Beef + Black Bean Empanada

Cozy foods from here on out - who’s with me?!? These empanadas are sooo yummy and the perfect treat on a cool day. I made them last night and served them with rice, with plenty of leftovers for today. Full of grass fed ground beef, black beans, and spinach with a garlicky red enchilada sauce - YUM! So have I convinced you you need them yet?

Okay, so let’s get to the details of this dish. I feel like I say this about literally everything I make, but you can play around with the filling to make it how you want it. I originally wanted to make this a vegetarian dish and do corn + black beans, but when I went to open the freezer I realized I was out of corn and I already had the onions cooking. So I pivoted and added ground beed instead. Turned out amazing, but if you just want to use veggies I think that would be equally as delicious.

I’ve been using this crust for so many things lately. It’s very versatile and bakes great. Be sure to have extra flour to sprinkle in so that it doesn’t get to sticky. You don’t have to chill it before rolling it out, but if you are finding that it’s sticking to the surface I would suggest sprinkling in flour, rolling it up, and letting it chill for a few minutes.

Yield: 8

Author: Leslie Bobo, RDN

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Beef + Black Bean Empanadas

Garlicky ground beef, black beans, spinach, and red enchilada sauce wrapped in a warm buttery, crispy blanket. It's comforting yet nourishing and easier to make than you would expect!

Ingredients

Filling

• 1/2 white onion chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic 
• 1 tbsp. avocado oil (or EVOO)
• 8 ounces. ground beef 
• 1 can strained black beans 
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder 
• 1/4 cup red enchilada sauce (I used Siete)
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach 

Crust

• 1 cup whole wheat flour + extra for sprinkling in while kneading
• 3/4 cup cold butter, sliced
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 egg (used on top at the end!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. For the filling- Place the avocado oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add in the ground beef and continue to sauté 7-8 more minutes until browned and cooked through
3. Strain the grease from the pan, and then stir in the black beans, cumin, chili powder, and enchilada sauce. Let cook about 3 more minutes and then mix in spinach. Let wilt for a couple of minutes and then take off of the heat
4. For the crust- Place flour, butter, yogurt, and salt in a food processor. Pulse about 10x in one second intervals. Add in the cold water and continue to pulse a few more times
5. Sprinkle flour on a nonporous surface and transfer the dough to the area. Sprinkle more flour on top and begin to roll out the dough, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking
6. Cut dough into 6" circles (tip: place a bowl upside down into the dough and press down to get perfect circles). Fill one half with the filling and then gently pull the dough over and press the edges together with a fork
7. Gather the leftover dough, sprinkle in more flour, roll back out and repeat. I was able to do this twice for a total of 8 empanadas
8. Whisk together the egg and lightly brush the top of each empanada
9. Place each empanada on a parchment lined baking sheet, bake for 30 minutes 

www.allaboutwell.com/recipesandwellness/beef-bean-empanada

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