Chicken Empanadas

Chicken Empanadas

  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 38 mins
  • Yield: 8-9 empanadas, (approx.)
  • About This Recipe

    “Tired of sandwiches for lunch? Try these little pies instead. They freeze well and pack in lunch sacks well. Make them smaller for appetizers.”

    Ingredients

  • 1cupcooked chicken
  • 1/2 cupmonterey jack cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cupcheddar cheese, grated
  • 1cangreen chili, chopped
  • 1teaspoonminced garlic
  • 3tablespoonsminced green onions
  • 1/2 teaspooncumin, ground
  • 1teaspoonsalt
  • 2frozen pie crusts
  • 3egg yolks
  • 2tablespoonskosher salt
  • 1tablespoonchili powder
  • Directions

  • Mix together first 8 ingredients, and refrigerate until ready to assemble empanadas.
  • On a floured surface, roll out pie shells and cut into 4-inch circles (use all the pie dough by re-rolling scraps).
  • Place approximately 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture in center of dough circles.
  • Fold each circle in half and crimp edges with a fork.
  • Place on a baking sheet and brush tops with egg yolks.
  • Sprinkle top with mixed salt and chili powder.
  • Bake 12-13 minutes at 400F degrees.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature.
  • Freezes well.
  • Reviews

  • “Miss Annie, all I can say if yum!!!! I have been taste testing several appetizers for a shower I am throwing- Tested these on hubby & daughter and the said they were awesome.Really great flavor and very easy.This is truely one of the winners!”

  • “UPDATE — I made a half recipe of these again today, and they came out tastier. This time I used just under a cup of shredded chicken, and only a half cup or less of Monterey Jack (no cheddar this time). I moistened the mix with about a tablespoon of green taco sauce (La Victoria brand), and gave it a generous dose of chili powder and some salt. I used one green onion (next time I;; try red onion), and about a tablespoon of finely chopped tomato. What especially made them good this time, though: I remembered to brush ’em with egg yolk and sprinkle on the salt and chili powder, which adds flavor and makes them crisp. With 1 pie crust, I got 13 appetizers using a 3″ round cookie cutter. (Someone more deft with a rolling pin might get one more.) 12 min. at 400° was just right. Excellent this time! Thank you, Miss Annie!”

  • “These are so good. I found Empanada circles in the frozen section of a latin market and they were very easy to use. they are called discos. I cut salt in half for the inside mixture and only used 1/2 tsp for the top. I will be making these again real soon.”

  • “Holy cow that was salty!!! Wow!!!I added almost a cup more chicken and it was still salty.I ended up not putting any additional salt on the outside and it was still over powering. For anyone attempting this I reccomend the following:
    1) If you are using canned green chiles, rinse them off (lots of salt in there!)
    2) Save the salt until last in the filling, taste it before you add any salt, and just slowly add it
    3) If you want salt on the outside just try to underseason the filling a little to compensate.I’ll have to try this again and try to adjust it to suit my tastes a little bit.Beware! 3tsp is just waaaaay too much in my opinion. My gut told it was too much when I was following the recipe.I should have listened!”

  • “The filling was good but I did have a problem with it oozing out (probably my fault, I was in a hurry).I used a homemade pie crust so they turned out nice and flaky.I have to say the chili powder salt mixture seemed a lot for sprinkling on the outside so i cut it down and it still tasted way too salty.My kids had to scrape it off before they would eat it.Overall, it was ok, but I doubt I’ll make it again.”

  • “The topping (salt and chili powder) just ruined it.I was excited to find something that would work for leftover pie crust, but unfortunately, most of this went in the trash.”

  • “Fantastic recipe. I followed the recipe except I cut down on the salt that went on top. These were a hit. We served with queso, salsa and sour cream. The family loved them. I did have trouble with the cheese oozing out, but we didn’t care.”

  • “I made these for a girls game night. that had a Latin theme.They were an amazing hit.I made them that afternoon so they were served at room temperature.I accidentally put 1 tsp of chili powder in the mix (just wasn’t paying attention) so i sprinkled them very sparingly.They tasted wonderful.Using the frozen pie crusts made the prep much easier as well.This is now my “go to” recipe for appetizers.”

  • “I made these for lunch today and we loved them.I used a bowl for the cutter so not sure what size mine were but didn’t matter to us.This made 9 and a tiny one to use up the leftover pie crust.I loved it.DS suggested to add cream cheese next time.I might try that, but don’t need to, they were great as is.I did think they were a bit salty but that is an easy fix and I won ‘t use as much of the topping next time.Thank you so much for a great lunch for this summer.”

  • “I loved the idea, and we enjoyed them; but next time I make them I will use a different filling. My husband liked it, but it wasn’t to my taste. I made them up in the evening to pack for lunch the next day and he ate several right out of the oven!I completely forgot to add the topping spices and wash, and I’m sure it would have made them even better.”

  • “Loved these! Definitely a go-to recipe to keep – thanks for sharing!”

  • “The pie crust makes these very savory, almost like chicken pot pie with a kick.I forgot to add the garlic, but didn’t miss it.I had about a cup of leftover filling.Thanks for the recipe!”

  • “A great base recipe. Very tasty and I can not wait to try other combination’s.”

  • “Delicious! We dipped ours in queso…I used a very small amount of salt in the recipe and on top of the empanadas and they tasted great!”

  • “My BF thought these weren’t going to be as good because it was a shortcut recipe (his GM made everything from scratch) but he LOVED these! My son did too. I gave it 4 stars just because doing it as the recipe said was a little too salty for my liking, but the boys ate them up. Will use again!”

  • “I cut back to 1/2 tsp. of salt and we loved them!DS and his friend had more than their fair share (I only got 1) and raved about them at the table.Guess what I’m making again soon so I can have more than 1???You guessed it these Chicken Empanadas!”

  • “Yummy, but next time I’ll go a little less on the salt.”

  • “I was going to give these 4 stars because of the saltiness, but I think people should give these a try, so I kept it at 5.I have only made these once, and the tops had WAY too much salt, as others stated, even without using all of the salt called for.I will make these again, though, because they were still very delicious and flavorful, and simple to make.I used canned chicken, and that made it super easy.I will definitely cut way back on the salt, but other than that, this recipe is wonderful.BTW, does anyone know if you freeze them before or after baking?What’s the best way to reheat them? Thanks.”

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