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Recipe originally published on July 25, 2017.
You’ll love this simple recipe for empanadas that don’t take all day to make. They aren’t traditional, but they taste amazing.
They’re quick and easy, and you can find all the ingredients you need to make them at any grocery store. Bonus points for no trips to specialty stores!
They’re quick to assemble, and they take just 15 minutes to bake in the oven.
These little pillows of heaven are simple enough that my kids can help me prep them, and the flavors are robust enough for my husband and I to enjoy without being too spicy for my son.
Want to make them more or less spicy? Just change up your salsa to mild or spicy; for this, I tend to use medium. You can also add in additional hot sauce to the filling to really spice it up.
How to save time making empanadas
When I have a ton of time, I make my empanadas with homemade dough, but with back to school providing enough of a time challenge, I “cheat” and use refrigerated pie dough. It provides a delicious flaky crust for the zesty filling, and no one in my family complains.
In a similar vein, I use diced rotisserie chicken from another meal or canned chicken in the filling. This saves time I otherwise spend cooking and chopping my chicken because it’s already cooked and ready for me to add to my filling.
The weeknight chicken empanadas taste amazing straight from the oven (make sure to let them cool 2-3 minutes!) and at room temperature when someone gets hungry after we get back from an activity. These even work great as leftovers in my kids’ lunches the next day.
Me? I like to reheat them just a touch, but my kids love them cold.
Are you ready to make these easy weeknight chicken empanadas for yourself?
I’ve got a bonus idea for you, too! I can even get dessert from the prep I do to make my weeknight chicken empanadas.
If I “accidentally” use up all the filling and have extra pie crust rounds, I simply add a couple chocolate chips and a tiny bit of cherry jam, then fold it into a half moon. Crimp the edges with a fork and brush with the egg wash.
I bake them on the same pans I use for the empanadas – nothing leaks or spreads – and have dessert empanadas that make the perfect ending to our back to school dinner.
How to Make Easy Weeknight Chicken Empanadas
Are you a visual learner? Check out the video tutorial.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and remove pie crusts from the fridge.
Open your can of canned, and drain it thoroughly. If you use rotisserie chicken, chop it into tiny pieces.
Place the chicken into a bowl with the corn and salsa. Dice the onion and shred the cheese (or go super easy and buy already shredded cheese).
Add both to the bowl and stir to distribute.
Unroll a pie crust and dust your surface with flour. Gently roll the pie crust with a rolling pin just a bit you flatten it evenly and push together any cracks that appeared when you unrolled the crust.
Use a biscuit cutter to cut 13 rounds from the crust. Roll it out again and cut out three more.
Roll and cut again to get a total of 18 rounds from the second pie crust in the package. Repeat with the remaining crusts to get a total of 72 rounds.
Use a fork to whisk the egg to make an egg wash. Add a teaspoon of filling to the center of a round.
Place a second one atop it, and gently push the edges together. Use a fork to crimp all the way around.
If your pie crust doesn’t want to stick together, dip your clean finger in the egg wash and run it lightly around the edge of the bottom round to help it seal. Mine sealed fine without this, but this is a great trick.
Place each finished empanada on a baking sheet covered with a silpat or parchment paper. You can place them fairly close together, as they don’t rise or spread into each other.
You may need to bake these in batches, as I fit 12 on a sheet and make a total of 36 empanadas.
Once you finish a tray, use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over your weeknight chicken empanadas. This gives them a gorgeous shiny, golden finish.
Bake 14-17 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit two to three minutes, then serve immediately.
If you have any leftovers, let them cool thoroughly, then place in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.
Have you ever made weeknight chicken empanadas?
Need more great weeknight dinner ideas? Here are some of my favorites:
- Easy cheesy beef and rice casserole
- 3 cheese lasagna roll ups
- Weeknight cashew chicken
- Chicken satay with peanut sauce
- Instant Pot chicken paprikash
- Honey habanero ground beef tacos
- Mediterranean chicken with orzo
- Simple chicken and dumplings
Weeknight Chicken Empanadas
Ingredients
- 1 can chicken drained
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 cup chunky salsa
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 15 ounces refrigerated pie crust packages total of 4 crusts
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and remove pie crusts from the fridge.
- Open can of chicken and drain. Dice the onion and shred the cheese. Add chicken, salsa, corn, onion, and cheese to a bowl, and stir to distribute.1 can chicken, 1 cup chunky salsa, 1 cup onion, 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1 cup corn kernels
- Unroll a pie crust and dust surface with flour. Gently roll out pie crust. Use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds. Reroll and cut again. Repeat until crust is used and then do the same for the remaining crusts. Aim for 72 rounds total.15 ounces refrigerated pie crust packages
- Use a fork to whisk the egg to make an egg wash.1 egg
- Add a teaspoon of filling to the center of a round. Place a second one atop it, and gently push the edges together. Use a fork to crimp all the way around.
- Place each finished empanada on a baking sheet covered with a silpat or parchment paper. Brush the egg wash over empanadas.
- Bake 14-17 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit two to three minutes, then serve immediately. Let any leftovers cool thoroughly, then place in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.
Video
Notes
- I created this with canned chicken to save ALL the time. Feel free to use leftover rotisserie chicken or poached chicken that you shred.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
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what size biscuit cutter did you use
I used the standard one – three inches. You could make them smaller or larger if you choose, though I probably wouldn’t advise doing larger to keep the filling from being too much in ratio to the rest of it.
What size can of chicken?
I use the Costco chicken, so it is a 12.5 ounce can. Good clarification!
Those empanadas look soft and delicious. I’ll prepare them this Easter for my family. I hope I get it right!
I am sure that you will. It’s so simple to make, and my family loves them. They love them so much, my kids are even willing to help me make them, which says a lot 😉
Can you make ahead and freeze before cooking? How would you do that?
You could definitely make these ahead and freeze them. I’d stop with forming the empanadas before you add the egg and freeze on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Once frozen, put them in a double sealed container with as little air as possible for up to a month. To bake them, put them on a cookie sheet and do the egg wash, then bake an extra 2-3 minutes (or let them thaw all the way and bake). I hope that helps!
These are so cute. The flaky crust looks so yummy. #client
Thanks, Kelly! They were a huge hit here 🙂