Colombian Empanada Recipe made with cornmeal (2024)

FAQs

What are Colombian empanadas made of? ›

These typical Colombian-style empanadas are tasty turnovers made with savory yellow corn dough stuffed with seasoned pork and beef mixed with cooked potatoes. The meat filling is typically made with cooked and shredded beef and pork, but here, we use ground meat to cut down in cooking time with similar tasty results.

In Colombia, empanadas are a beloved street food that can be found in almost every city and town. They're typically made with a cornmeal dough (not corn flour) and are filled with a mixture of ground beef, potatoes, onions, and spices.

Empanadas in Colombia most commonly use a ground-beef picadillo-type filling with potatoes and onions. In Venezuela, fresh farmers' cheeses are often stuffed inside, which makes a great snack or appetizer, but hungrier people should look to the pabellón filling.

The Spanish recipe was made with bread dough, the Mexican recipe with corn masa dough. This is where Mexican empanada history takes over. Each region in Mexico has their own version of the empanada. Some regions use wheat flour, some use corn masa dough, some are deep fried some are baked.

Empanadas de verde or plantain empanadas are plantain-based and filled with cheese and fried. These empanadas are most commonly found in the coastal regions of the country. With the growth of Southern Cone and Colombian immigrants, wheat- and meat-based baked empanadas and corn-based empanadas have also become popular.

Like the Venezuelan and Argentine empanada, the Colombian one has a half-moon shape. Its thickness is thinner, which helps make its texture crispier. They are also made with corn and some of the most popular are: Pipián: potato, hogao, egg, toasted peanuts and annatto.

Empanada dough is less flaky than pie crust (although you can substitute frozen pie crust dough in a pinch). It has a more tender texture that soaks up the filling without becoming soggy. This dough can be used for baked or fried empanadas, which are both great handheld dishes.

As mentioned above many people will use their favorite pre-made pie dough to make empanadas. This is because the ingredients for most dough recipes are very similar. Most pie doughs use flour, butter, salt, water, and sometimes egg; an ingredient list almost identical to those needed for this recipe!

Empanadas have their origin in the Spanish action Empanar connoting “wrap in bread.” Traditional empanadas hence are simply beef stuffing wrapped in pastry dough. Beef empanadas are small palm-sized meat pockets. They resemble the Arabian Samosas and Italian calzones.

Argentina has become world-famous for their empanadas which are widely available in Buenos Aires and across the country as fast-food options and restaurant staples. As with many recipes, that of empanadas was shared through generations and carried to many other nations.

How are Puerto Rican empanadas different? ›

“In the south of the island they call everything an empanadilla; while, in the center of the island and the north, they call it pastelillo. The difference is in the way in which the dough is prepared and how the stuffing ingredients are prepared.

The Many Names of Empanadas

For instance, Americans call them meat pies, and Jamaicans call them beef patties. At the same time, Indians call them samosas, and people in Latin America or Spain call them pastelillos or pastelitos. The glory of this dish is that there is not a right or wrong way to cook it.

Como ya sabrás, empanadas are quite common throughout Latin America. From Bolivia's salteñas to the Dominican Republic's catibias, just about every country makes their own version. Two countries, however are internationally renowned for their takes on the empanada: Colombia and Argentina.

Chile. Chilean empanadas are bigger than their Argentine counterparts, and the meat-filled variety always includes olives (watch out for the pits!) and raisins. Fried seafood empanadas are also popular.

Whereas the Argentine empanada pastry almost melts in your mouth, Colombian empanadas are made with a golden cornmeal masa dough and fried until crisp.

Today we're making homemade empanada dough that can be used to make pastelillos, empanadas, and so much more! It's made with just 5 ingredients (flour, butter, salt, egg, and water) and comes together in less than an hour.

Arepas are gluten free corn buns filled with beef, chicken, black beans, plantains, avocado, or a combination of all. Arepas fit almost every dietary restriction. Peter's Panas also has a wide variety of empanadas with different fillings such as chicken, beef, and black bean.