These Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas, or empanadas de acelga, remolacha y queso de cabra, are the result of over shopping at the Farmers’ Market, and a successful kitchen experiment. I was thinking that Swiss chard and goat cheese would go well together in a pasta dish or maybe a pizza. It just happened that I forgot that I also bought a bunch of beets at the same stand where I got the Swiss chard. When I unpacked the ingredients, I thought about what to make with the beets, and decided to add them to whatever I ended up cooking, which turned out be these vegetarian empanadas.
Easy recipe for vegetarian empanadas or hand pies filled with chard, beets, goat cheese and oregano.
Ingredients
- 12-15 medium size or 20-25 small empanada discs, use homemade empanada dough for baking or store bought)
- 4 small beets, cooked, peeled and diced
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, chopped
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
- ½ white onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano, can also use dried oregano
- 1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked
- Salt to taste
- Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped Swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, cool down and mix with the diced beets, crumbled goat cheese and chopped oregano.
- To assemble the empanadas spoon the stuffing on to the center of each empanada disc.
- Brush the inside edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, this is will help them seal better and keep the filling from leaking while baking.
- 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 a nice golden glow when they bake.
- Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
- Serve warm with the mint crème fraiche sauce.
I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about these when I was making them. I thought the stuffing tasted good but still wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out. I tasted them when they were done baking and liked them, but wondered if anyone else would (I usually like to eat everything I taste).So I took one to Nicolas and he loved it. Then I remembered that I had some leftover minty crème fraiche sauce that I made earlier. I tasted a piece of these Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas with the creamy herb sauce and it was just perfect. These empanadas were really easy to make, especially since I cheated and used the store bough empanada discs. Next time I will try them with homemade empanada dough. If you buy beets that have the greens included, you could also use the beet greens in place of the Swiss chard – to be extra efficient with your use of ingredients.
Step by step preparation photos for swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas
Nancy says
May 17, 2014 at 4:11 amI would like to try a vegetable empanada without cheese (allergic to dairy). is there an alternative? would an egg bind the ingredients together?
Layla Pujol says
May 17, 2014 at 2:16 pmHi Nancy – The filling doesn’t have to be bound together, you can use any mix of veggies that you regularly like together and it will work fine.
Sandy says
February 27, 2013 at 5:10 amI made these for a tapas party – they were delicious! A big hit with everyone! Thanks for the inspiration!
Carolina says
February 5, 2012 at 5:55 pmThanks so much for such amazing web site,, I love all your recipes.. I love cooking and since I came along your site I have to say that I made some of the recipes and I love them. Now I have to try to make these empanadas.
mona says
May 19, 2011 at 12:08 amI just love what you doing,I made some of your recipese, absolute fantastic!!!
Steven says
September 23, 2009 at 3:36 amThank you for this recipe!
Jennifer says
July 7, 2009 at 2:38 pmYour tips defintely make the difference here. The egg wash, chilling the empandas before baking, those made them come out so much better. My first try I just concentrated on the ingredients and the second time the process, wow what a difference and I will be back for more. Thanks
jen
KatyaG says
October 23, 2008 at 1:00 pmWOW Laylita, I stumbled upon your site by accident and am just delighted by my detour.
The time and effort you put into each and every recipe is evident (and most appreciated by me,
your reader). Thanks, please keep up the wonderful work, you are now bookmarked :o)
Thanks,
Katya
Bryan says
July 25, 2008 at 9:23 pmJust FYI, I am a guy who has no business in the kitchen unless Hamburger Helper is on the menu. Neverthless, as a guy in the doghouse who owed his wife a surprise homecooked meal, I made these empanadas and they turned out great! My wife was amazed, and too be honest, I was quite shocked at how much I liked them too (considering I made them)! I am glad I stumbled onto this site, as the first group came out so well, I think I am going to surprise her with one of your other empanada recipes this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas and the easy-to-follow instructions on how to make these…cheers!
Hi Bryan – Glad you liked them, they were a pleasant surprise for us the first time I made them!
Laylita says
July 19, 2008 at 12:15 pmHi Bob – thank you for visiting. I agree completely on the frozen empanada discs, they are very good quality and make the whole process of making empanadas so much easier.
Bob says
July 19, 2008 at 11:16 amLaylita!!!
Great Blog!!!!!!!!!!! I love the presentation of the food and the recipes. I just wanted to say for those who don’t have time to make the dough you can get pre-made empanada discs at most Latino markets. There is an Argentine brand called La Salteña and it is excellent. They have two kinds, one for frying (I am not a fan of frying) and one for baking. Ask for the baking empanada discs. Many times these discs (La Salteña and others) are frozen but don’t let that scare you, they hold really well and taste great.
Again, I love the blog and keep the recipes coming.
Mango Power Girl says
May 22, 2008 at 8:17 amyou are the empanada queen!! you’re gonna have to teach me :)
Rebecca says
May 11, 2008 at 7:06 amOMG-these look so good! We will have to use them in next month’s Empanada of the Month event! Layla-your blog is a treasure!