seal edges.
6
Optional Step: Mix one egg white and one small packet Sazon Goya found in the Hispanic food aisle. It is a very inexpensive mix of salt, culantro, garlic, salt, cumin and Annatto (achiote) seeds. I brushed this on before baking to achieve a bright gold color and to add extra flavor.
7
Lay each empanada on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes, until browned.
8
Serve with remaining corn and black bean salsa.
Recipe adapted from Shugary Sweets
Easy Spanish Rice
adapted from Food.com
This basic rice recipe is so easy and has great flavor without being spicy. My kids loved it, and it’s so much better than the boxed versions! Enjoy 🙂
I absolutely LOVE Spanish food! Lina you’re the best!!
Me too! Thanks J 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! My son loves beans and rice. I’m adding these to the menu next week.
wow that looks amazing! Thanks for the post Lina!
Oh you’re welcome, thanks!
yummy:-)
Just got them baked …. I used puff pastry ( had in freezer) instead of pie pastry …. smell so good and taste sooooo yummy:) thanks for idea for lunch:)
Oh wow awesome! 🙂
Can we use brown rice?
Yes! Thanks.
Where’s the beef? 😉
Now that you say it, I never got the Wendy’s t-shirt I requested like 2-3 years ago for my husband!
This looks so good. I cannot wait to try it.
ok, Lina…are you taking adoption applications? i really just want to come over and eat…your food always looks so delicious!
Ha ha Thanks Tam! My family is always happy to taste test and this meal received approval 🙂
Goya sells empanada discs in the frozen food section of most supermarkets. I have seen them at Stop&Shop and other stores. All you have to do is let them defrost for a bit (or pop in the microwave until pliable but not too soft. Should have some firmness), stuff and fry or bake 🙂
I have used the Goya brand discs and they do not do well when baked. What was your trick.
There’s another brand, I can’t remember the name but not goya. Also in the frozen section and they bake better. If you rub a little olive oil on them before, they bubble up as if they were deep fried.
This is making me hungry!!
Looks so yummy and the pictures are so nice too!
Thanks so much Jennifer!
Hi Lina! Do you think these could be made ahead of time and frozen for a quick dinner later on in the week?
Yes! Love that idea. 🙂
Would you bake before you freeze them or after?
I would think you could do it either way??
I think either way too, but if you have the time I’d freeze and bake when ready 🙂
Linda,
I’m sick of you and all these wonderful meals you create! I found myself making a blackbean burger for lunch and now I have to go out and make this! It’s really becoming an issue for me, so just please stop already!
Thanks for all of the fav meal ideal!!!
Ha you’re welcome! Thanks 🙂
I am a life-long vegetarian and just want to say thank you so much for these beautiful recipes!!
Yum! Cannot wait to try this!
I am thinking of trying this with the rice in them.
Great idea! You can maybe make them bigger to fit more filling 🙂
i would like to either be adopted by you or adopt you, LOL. but either way, thanks for the easy, delish looking and healthy recipes!
Ha ha! Thank you for the nice comment!
I am thinking mushoom & sourekraut 🙂 i just love mushroom …..
I do almost the same mixture in Quasadillas just instead of the salsa I use green chilies. It is so funny because I serve them with my own made Spanish Rice with Brown Rice. I love the look of them made into Empanadas to freeze though. Wow they are beautiful. Thanks again Lina!
Can’t wait to try these. My kiddos are leaning towards being vegetarians and I’m running out of ideas!
I’ve made these before with ground turkey and diced green chiles, which you can sub for the jalapenos. Delicious!
wow this looks awesome, i’m with these other people….can i come live with you?? haha. Love your additions to Hip 2 save. A great marriage. Hope it continues!
Oh Lina! I’m loving all of the black bean recipes. I “made” black beans for the first time last week and love it! I did it in the crock pot like others suggested because I was nervous to cook it 😉 then I made some mint black bean brownies for the first time! Can’t wait to try these other recipes as we’ll!!
Oh I’m glad you are liking!! Thanks!
I have found using a tomato bouillon and diced onions makes a really good Spanish rice. I had never heard of tomato bouillon until recently.
Really enjoying the new meatless meals!
Can’t wait to try these – I have some pie crusts in my freezer that I got for $0.14 a box after mark down and coupons. Have been running out of ideas on how to use them so this is PERFECT!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe (I forgot that was even on my blog, hehe). Time to make it again 🙂
We are going to have a Black Bean weekend–Thanks for ALL the wonderful ideas!
You’re welcome!! I hope you enjoy 🙂
Lina – did you use one or two pie crusts for this recipe?
This sounds great! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the recipes.
hey, just wanted to say I found your recipe on Pinterest and gave it a go tonight. So good!!! The empanadas were filling and the jalepano gave it a nice kick. I LOVED the Spanish rice. Great ‘sticky’ consistency and taste. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello so I made this recipe a few days ago. I did tweak it a little by adding chicken and some enchilada sauce not much but I loved the kick this recipe had man oh man these were a huge hit in my house it was definitely worth the work and superveasu
Sorry continue it was super easy for my husband to bring to work! Thanks again!
Oh great news! Thanks for sharing 😀
I tried making these today with ground beef. I had the PIllsbury PIe Crust dough and i worked fine the first time I rolled out and cut out about 5-8 circles. When I went back to roll the dough again it became crumbly. I was very generous with the flour, too. At the end I was only able to get a solid 12 empanadas out of one pie crust dough and crumbles went to waste. Any suggestions on how to better utilize the entire crust and not have those crumble mess?
Could I possibly freeze some and fry at another time ?
Of course! My mom makes and freezes these a lot 😀
If I am making these as a thanksgiving appetizer can I prepare today or tomorrow and leave them in the fridge and then bake? Or should I freeze them and bake from frozen?
If I am making these as a thanksgiving appetizer can I prepare today or tomorrow and leave them in the fridge and then bake? Or should I freeze them and bake from frozen?
Could you substitute stewed tomatoes with diced tomatoes? Don’t have time to stop by store today !!
Oh I’m sure yes! Enjoy 👍
hey lina, thanks for the rice recipe
You’re so welcome!
My daughter and I, just made these empanadas, and we absolutely loved them! We had such a great time making them together as well, and we will definitely have these on the menu on a weekly basis. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Oh wow I’m so happy you loved them! And I’m glad that was a fun recipe to make together 💕👏yum!
The recipe says 20 servings. So is one empanada is one serving because they look small.
We just meant that it made 20. I think we ate a few per person. Thanks!
Made these tonight, and was rather pleased. I had to omit the cilantro, since no one likes it here ;). The small pastry discs were a pain honestly, and I happened to make on with a simple small corn tortilla shell, and I liked it as much (and it was easier). I might just do that next time. Overall a nice meatless option!
Hi,
What is the salsa? Tomato and onion? Like a pico de gallo. When I hear salsa I think of the dip for chips.
Thank you
They look amazing. What did you use for the pastry/dough?