Homemade Vegan Empanada Dough
This our easy recipe for making homemade vegan empanada dough that can be used for baking or frying. It contains step–by–step photos courtesy of Layla Pujol of Laylita’s Recipes as well as an instructional video courtesy of Sweet N Spicy Living. You can make the dough by hand, or use a food processor (we used a stand mixer).
Making homemade empanada dough is not as hard as you might think, especially if you have a food processor (or a stand mixer). And even if you don’t, it is still pretty easy to make by hand because the dough only requires minimal kneading.
What are Empanadas?
Empanadas, also known as turnovers, hand pies and in Argentina they’re known as Tucumanas, are one of my hubby’s favorite foods. They’re so versatile and can be made with an infinite number of delicious fillings—you can be as creative as you want.
Empanadas are also the perfect way to use leftovers, especially when you don’t have enough left for a full meal and you want to avoid food waste. If you’re looking for a recipe for a plant–based protein filling for this vegan empanada dough, check out our Homemade Argentinian Plant–Based Protein Empanadas. And if you’re looking for more empanada recipes, check out Layla’s All About Empanadas: The Empanada 101 Guide.
Store Bought Empanada Discs vs Homemade Empanada Dough
These days it is very easy to find the empanada discs already made (frozen) in Latin American food shops, and even though I was skeptical at first, they are actually quite good. However, they’re usually made with butter or lard, which is why I prefer this vegan homemade version that tastes better and fresher.
Another benefit of making homemade empanada dough is that you can customize the dough by adding spices or herbs that will add flavor and complement or contrast the filling. You can also make a large batch of homemade empanada dough, roll it out, cut it into discs, and freeze them (with parchment or wax paper between each disc) for later use.
Make the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center. Add the melted shortening and 1 ¼ cups of the water. Stir well with a spatula, until the dough starts coming together. Switch to your hands and add the remaining ½ cup water, kneading until the dough comes together (it will be soft and sticky).
Turn the dough onto a well–floured surface and knead it until it holds together in a ball and no longer sticks to your fingers (about 1 to 2 minutes). If it’s sticky, lightly sprinkle more flour. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest the dough for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 22–24 equal pieces, each weighing about 1 ½–1 ¾ ounces or 50 g (see photos 11–14 below). Roll each piece into a ball, folding the bottom of the dough onto itself so that the ends are at the bottom and the tops are smooth (the way you’d shape rolls). Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet and cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Let them rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
We highly recommend using a digital scale to achieve evenly portioned balls of dough. The balls are even, and therefore my empanadas are all uniform in size. If you have a tortilla press, this next step will be much faster than rolling out the dough by hand.
Line a tortilla press with a compostable zip–top freezer or sandwich bag that has been cut open on three sides so that it opens like a book. Place a ball of dough in the middle of the tortilla press, fold over the freezer or sandwich bag to cover it, lightly press it by hand into a flat disc, then use the press to flatten it into a 4–inch round, ⅛–inch thick, or roll it out with a rolling pin (see photos 15–18 below). Stack the discs with parchment (or wax) paper in between to avoid sticking.
To use the dough discs immediately, first refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. Or, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container until ready to use (1–2 days max), or freeze.
How to Make Vegan Empanada Dough
Easy recipe with step–by–step photos and video for homemade empanada dough.
Yields: 12 medium or 22–24 small empanada dough discs
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Equipment
- Parchment (or wax) paper cut into 12 (8×8 inch) or 22–24 (5×5 inch) squares
- Tortilla press (optional)
Ingredients
- 5 ¾ cups (756 grams) all–purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) vegetable shortening (or margarine), melted
- 1 ¾ cups hot water (140°F)
- Egg wash, made with 1 beaten egg + 2 tsp. water (optional)
Instructions
- Add salt to flour. Add shortening and incorporate well using your hands. When mixed, add water. We used a stand mixer to make the dough.
- Once the dough is cool enough to touch, bring to the table and pinch off small balls of about 1 ½–1 ¾ ounces to better be able to roll. With the rolling pin roll out each individual ball to a round shape and a thickness of about 3–4 mm (doesn’t need to be perfectly round)—if you have a tortilla press you can use it to flatten the dough balls. The dough can be difficult to handle if it gets too warm, so roll out the balls in small batches while keeping the rest in the fridge.
- Pile the cut discs and separate them using sheets of parchment (or wax) paper and cover with a towel so they don’t dry out. Keep rolling until you’ve rolled out all the balls. Depending on the thickness this should yield about 24 discs.
- To make the empanada dough by hand, follow the same instruction but use your hands to mix the ingredients together.
- To use the dough discs immediately, first refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. Or, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container until ready to use (1–2 days max), or freeze.
How to Make Empanadas
We’d love to hear from you and what you thought of this post. Did you make any changes to the recipe? Let us know in the comments below.
Sources:
How to make empanada dough for baking
https://www.laylita.com/recipes/how-to-make-empanada-dough/
ARGENTINIAN BEEF EMPANADAS TUCUMANAS (HAND-CUT BEEF, EGG, AND GREEN ONION EMPANADAS)
https://mission-food.com/hand-cut-beef-egg-and-green-onion/
Jul 15, 2020 by Victoria
HOW TO MAKE TASTY EMPANADAS
https://lovefoodies.com/tasty-empanadas/
EMPANADAS
https://www.cook2eatwell.com/empanadas/
Published: May 24, 2018 · Modified: Aug 16, 2022 by Elizabeth