Vegan Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce
These homemade vegan empanadas are made with a simple whole wheat dough, and stuffed with black beans, corn, spinach, onion, and spices! Topped with a refreshing chimichurri sauce, these savory pastries will become one of your favorite Mexican inspired vegan meals!
Servings: 12 empanadas
Calories: 219kcal
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan butter chilled and cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ cup ice cold water
Filling
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed and water squeezed out
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Chimichurri Sauce
- 1 cup cilantro
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Add the flour, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk together to combine.
- Add chilled and cubed vegan butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the vinegar and water. Start with ½ a cup of water. Using a spatula fold together unti dough is combined. If needed add an additional ½ cup of water. Dough will be shaggy in texture.
- Lightly flour surface. Gather the dough together, and knead gently with the heel of your hand until dough comes together. It won’t take much kneading.
- Form dough into a ball, place in bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Make the Filling
- Add ¼ cup of vegetable stock to a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped spinach (thawed, and water squeezed out), and black beans (rinsed and drained). Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add all of the spices including chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Add the frozen corn and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Assembling the Empanadas
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Flour your surface. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and transfer to floured surface.
- Roll the dough out until it’s a ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into 4 inch circles. Place the circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of filling to each circle. Wet your fingers with water and spread the water along the edges of the dough. Fold over in half, and use a fork to pinch the sides together to seal.
- Brush each empanada with melted coconut oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Make the Chimichurri Sauce
- While empanadas are baking make the chimichurri sauce. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Puree until smooth and combined. Serve over warm and baked empanadas.
Video
Notes
Top Tips for the Best Empanadas:
- When making the dough use ice cold water. It will help create a flaky tender crumb. The cold water keeps the butter cut into the dough from melting.
- Allow the dough to rest. This will help make it easier to roll out the dough when it's ready.
- Spice up your filling! Don't be shy about adding spices and flavor elements to your filling. The dough itself is rather bland, so the filling needs to be extra flavorful to balance the flavors.
- If there is any excess liquid or water in the filling when cooking, be sure to allow it to cook down and concentrate the flavors, or drain any extra water or liquid that develops. This way you don't end up with a soggy pastry.
- Be sure to brush a vegan egg wash on the crust. This will give them a golden brown color.
- Refrigerator: Store baked empanadas in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Place unbaked empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, keeping space between each one. Place in the freezer for a few hours until they become solid. Take them out of the freezer, and place in a freezer safe bag. Label with the contents and date. They will keep frozen for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: I recommend using your toaster oven, or even your air fryer to crisp up the dough, and warm the filling. Set to 325 F, for 4-6 minutes.
- Baked From Frozen: Transfer the frozen empanadas to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F, or until golden brown.
- Use a 1:1 gluten free baking powder in place of the white whole wheat flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 532mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3443IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg