How to make hearty and healthy turkey empanadas!
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Who’s ready for empanada night?! Surely not just me! I don’t know about you, but I love making empanadas because you can load them up with all kinds of different varieties of proteins, veggies, or even fruits and berries! One of my favorite empanada recipes is this one for my delectable Turkey Empanadas!
These enchanting empanadas are stuffed with ground turkey, scrumptious seasonings, and hearty vegetables for a perfectly satisfying and wholesome meal. These are perfect when you want to have a fun dinner for the family but want to keep the dinner-making process easy.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you get all the wonderful flavors of traditional meat empanadas, but thanks to the lean turkey it’s actually a good bit better for you! Healthier empanadas, if you will.
Whether you just want to try a creative dinner or start implementing healthier meals in your routine, these scrumptious turkey empanadas are definitely worth a shot! Ready to get started? Here’s how to make my hearty and healthy Turkey Empanadas!
Empanada Equipment
Let’s start by breaking down my simple empanada equipment list. There’s nothing complicated to expect here. However, if you want to start having empanadas around your house more often, then you need to grab one of those empanada press molds. Here’s everything I use to make turkey empanadas:
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring spoons
- Nonstick frying skillet
- Wooden spoon
- Fine mesh strainer
- 3 Baking sheet
- 3 Parchment paper sheets
- 1 Empanada press mold
- Silicone pastry brush
Turkey Empanada Ingredients
Once you’ve got your equipment ready, it’s time to gather the ingredients. There’s not a ton to expect here, just some typical cooking ingredients, ground turkey, and veggies. Here are my ingredients for turkey empanadas:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ Yellow Onion– medium size, chopped small
- 2 Cloves of Garlic– minced
- 1 red bell pepper– chopped small
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 Carrots– grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp Ground Pepper
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 2 packages Empanada dough
- 1 egg– for brushing empanadas
How to Make Turkey Empanadas
Now it’s time to make some empanada excitement! There’s nothing complicated about this recipe process, so it’s really easy to follow along with. The recipe will take about an hour, so just keep that in mind. Here’s how to make my hearty and scrumptious turkey empanadas:
- First, measure out the empanada ingredients with the measuring cup and spoons. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Next, heat up the olive oil in a nonstick skillet.
- Add in the chopped onion.
- Sauté the onions until they become translucent and slightly fragrant.
- Then, add the minced garlic and chopped red pepper.
- Cook the ingredients together for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly.
- Transfer the veggie filling into a large mixing bowl.
- Next, heat up a nonstick skillet over medium heat without any oil.
- Once preheated, add in the ground turkey.
- While cooking, use a wooden spoon to break the turkey into smaller pieces.
- Cook the turkey fully, while consistently stirring and mixing.
- Next, position a fine mesh strainer over a large glass bowl.
- Pour the cooked turkey meat into the strainer to fully drain the meat.
- Then, add the drained meat into the bowl with the sautéed vegetables.
- Add in the grated carrots, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth.
- Mix the empanada filling ingredients together completely.
- Then, in a small bowl, crack the egg and whisk it well to create an egg wash.
- Next, prepare a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Grab the empanada filling, empanada dough, egg wash, and the empanada press mold.
- Begin by lightly stretching the empanada dough discs by hand.
- Lay the stretched dough disc on the press mold and use the silicone brush to brush the egg wash around the edge of the dough disc.
- Scoop 1.5 tbsp of the turkey empanada filling into the middle of the dough disc.
- Then, before pressing the empanada, make sure that there is no filling on the edges of the dough.
- Press the filling towards the middle and down gently if needed to keep the filling off the edges.
- Press the sides of the empanada press together.
- Open the press to reveal a perfectly-pressed empanada!
- Repeat the filling and pressing process for the rest of the dough.
- Line the pressed empanadas on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Next, lightly brush the top of all the empanadas with the egg wash.
- Finally, bake the turkey empanadas for 25-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Storing Empanadas
To store turkey empanadas: transfer the empanadas to an airtight container. Store the empanadas in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Alternatively, place the empanadas in a freezer-safe bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the empanadas in the fridge overnight before reheating. Always label the date on the outside of the container to keep up with freshness.
To reheat empanadas:
- Bake them in a toaster oven for 12 minutes at 350°F.
- Heat them in an air fryer for 5 minutes at 375°F.
- You can also use the microwave method too by heating them up for 1.5 minutes. However, the empanadas tend to come out a little bit soggy with this method.
More Empanada Recipes
Spectacular Sides and Easy Dinners
Looking for some simple sides to whip up with this scrumptious dish? I’ve got you covered with some easy and delectable sides that will pair perfectly with these empanadas. Plus a few more easy dinner ideas to give you a helping hand in the kitchen!
Easy Sides:
- Summer Cucumber Salad
- Steamed Asparagus
- Instant Pot Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Mexican Rice
- Copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice
Easy Dinners:
- Easy Classic Borscht
- Classic Meatloaf
- Stuffed Peppers
- Stuffed Chili Peppers
- Classic Borscht
- Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Easy Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta with Spinach
- Quick Chicken Alfredo
- One-Pot Pasta
- Macaroni Salad with Chicken
- Hamburger Helper
More Exciting Empanadas:
Turkey Empanadas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ Yellow Onion medium size, chopped small
- 2 Cloves of Garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper chopped small
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 Carrots grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp Ground Pepper
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 2 packages Empanada dough
- 1 egg for brushing empanadas
Instructions
- First, measure out the empanada ingredients with the measuring cup and spoons. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Next, heat up the olive oil in a nonstick skillet.
- Add in the chopped onion.
- Sauté the onions until they become translucent and slightly fragrant.
- Then, add the minced garlic and chopped red pepper.
- Cook the ingredients together for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly.
- Transfer the veggie filling into a large mixing bowl.
- Next, heat up a nonstick skillet over medium heat without any oil.
- Once preheated, add in the ground turkey.
- While cooking, use a wooden spoon to break the turkey into smaller pieces.
- Cook the turkey fully, while consistently stirring and mixing.
- Next, position a fine mesh strainer over a large glass bowl.
- Pour the cooked turkey meat into the strainer to fully drain the meat.
- Then, add the drained meat into the bowl with the sautéed vegetables.
- Add in the grated carrots, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth.
- Mix the empanada filling ingredients together completely.
- Then, in a small bowl, crack the egg and whisk it well to create an egg wash.
- Next, prepare a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Grab the empanada filling, empanada dough, egg wash, and the empanada press mold.
- Begin by lightly stretching the empanada dough discs by hand.
- Lay the stretched dough disc on the press mold and use the silicone brush to brush the egg wash around the edge of the dough disc.
- Scoop 1.5 tbsp of the turkey empanada filling into the middle of the dough disc.
- Then, before pressing the empanada, make sure that there is no filling on the edges of the dough.Press the filling towards the middle and down gently if needed to keep the filling off the edges.
- Press the sides of the empanada press together.
- Open the press to reveal a perfectly-pressed empanada!
- Repeat the filling and pressing process for the rest of the dough.
- Line the pressed empanadas on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Next, lightly brush the top of all the empanadas with the egg wash.
- Finally, bake the turkey empanadas for 25-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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