These easy beef empanadas made with my homemade beef picadillo filling and store bought empanada dough are “fried” in the air fryer for empanadas that area ready in minutes (only takes 8 minutes to cook)!
We LOVE empanadas in my house (who doesn’t?!), and I always have leftover picadillo in my fridge or freezer because I make it at least twice a month (here’s my skillet version, slow cooker version, instant pot version) so this are a great way to use up the leftovers! I’ve baked them in the oven in the past, but this was the first time trying them in the air fryer and they turned out perfect, golden and flaky on the outside and hot in the inside with no oil! If you want to bake them in the oven instead, I suggest you double the time or bake until they are golden.
Because they are so quick to whip up, I made a batch this morning and packed it in Madison’s lunch box (took me about 10 min start to finish). She was super excited and so am I as I now have a new lunch box idea to pack for her school lunch.
Do you need an air fryer in your life? Here’s my honest opinion:
I bought the Nuwave Air Fryer (affiliate link) last week after getting tons of requests for air fryer recipes. People have been raving about it, but I was hesitant to get one because I really don’t have room for another gadget in my life, and I figured anything you can make in an air fryer, you can make in the oven. SO I did a test, and started with my Buttermilk “Fried” Chicken from my first cookbook, The Skinnytaste Cookbook. I tested half in my oven, and half in the air fryer. Here are the results:
The chicken was delicious, moist on the inside and crispy on the outside and they both tasted exactly the same. You could not tell them apart.
The pros to using the air fryer is it cooked in about half the time which is pretty awesome. It also doesn’t heat up your house. The cons, it’s bulky and takes up a lot of space on your counter or pantry. The basket that holds the food is small, so if you’re cooking for a large family it’s probably not for you. But if you want to whip up food in half the time that turns out crispy and delicious for a smaller family, it’s perfect. Will I be keeping my air fryer? YES! Really excited to whip up old and new recipes in it, if you have one I will be sharing new recipes as I play.
Air Fryer Beef Empanadas
These easy beef empanadas made with my homemade beef picadillo filling and store bought empanada dough are “fried” in the air fryer for empanadas that area ready in minutes (only takes 8 minutes to cook)!
Ingredients:
- 8 Goya empanada discs (in frozen section), thawed
- 1 cup picadillo
- 1 egg white, whisked
- 1 teaspoon water
Directions:
- Preheat the air fryer to 325F for 8 minutes. Spray the basket generously with cooking spray.
- Place 2 tbsp of picadillo in the center of each disc. Fold in half and use a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Whisk the egg whites with water, then brush the tops of the empanadas.
- Bake 2 or 3 at a time in the air fryer 8 minutes, or until golden. Remove from heat and repeat with the remaining empanadas.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8 servings, Serving Size: 1 empanada
- Amount Per Serving:
- Smart Points: 5
- Points +: 5
- Calories: 183
- Total Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: g
- Cholesterol: 16mg
- Sodium: 196mg
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 2.5g
- Protein: 11g
