Empanadas Mendocinas (Argentinian Beef Empanadas)
Empanadas mendocinas are traditional Argentinean baked empanadas filled with beef, onions, paprika, hot pepper powder, cumin, oregano, hard-boiled egg and olives.
Back when I first started this blog, there was a blogger name Rebecca and her blog From Argentina With Love had an Empanada of the Month event. This is where I learned about these empanadas mendocinas from the Mendoza region in Argentina (also known for great wines). While empanada mendocinas are very famous, it was my first time preparing them. It was the perfect opportunity to learn what makes them different from other meat filled baked empanadas in South America.
I started with Rebecca’s recipe for the meat filling or picadillo. I adjusted the spice quantities a little bit, just based on my personal taste, and added fresh oregano and green onions. I also halved the quantity of meat (from 2 lbs to 1 lb) and had more than enough for ~~20 small to medium sized empanadas.
In Argentina, beef empanadas can be filled with either ground beef or chopped beef. The filling for these empanadas mendocinas uses a ground beef picadillo for the the filling. This variation is also known for not using raisins- which are common in other types of empanadas.
Another distinctive factor is the use of smoked paprika and picante or hot chili pepper. In addition to the flavor, these spices give the meat a bright red coloring that is considered a distinguishing factor for empanadas mendocinas.
The other thing that differentiates these empanadas is the dough, I was planning on making my standard baking empanada dough recipe for these or even using the store bought discs, but as I did my Google research I found out that the dough for empanadas mendocinas is unique because it is made with milk which give it a creaminess and softness that the standard empanada dough doesn’t have, so I adapted and translated the recipe for the dough from Recetas Ya and Club Gourmet.
The recipes all called for making the dough by hand, but of course I took the food processor shortcut and made a few conversions. If you have the time I really recommend making the dough from scratch (but with a food processor), it made such a difference and my empanadas just baked beautifully. This is my new favorite baking empanada dough recipe, most of the time I experiment with different fillings, and this time it was so much fun to try a different way to prepare the dough.
Another important part of these empanadas – and empanadas in general – is the churito or repulgue – ie the curvy ornate seal. I confess that the first times I made empanadas I was afraid of not being able to make that nice perfect repulgue. However, I quickly learned that it is one of those things that improves with practice.
Of course you can also use the edge or tip of a fork to press down and seal the empanadas, but I highly encourage you to practice making a repulgue style seal for the empanadas. It gives them a much more authentic and traditional look than using a fork.
The day before I made these empanadas I just happened to be reading Ines del Alma Mia by Isabel Allende. The main character in the book is a woman from Spain who travels to South America (and helps establish a Spanish colony in Santiago, Chile). The book is part fiction part history, but one of her talents is making empanadas, which helps her and others survive during situations of limited food availability.
I have to admit that I didn’t really know a whole lot about the history of empanadas, but for some reason I thought that their origin was Argentinean or Chilean. However, at least based on this book it seems they came from Spain (and probably before that from the Middle East). Latin Americans have done a great job of perfecting the empanada and preparing so many regional variations of empanadas.
Finally, I had to make a couple of dipping sauces and made two slightly different chimichurri sauces for these. The first one is a blended sauce with a little bit of white wine vinegar and for the second sauce I chopped the herbs instead and used balsamic vinegar. I especially love the contrast of the balsamic chimichurri with the meaty empanadas. An aji criollo type hot sauce or tree tomato hot sauce would also go well with these delicious empanadas.
Balsamic chimichurri sauce
Quick chimichurri sauce
Aji criollo hot sauce
Tamarillo or tree tomato hot sauce 
Empanadas Mendocinas (Argentine Beef Empanadas)
Ingredients
Dough for empanadas mendocinas – makes about 20 medium or 30 small empanadas:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup of grasa – lard or butter or mix of both
- ¾ to 1 cup of warm milk
- ½ tsp salt
Beef picadillo filling
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 white onions diced, about 3 cups
- 1/2 cup lard or butter
- 2 tbs smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder or any ground hot pepper adjust to taste
- 1 tbs finely chopped fresh oregano
- ½ tbs ground cumin
- 1 bunch green onions finely chopped
- 3 hard boiled eggs sliced
- ¼ cup sliced green olives
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg white and yolk separated and lightly whisked
Instructions
Empanada dough
- Mix the flour and salt in a food processor, pulse until well combined.
- Add the lard or butter, blend well.
- Add the egg yolk and the milk in small amounts, pulse until small dough clumps start to form.
- Make a couple of balls, flatten into disks and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
- Use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.
Beef picadillo filling and empanada assembly:
- Combine the ground beef, paprika, red pepper, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together and chill until ready to use.
- Melt the lard in a large frying pan or sauté pan, add the onions and salt, cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.
- Add the meat mixture to the onions and cook on medium heat until the meat is done, stir frequently.
- Let the meat mixture or picadillo cool down, and then mix in the chopped green onions and chopped oregano.
- To assemble the empanadas add a spoonful of the meat mixture on the center of each empanada disc, add a slice of egg and sliced olive.
- Brush the edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, you can also use water but the egg white is a good natural “glue” that helps seal the empanada.
- Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges gently with your fingers, twist and fold the edges of the empanadas with your fingers, as a final step use a fork to press down and finish sealing the empanadas.
- Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when they bake.
- Let the empanadas rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden on top.
- Serve warm with chimichurri sauce or other dipping sauces.
Nutrition
Step by step preparation photos for Argentinian empanada mendocina dough:
Step by step preparation photos for the Argentinian beef picadillo filling and empanada assembly:
Additional Empanada Recipes to Try:
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Hi Laylita,
I don’t know how it is I missed this fabulous post for Empanada Day especially since I celebrated Empanada Day on my blog in April.
I did however, discover your blog while in search of recipes to help celebrate United Nations Day and boy oh boy, I sure am glad I did. I hope you don’t mind if I included your link in today’s post. I’m going to add it to my Empanada Day post too!!! If empanadas can be considered gorgeous, yours sure do take the cake!!!
Thank you so much for sharing. I need to go and explore for more goodies:)
Laylita, I’m a huge fan of Latin American cuisine and am glad I stumbled upon your site! It’s very informative, well-organized and the steps of the recipes are very thorough. The photos are vivid and mouthwatering too. I’m Filipino and we have our own version of empanadas, which is very similar to the ground beef picadillo fillings but with more raisins. Anyway, keep up the great work. You’re a real inspiration!
hola, noy hay que ponerles polvo de hornear?
No, no es necesario agregar polvo de hornear.
Oh yeah, I just wanted to say that I couldn’t resist adding 3 small russet potatoes (boiled till they were fork tender) to the filling because growing up my uncle would make filling similar to yours but he would add potatoes, black olives instead of green (But I really loved the green here), and I believe tomato or tomato sauce… But I didnt want to add the tomato because I wanted to taste it your way first. So… thanks again! Very very good, served with a green salad and some leftover beans.
Hi Laylita,
I made these last night and they came out great! I had used your dough recipe previously but the filling is really really good. My son loved them and said he didn’t like the ‘other ones’ (he’s six and very picky). I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful site, beautiful pictures and for introducing me to other kinds of Latin foods (I am Mexican, German, and Yaqui to name a few). I love getting in touch with other Latino cultures via their foods and it just awesome to me and our foods are so similar yet so different. Never stop blogging!
Annalisa
PS …. I lived in Loja for three years, and then moved to Nueva Loja (Lago Agrio, Succumbios) for the remainder. I miss it so much……
Hi Laylita
I feel like I know you! What a wonderful website. I have been feeling melancholic for Ecuador and the food- I lived there for 9 years. I have not been able to cook since moving back to the States. Thank you, thank you for giving me back my culinary skills! My husband and son are so happy! I visited Argentina, and always tried to imitate the wonderful empanadas, never with success until now. Thank you, dear girl!
Laylita,
O MY GOSH…The pictures look good enough to eat!! I cannot wait to make these over the weekend, they look and sound delicious! Thank you so much!
But at least based on this book it seems they came from Spain.
These things exist all around the world, by a different name. And nearly in every country there is a meat inside either a pastry shell, (potato or plantains in Puerto Rico) though they have empanadas as well, Mexico, and if you look at the Cornish Meat Pasties recipes. And Cornish Meat Pasties, were too such a way of life for those people. The tin miners wives would make them for them, and with poison encrusted fingers from their line of work, they’d eat the meat pastie, and then toss the crust down in the mine! It’s such a national thing there, and a very huge deal to them! And through them it was brought into North American! (And now we have things like chicken pot pie ect… hmm I wonder where that idea stemmed from lol) Same idea. Different names and ingredients according to region. I even seen a show on the history channel of them making a meat in a pastry, from a recipe from medieval times from Rome! I wouldn’t say one is better than the other really, but, I was once told. If you look in someone’s pantry you can see where their roots hail from (If you know what you are looking at), and they may not even know they have blood relation too those origins! Which I think is amazing. And it’s really amazing how the world over, has such a thing in common. I mean you can even find meat in a pastry I’ve heard in Japan and China. Meat buns, I don’t know the proper name. Who knows who came up with the idea first really? Only Father time knows that answer. But I digress, amazing recipe and beautiful pictures. I will be trying this =)
These empanadas look delicious! I studied in Mendoza, Argentina for 3 months and my favorite thing to eat was Empanadas!!!!! I am so excited to try out this recipe!!! I’ll grab a cup of some good Malbec while I eat them….ahh, nostalgia! =) Thank you so much!