5-Ingredient Cuban Empanadas with Homemade Dough
Growing up in a Cuban family, beef picadillo was on weekly rotation. But when you want to spice things up or use up picadillo leftovers? You make empanadas.
Cuban empanadas are typically fried, and the dough? It’s made with a brown sugar simple syrup and pork lard. Yeah, I said it – lard, baby!
These Cuban beef picadillo empanadas are filled with all that savory, perfectly seasoned goodness and wrapped up in crispy, golden pockets. If you’ve never made homemade empanadas before, buckle up because once you taste these, there’s no going back to store-bought dough.
Let me show you how to make them!
Recommended For This Recipe
Deep Fry Pan
This large, hard-anodized, nonstick pan makes frying easy and makes cleanup a breeze. Highly recommend!
Make The Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Syrup
This Cuban empanada recipe kicks off with a brown sugar-cinnamon syrup, which adds a subtle warm sweetness to the empanada dough and complements the pork lard perfectly.
Making The Empanada Dough
This isn’t your average dough recipe, mi gente. We use it to make delicious Cuban chicken empanadas and even sweet guava cheese empanadas, too.
🐖 Why use pork lard? Because Abuela said so, period. Just kidding. Honestly, the pork lard adds a rich, savory flavor to the dough that enhances the overall taste of the empanadas. If you’ve ever had Cuban bread, you understand exactly what I’m saying. You can also substitute it with other fats such as vegetable shortening or butter if preferred. However, using pork lard stays true to the traditional Cuban recipe! Trust me!
Once the brown sugar-cinnamon syrup has cooled, all you have to do is add it to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. The best part of this Cuban empanada dough is that it requires very few ingredients but has tons of flavor! I mean, name another empanada dough that uses pork lard, I’ll wait. :)
Here’s how you make the dough:
*IMPORTANT: You need to knead the dough on a clean work surface for 5-8 minutes until it is soft, smooth, and not sticky, then let it rest for 20 minutes. I know, I hate waiting too, but this step is important!
Storage Tips For Empanada Dough
If you’re not using the dough immediately, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Before using it, let the dough sit at room temperature to soften slightly, to make it roll out more easily.
You can also transfer it to a freezer-safe bag. Frozen empanada dough can last for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and let it thaw overnight before rolling it out.
Cuban Empanadas with Beef Picadillo Filling
Ingredients
Empanada Dough
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons pork lard
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cuban Beef Picadillo
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced green pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup vino seco, (dry cooking wine)
- 6 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt to taste, (start with 1/2 teaspoon then adjust from there)
- 1/4 cup Spanish olives, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons raisins, (or more to taste) optional
Instructions
Make the brown-sugar cinnamon simple syrup:
- In a saucepan, add water and the cinnamon stick then stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and transfer to a glass measuring cup to cool. Set aside.
Make the empanada dough:
- In a large bowl, add the flour, lard, and salt. Add in the cooled cinnamon sugar syrup, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with a fork until a smooth dough begins to form.
- Move the dough to a clean work surface and start kneading with your hands for 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and not sticky.
- Cut the dough into 12 evenly sized pieces and roll them into golf-size balls. On a clean and floured work surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 5-inch disc that’s 1/8-inch thick.
To make Cuban empanadas on the stove:
- Make my Cuban beef picadillo recipe. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and green peppers and, sauté for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Next, add ground beef and cook, breaking the meat apart, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat down to medium-low.
- Stir in cooking wine, tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, and, salt + pepper to taste. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until fragrant and saucy. Remove from the heat. Stir in olives and raisins (if using).
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of the beef filling into the center of the dough disc.
- Lightly brush the edges of the disc with water. Fold the top half of the circle over the filling then seal with a fork. Repeat with the rest of the dough or you can refrigerate the rest for another time.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 cup oil to 400ºF. Fry the empanadas for 3-4 minutes until crispy and golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towel-lined plates. Serve immediately.
Loved your ropa vieja recipe! Now to make empanadas with the leftovers :) Can i use bacon grease for pork lard?? 🤔
Sure! Can’t wait for you to make them!
Dear Jaime
I just wanted to tell you I enjoy your recepies very much. They are so cuban what I remember my mother cooking. So thank you for always making me remember my mom.
Yolanda, you’re so welcome! Thank you for making my day with this comment. :)