Easy Brazilian Empada Dough Recipe With a Savory Ground Beef Filling by Donna John

An empada is a stuffed dough that comes with various fillings. The savory fillings can range from cheese to beef to seafood to vegetables – and is a popular street food in Brazil. In other Latin American countries, similar foods are known as empanadas. My neighbor used to bring me hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven empanadas years ago (she did a ground beef and cream cheese filling), and that made me interested in learning how to make them at home. 

To make the easy Brazilian empada dough you will need to gather the following ingredients: flour, salt, butter and eggs. For the savory filling you will need a potato, ground beef, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, beef broth, frozen peas and an egg to make an egg wash. The flavorful ground beef filling makes this empada recipe perfect for lunch or dinner!

You could use ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or even ground lamb for the filling instead of ground beef. For a gluten-free dinner, use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour. Serve the savory empadas with your favorite side dishes. 

What's your favorite filling for empadas?

Cuisine: Brazilian / Portuguese
Prep Time: 20 minutes plus 2 hours to chill the dough
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours and 5 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Dough

• 3 3/4 cups flour (you can use gluten-free flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 3 eggs

Ground Beef Filling

• 1 large potato, peeled and diced into small 1/4-inch cubes
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 rib celery, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Egg Wash

• 1 egg yolk

Here's how to make it: 

1. For the filling, boil the potato until just tender. Drain and set aside. 
2. In a dutch oven, cook the ground beef, onion, carrot and celery until beef is browned and vegetables soft. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and broth. Return the potatoes to the pan. Stir in the peas and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Cool the mixture while you make the dough.
3. To make the dough, cut the butter into the flour (you can use gluten-free flour) and salt until it resembles peas. Add the eggs, one at a time, until a dough forms. Flatten the dough into a disc, cover and let it rest for about 2 hours. 
4. Roll the dough into balls and then flatten and place in muffin tins. Use your fingers to spread the dough to cover the tin. Fill with the cooled filling. 
5. Make more dough balls, flatten and use to cover the top of the filling. Seal the edges, then brush the tops of the pies with the egg yolk using a pastry brush or basting brush. 
6. Bake in a preheated 400-degree F oven for about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 30 more minutes. 

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community, and follow us on Facebook to get recipes in your newsfeed daily. Food, fun, health, happiness.