Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas {Empanadas de acelga, remolacha y queso de cabra}
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.

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.

Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas
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
Serve with:
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.
Step by step preparation photos for swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas


I would like to try a vegetable empanada without cheese (allergic to dairy). is there an alternative? would an egg bind the ingredients together?
Hi 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.
I made these for a tapas party – they were delicious! A big hit with everyone! Thanks for the inspiration!