Crispy Chorizo Empanadas
These homemade Crispy Chorizo Empanadas are loaded with extra flavorful goodness! Perfectly seasoned chorizo (pork sausage), sautéed onions, corn, manzanilla olives, and cheese. That delicious filling is then wrapped in scratch-made, tender pastry dough and fried to crispy perfection. The best empanadas, ever! Cooking instructions for both air fryer and oven-baked empanadas included!
I am a complete fan, stan, groupie, and all else words for some chorizo…and also for nearly any kind of patty or empanada tbh. Maybe it’s my Caribbean roots or maybe it’s because I just know what’s good, who knows, ha! There’s a local spot near me that sells these killer chorizo breakfast burritos and it sparked this new recipe’s development. Y’all, these crispy chorizo empanadas tho, WHEW!
Crispy Chorizo Empanadas, Drool! 😍
Have you ever had chorizo before? This is a kind of pork sausage that has a few different variations. You might be familiar with Spanish chorizo which is a hard/dried, cured, smoked sausage (typically found in casings). This one can be sliced and is found with the ready-to-eat cured meats like pepperoni.
⇢ For these crispy chorizo empanadas, we’re using ground Mexican chorizo. Unlike Spanish chorizo, this type of fatty sausage is fresh and must be cooked (just like you would ground beef/chicken). Mexican chorizo is loaded with flavor because it is highly seasoned! Flavor from paprika, ancho chili powder, red chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, and so much more.
These empanadas are filled with juicy chorizo sausage and other filling ingredients that make them so incredibly good. Furthermore, while they might look challenging to whip up, empanadas are truly so easy to make! Everything here is authentically homemade, from the filling to the tasty empanada dough, y’all. While they take a bit of preparation, they’re worth the effort!
What You’ll Need For These Empanadas
(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)
- For the empanada dough: flour, sugar, salt, beef tallow (or other fat-see recipe card notes, below), and ice-cold water. This pastry dough is absolute perfection and yields a tender, buttery, and crisp dough once cooked.
- For the empanada filling: olive oil, ground Mexican chorizo, onion, garlic, scallions, salt/pepper, manzanilla olives, corn, and cheese. Love all the elements taking place here and you will as well. Can we say flavor-filled?!
How To Make Chorizo Empanadas
(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)
- Make the dough
- Knead the dough
- Chill the dough
- Make the filling
- Cool the filling
- Assemble empanadas
- Fry the empanadas
- Serve!
What To Serve/Pair With These Empanadas?
Most of the time these chorizo empanadas get shoved straight to the face whenever made lol. Although, sometimes when I wanna serve them up to entertain, they get a little more razzle dazzle. Here’s what we do:
- salsa: nearly any kind of your favorite salsa for dipping!
- chimichurri: another great option for zippy freshness!
- guacamole: this one hasn’t been tried on my end, but I’ve had some friends scoop a little guac onto theirs and they love it!
Make Ahead Empanadas
These chorizo empanadas are great to prep ahead of time! You can prep both the dough and the filling up to 2 days in advance. For the dough, keep covered tightly in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. For the filling, keep it stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat the filling before assembling the empanadas. On the day-of cooking, it makes everything a breeze! Woohoo.
Storing/Reheating Leftover Empanadas
- Refrigerate: Keep any leftover empanadas stored inside of an airtight container. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Keep any leftover empanadas stored inside of a flat, airtight baggie (helps to prevent freezer burn). They will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month- perhaps even longer!
- Reheating: For the best taste and overall texture, I recommend reheating leftover empanadas in the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F and reheat refrigerated empanadas for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. For frozen empanadas, reheat for 20-25 minutes or until warmed through completely. Pre-made empanadas to have on demand, amen!! 🙌🏾
Tips + Tricks, FAQs, & More For The Best Crispy Chorizo Empanadas You Will Ever Have
As with many recipes, you may have additional questions regarding things to do (or change) for these chorizo empanadas. Like other BBR recipes, I always recommend sticking to the recipe as it is written in the recipe card, below. However, here’s some extra tidbits in case you need ’em:
- Making the dough: Feel free to bring the dough together in a food processor. Simply add the flour, sugar, salt, and fat/butter into the processor bowl. Then pulse together until the fat has blended with everything. Slowly stream in the ice water until the dough comes together.
- Chill the dough. Fat tends to soften when handling dough. Chilling the dough allows for the fat to solidify. Additionally, chilled dough is a lot easier to handle/roll out than room temperature dough.
- Use a kitchen scale: For precise weight/size of your empanadas, I recommend using a kitchen scale. This helps to divide the dough into equal pieces so that each of your empanadas will look uniform in size.
- Can I replace the chorizo? Oof…the chorizo here is truly the star of the show, peeps. However, if needed, ground beef, ground pork, and ground chicken are all great alternatives. Keep in mind that Mexican chorizo is highly seasoned as-is; if using any of the 3 mentioned, be sure to season the ground meat with spices to your taste!
- Let’s talk olives! I like the taste of Manzanilla (Spanish) olives, especially since they’re on theme with the Latin vibe here. Although, use whatever kind of olives you’d like, castelvetrano, kalamata, and other varieties.
- Cheesy, cheesy goodness. I recommend using super melty cheeses like shredded mozzarella, Oaxaca, and chihuahua cheeses.
Add these Crispy Chorizo Empanadas to your must-make list. It’s a surefire bet that everyone will drool over them! Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾
Print
Crispy Chorizo Empanadas
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 7
- Category: Appetizers & Snacks
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Latin
Description
These homemade Crispy Chorizo Empanadas are loaded with extra flavorful goodness! Perfectly seasoned chorizo (pork sausage), sautéed onions, corn, manzanilla olives, and cheese. That delicious filling is then wrapped in scratch-made, tender pastry dough and fried to crispy perfection. The best empanadas, ever! Cooking instructions for both air fryer and oven-baked empanadas included!
Ingredients
For the pastry dough:
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 cups beef tallow or duck fat/vegetable shortening- see notes
- 1 1/4 cups ice cold water
For the chorizo empanada filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb ground Mexican chorizo (pork sausage)
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste or 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 3 scallions (green onions), chopped
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup Manzanilla (Spanish) olives
- 1/2 cup whole kernel corn
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese
- vegetable or canola oil, for frying
Instructions
For the pastry dough:
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt together. Whisk the dry ingredients well to combine. Then add in the beef tallow/alternate fat (or butter, if using- see notes). Use your hands (fitted with disposable gloves, if desired) to pinch the fat into the dry mixture until little pea-sized bits form throughout and all the fat is coated with the flour mixture.
- Then make a small well in the center of the mixture and pour in the ice-cold water. Use your hands, again, to bring everything together as much as you can. Empty out the bowl and all residual bits onto a clean surface. Use your hands to knead the dough together, squeezing the dough onto itself until the dough forms into one cohesive mass with no dry bits.
- Shape the dough into a ball and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Transfer the dough into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours- fyi: allow the dough to sit on the counter to soften some before assembling empanadas).
For the chorizo empanada filling:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat the bottom of the skillet with the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the ground chorizo. Use a wooden utensil to cook the chorizo, stirring often, until completely browned. Then add in the chopped onion, and continue cooking, about 3-4 minutes or until the onions are tender.
- Stir in the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add in the scallions, stir together and continue cooking the mixture for another 2-3 minutes.
- Season the chorizo mixture with salt/pepper- to taste, and then remove from the skillet from heat. Toss in the olives and corn and fold within the mixture to combine. Allow the filling to cool down before assembling the empanadas.
Chorizo empanada assembly & cooking:
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. For optimal precision, use a deep fry thermometer to heat the oil up to 360°F. Then set a large baking sheet aside that’s fitted with a wire rack (or lined with paper towels).
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and divide the dough into equal pieces for empanadas. I like to use a kitchen scale to get a uniform size in each piece of dough (I make mine about 5.5 ounces each, which will result in a total of 7 chorizo empanadas). You can weigh yours out to be smaller for more empanadas, too.
- After gathering the pieces of dough, roll them into the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Then use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a round circle that is about 6-7 inches.
- Fill one side of the pastry with about 4 tablespoons of the chorizo filling mixture. For smaller empanadas, use 2 tablespoons. Then top the mixture with a few tablespoons of the shredded cheese. Fold the empty side of the pastry over the filling, forming a crescent shape (half-moon), tucking the filling in, if needed. Then, I like to use my hands to gently apply a little pressure over the filled empanada (ensuring that there is no trapped air/open space).
- Then use a fork to crimp the edges or fold small pleats (as pictured) to seal. Place the empanada onto a clean platter and repeat the process until all empanadas have been assembled and set aside.
- Once the oil temperature is reached, add the empanadas into the oil, working in batches (about 2 at a time). Fry the empanadas until they get crispy with a golden-brown color, about 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted utensil or kitchen spider to remove the empanadas and set onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining empanadas.
- Allow the chorizo empanadas to cool down for 5 minutes. Then serve immediately alongside your favorite salsas, chimichurri, or other sauces for dipping the empanadas, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please read the blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
- For the pastry dough fat: I recommend using beef tallow, duck fat, or vegetable shortening. Otherwise, you can use 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes or grated.
