This recipe was developed in honor of BA contributor Gaby Melian’s mother, who told her that if you left out the green pepper, it wasn’t a chicken empanada. You could add a hard-boiled egg to the filling, which is typical in Argentina, but in Gaby’s house, after years of tasting and perfecting, they prefer the texture without it. See step-by-step instructions here. and get the beef empanadas recipe here.
Ingredients
Makes about 36
2
2
3
2
1
1
3
2
1
¼
3
Preparation
Step 1
Bring chicken, bay leaves, and 2½ cups water to a simmer in a medium pot over medium and cook until chicken is cooked through, 30–40 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; discard bay leaves and reserve broth. Let chicken sit until cool enough to handle, then coarsely chop.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot over medium and cook onion and bell peppers, stirring, until tender but not browned, 6–8 minutes; season with salt and black pepper. Stir in tomato paste and cook until brick red, 1–2 minutes. Add paprika, oregano, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add reserved broth and chicken along with any accumulated juices to pot. Stir in 4 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until most of the liquid is evaporated, 15–20 minutes; taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and chill at least 3 hours.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 375°. Let dough sit at room temperature 15 minutes to temper. Remove 6 rounds from package, keeping plastic divider underneath, and arrange on a work surface. Place 2 Tbsp. filling in the center of each round. Brush water around half of outer edge of each round. Using plastic divider to help you, fold round over filling and pinch edges to seal. Using a fork, crimp edges. Remove plastic and transfer empanada to a parchment-lined sheet tray, spacing 1" apart. Repeat with remaining rounds (you’ll get about 12 empanadas on each tray).
Step 4
Bake empanadas, rotating tray halfway through, until golden brown and slightly darker around the edges, 25–35 minutes.
Step 5
Do Ahead: Filling can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Unbaked empanadas can be made 3 months ahead; freeze on sheet tray, then transfer to freezer bags and keep frozen.
Leave a Review
Reviews (33)
Back to TopQuite good, rather time consuming. I checked the chicken temp after 25 minutes and it was already done. Luckily, with chicken thighs and the fact that they’re chopped meant no harm. Like another reviewer, the liquid didn’t come close to being nearly evaporated after even twice the time specified. I ended up draining them through a sieve. I’ll use the liquid to flavor something else! I also have been unable to locate empanada dough but I had a couple packages of puff pastry which I hoped would be enough. You can’t quite make 5” rounds from a sheet of pastry,but it’s close enough. 2 packages made a total of 16 empanadas, not enough to use up the filling,so you’d still need at least 3 packages to use up the filling. I just ate the leftover filling over rice. The empanadas held up well as long as they were well crimped. We ate half — they were quite delicious — and I froze the rest as directed, placing in a single layer wrapped individually in a piece of parchment to protect them in a ziplock freezer bag after freezing overnight on a baking sheet. I haven’t tried making the frozen ones yet so I don’t know how baking will differ from fresh. I haven’t decided if I would make them again. Probably worth the effort if you don’t otherwise have access to empanadas.
Pam
Albany NY
1/12/2024
I loved the response from my family and friends...everyone enjoyed the empanadas ...great flavour (this recipe was more than enough for 6 adults and 5 teens). I only wish we could get the Goya pastry here in New Zealand!
Maxine
New Zealand
10/15/2021
It would be helpful to include an amount of dough for those of us who make our own dough, or a link to an empanada dough recipe.
Laura Gaardsmoe
Santa Clara, CA
6/28/2021
I make empanadas frequently using Goya brand Discs (slightly bigger around & crispier) or Goya empanada wrappers (smaller around & puffier.) Always bake on parchment paper 375 degrees and come out delicious every time! Easy for a beginner chef. I was looking for a good recipe to use up roasted chicken leftovers. Going to try this recipe tonight - I may put some cheese in the filling. (Serve with homemade simple Broccoli Soup and Salad. ) Thanks!
Polly R.
Spring, TX
6/4/2021
Delicious! Very easy to make and they came our amazing. I used "la salteña" discs for the oven version (holjandradas). They taste so yummy! It's like a flaky pastry and I brush some beat egg so it gives an extra golden shine color
Dayana Hemant
NJ
3/31/2021
Can’t wait to make these ! It’ll be my first ever attempt to make empanadas. My question is, are they a meal by themselves or is there a good side dish for these?
Marcia
Bantam,Ct
2/26/2021
Wow, this recipe was too good! I bought Goya discs and followed the recipe and added a garlic seasoning. I can't get over how delicious they were. Plus I baked the in an air fryer and brushed avocado oil on top of the pasty to make it even more crispier and flakey.
Monique
Laguna Niguel, CA
11/25/2020
I had trouble with this recipe. First, my filling was still fairly soupy even after simmering it at least 10 minutes past the recommended time—should I have used less of the liquid from boiling the chicken? It was cohesive enough to not run until I closed up the pastry. Second, I only had puff pastry sheets, not precut rounds, so I was only able to cut these to a 4.5" round with what I had. I crimped as instructed, but they did not want to stay closed during baking. They also didn't take on much color so I added an eggwash. Taste of the filling is delicious so I'd try this again with a few tweaks!
Paparazzi2020
California
6/28/2020
So easy to make and so delicious. The store-bought empanada shells are a life saver (so glad I heard it on the podcast)!
Anonymous
Milwaukee
3/25/2020
Wonderful recipe, turned out great. Mostly reviewing to help counteract that one-star review that says nothing about how the dish tastes.
TeddyVW
Iowa City, IA
10/1/2019
This is an amazing recipe. I made it for a family dinner and they all loved it. Thank you Gaby for this wonderful recipe!
Braden Martin
Indianapolis, Indiana
4/25/2019
Each package of puff pastry dough has a net weight of 11.6 oz. (about 330 g).
Bon_Appetit
New York, NY
2/14/2019
It is absolutely delicious! You have keep checking flavor, also I added 1 potato 🥔, a little bit of cumin and it was tasty. Other than that recipe is great!!! Saving and it’s a keeper.
jessicaol
Brooklyn
1/13/2019
I wish the recipe mentioned the weight of the puff pastry dough instead of just saying three packages.
nabeela.aijaz
Santa Clara, CA
12/27/2018