These rhubarb and strawberry empanadas or sweet turnovers are perfect to celebrate spring (and summer). It’s probably pretty obvious by now that I really like empanadas, and most of the time I make savory empanadas. As a kid I obviously preferred the sweet empanadas stuffed with yummy fruit inside, so every now and then I want a sweet empanada either for dessert or breakfast or as an afternoon snack with some café con leche. I’m also trying to incorporate all the yummy things I get at the farmer’s market into my cooking, so while the original plan was to use strawberries as the filling when I saw the bright red stalks of rhubarb I had to add them -partly out of curiosity because I have heard all about how strawberries and rhubarb make this great combination, but had never tasted it before.
Easy recipe for homemade rhubarb and strawberry empanadas. These sweet dessert empanadas or turnovers are filled with rhubarb and strawberry, baked, and served with whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 15-18 medium or 25-30 small sweet empanada discs made from basic sweet empanada dough
- 3 cups chopped rhubarb
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup sugar, adjust based on your preference
- 2 tbs orange juice
- 1 tbs cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked
- 1/4 cup demerara sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, orange juice and cornstarch in a large bowl, mix well and let rest for an hour.
- Drain the liquid from the strawberries and rhubarb.
- To assemble the empanadas spoon the rhubarb and strawberry mixture on the center of the empanada disc.
- Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.
- Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
- Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.
- Sprinkle the demerara sugar on the top of the empanadas.
- Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
- Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 30 minutes or until golden.
- Serve either warm or cold with whipped cream.
Of course the first thing I did when I got home was try a piece of rhubarb, yuck, so sour, though it reminded me of a small plant that used to grow close the water canals on our farm in Ecuador. This plant had small and very thin green reddish stalks that I don’t how or why but I tasted them and they were very sour, yet almost refreshing, but essentially still tasted like something a normal person wouldn’t eat. I was skeptical but if “everyone” thought rhubarb, strawberries and sugar were great then I had to try it, so I chopped a few more pieces of rhubarb, added some chopped strawberries, sugar and cooked it for a few minutes, and it actually tasted quite good.
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At first I was going to cook the rhubarb and strawberries to make the filling, but when I did my little taste test I noticed how quickly they both cooked, which meant that just the heat of the oven while they were baking would be sufficient, so I just mixed them with sugar, orange juice and cornstarch and let them marinate for an hour. I drained the rhubarb and strawberry mixture to remove as much liquid as possible, because I didn’t want it leaking out, however despite that and despite trying to seal the empanadas they still leaked while they were baking. I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping cheese from leaking from empanadas, but need to work on the fruit ones. Though it is not really a big deal if fruit empanadas leak when baking, usually it is just the juices that leak out – and they leave a nice color on the edges, plus the empanadas still taste great.
I served these strawberry and rhubarb empanadas with some Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) whipped cream, I have one of those cool cream whippers where you just mix all the ingredients and then put them in the whipper container, charge it and done. I used 2 cups of heavy cream, 3 tbs of sugar and 2 tbs of Grand Marnier, and it was just right, not too sweet and with a hint of orange liqueur.
Step by step preparation photos for strawberry and rhubarb empanadas
What a nice recipe, I love the ingredients put together!
I am going to try and make them with blueberries and rhubarb and add some chocolate pieces and see what happens.
What I want to know is, can these be frozen before or after baking.
Hi Laylita,
I live in Ecuador and am wondering if I can find rhubarb here? If not, what’s the similar vegetable you had as a kid? Could I substitute it for rhubarb?
Thanks!
Clara
Hi Clara – It isn’t common in Ecuador, you won’t find it at the markets, but you might check at one of the viveros (plant farms) to see if they can get it for you. Or if you can have someone in the US send you seeds you can grow it there. It’s called ruibarbo in Spanish. The plant (can’t remember the name) that I had as a kid had very thin stalks, that wouldn’t work as a substitute.
Just had to say thank you for this recipe! These are so yummy and my family, friends and coworkers went nuts over them.
Next time you make them, I would recommend using more rhubarb than strawberries (I’d say twice as much rhubarb), because the reason Americans use rhubarb is to cut down on the amount of fruit that they’re using.
Is it possible for me to bake them at 400 F for 15-20 minutes?
Hi Cathy – Baking temps/times tend to be different depending on the oven, so if you know that 400F works well for your oven when making pastries, then you can try it at 400F and just keep an eye on them. It also depends on the size of the empanadas, if you’re making them medium or slightly larger it will likely be fine, but with the smaller ones I would recommend watching them closely to make sure they don’t burn.
Oh, okay! I was going to bake multiple empanadas at once and was just making sure so everything could be at the same temperature. Thank you for replying! :)
Where did you get your whipping cream thing??? These look wonderful. Will try them VERY soon.
Hi Dorothy – I got it from Amazon, you can also find at most kitchen specialty stores (Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, etc)
I’m in love!!
Deliciosas!
These looks absolutely adorable and I would like a bite of them…just about now!
How many empanadas will this recipe make?
15-18 medium ones or 25-30 small ones
thankyou so much for this delicious recipie! I just did it yesterday and it was fantastic! my whole family loved it so much! i had a craving for sweet homemade empandas and when i read this it literally answered my crave!!! THEY WERE SWEET and DELICIOUS not to mention your dough recipie is fantastic!