Empanadas are one of our favorite treats in our house! Every single one of my kids loves them. We usually fill them with meat and cubed potatoes and they are so delicious!
This post is sponsored by Simply Potatoes® but all opinions are always my own and completely honest. This post may also contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.
I certainly don’t enjoy peeling and cubing potatoes into small pieces though. So when I realized I could be using Simply Potatoes® for my empanadas I was a very happy camper! Not having to peel and cut potatoes, while at the same time getting fresh, never frozen potatoes is a win-win!
We’ve used and loved Simply Potatoes for a while now but had only been buying the shredded variety. My son Ryan comes up with his own creations using them all the time. Last time I went to get some though, I was surprised to see all the different varieties available! Diced, shredded, mashed, seasoned, unseasoned! I’ve been missing out!
For my empanadas, I used diced Simply Potatoes. I cooked them according to the instructions on the package and then proceeded with my empanada recipe. Couldn’t be easier.
Making Beef & Potato Empanadas Using Simply Potatoes
In just a few simple steps you’ll be enjoying some delicious Beef and Potato Empanadas ….. Here we go!
Gather Your Ingredients
You’ll need ground beef, a bag of Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes, a chopped onion, garlic, chopped olives, butter, cornstarch, and spices. I recommend you chop your olives finely, and your kids won’t even know they’re there! They really add to the flavor of the empanadas. If I’m not making them for my kids, I always add raisins to them as well. A few of my kids won’t eat them with the raisins, but I personally love the flavor the raisins give to the empanadas.
Cook the Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes
Start by cooking your potatoes according to the package instructions. All you need is a little bit of oil.
Once your potatoes look like this, you can go on to the next step.
Add the Onion and Spices
Add the butter, the chopped onion, the garlic, and half of the spices to your potatoes and mix them. (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano)
Continue cooking them until the onion softens.
Cook the Ground Beef and Mix in Potatoes
Next, you’ll brown some ground beef adding your second half of the spices. (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano)
Add the olives to the ground beef. If you are adding raisins, you would add them now as well. At this point, you will mix the water with the cornstarch and pour into the ground beef. Continue cooking over medium heat until the cornstarch mixture has reduced some. Finally, add the potatoes to the ground beef.
Assemble the Empanadas
I like to keep things simple with my empanadas so I buy the pre-made empanada dough. You can find these in the international frozen section in your supermarket. They come already cut so it makes assembling them a breeze! All you have to do is fill them with a spoonful of the meat mixture and then use your finger to put a tiny bit of water around the edge before closing. You fold it over and then you seal the edges with a fork. Just like in the pictures below.
Place the empanadas on parchment paper on top of a baking sheet and brush them with some beaten egg.
Bake the Empanadas
Bake the empanadas at 350 degrees for 25 minutes and done! Beautiful, golden, crispy empanadas.
Enjoy Beef and Potato Empanadas Using Simply Potatoes
My younger kiddos eat the empanadas by themselves, but the rest of us love dipping them in a sour cream and hot sauce mix! Yummy!
Making empanadas using Simply Potatoes made things a whole lot easier and tastier! If you’d like to see more easy and delicious recipes using Simply Potatoes, you can visit their website. You can find Simply Potatoes in the refrigerated section at your favorite grocery store.
QUICK & EASY RECIPES
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Beef and Potato Empanadas
CRISPY, FLAKY PASTRIES FILLED WITH SEASONED GROUND BEEF AND POTATOES
Essential Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen diced potatoes I prefer Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes
- 2 pkgs pastry dough I prefer Goya Discos Pastry Dough
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup black olives chopped
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- 1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp kosher salt divided
- 2 tsps dried oregano divided
- 2 tsps ground cumin divided
- 1 tsp ground black pepper divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Cook the Simply Potatoes according to the package instructions.
- Add the butter, onion, and half the salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin to the potatoes. Cook until onion softens.
- Brown the ground beef and add the second half of the salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin.
- Add the olives (and raisins if using them) to the ground beef.
- Mix cup of water with cornstarch and pour into beef, cooking on medium heat until cornstarch mixture reduces.
- Add the potatoes to the ground beef mixture and mix well.
- Assemble your empanadas by laying each pastry dough disc flat and adding a spoonful of the meat mixture on top of it. Use your finger to rub a tiny bit of water around the outer edge of the pastry disc and then fold it over and seal the edges with a fork.
- Place the empanadas on parchment paper in a large baking sheet and then brush each with beaten egg.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 min.
- Enjoy alone or with a dipping sauce.
Nutrition Facts
Notes
Alternative to pastry discs. If you cannot find the Goya pastry dough, any pre-packaged pastry dough will work. However, you will need to cut the dough into small discs about 6 inches in diameter.
