As someone who’s had her fair share of the real thing, I can tell you that they taste amazing and are surprisingly close to real empanadas! These keto empanadas are so good! I make them for my family once a month. It’s one of my favorite ways to use ground beef (this Korean ground beef recipe is also very good). Upon returning home, I just had to make them. But I wanted to bake rather than fry them, and I wanted them to be low-carb.
Ingredients
Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make these keto empanadas. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
Avocado oil: This oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, making it an ideal cooking oil. Ground beef: I use lean ground beef - 85% lean and 15% fat. Onion and garlic: Freshly minced garlic tastes best but jarred minced garlic works too. To season: I use sea salt, black pepper, ground cumin, and smoked paprika. Shredded mozzarella: This is the cheese used to make fathead dough. Cream cheese: I use full-fat cream cheese in this recipe. Almond flour: I use blanched finely ground almond flour to make the dough. I don’t recommend using a coarse almond meal. Egg: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.
Variations
You can use ground pork instead of ground beef in the filling. Ground chicken or ground turkey are also an option, but make sure you use ground dark meat and not white meat which is too dry. Cook the filling in olive oil or ghee instead of avocado oil. Both options are very flavorful! Add some herbs to the filling, such as dried thyme or dried oregano. I especially like the flavor that thyme adds to the filling.
Keto Empanadas Instructions
The detailed instructions for making this recipe are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of the steps:
Make the dough. Make the fathead dough, then roll the dough thin and cut it into circles. (Photos 1-2). Make the filling. This is easy: you simply cook ground beef, onion, garlic, and spices until cooked through, then drain and set aside. Shape the empanadas. Place a bit of filling on each dough circle, then fold over to make a half-circle and pinch the edges closed. (Photos 3-5). Bake them. Bake the empanadas until they are puffy and beautifully golden-brown, about 10 minutes per side in a 350°F oven. (Photo 6).
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Recipe Card
One option is to place a heaping tablespoon of the beef mixture in the center of one circle. Then top it with another circle and pinch the edges closed. The second option is to place a heaping tablespoon of the beef mixture on one half of each circle, leaving a ½-inch border. Then fold the dough over to make a half-circle and pinch the edges closed. The drawback to this option is that since Fathead dough is more fragile than wheat dough, the circles tend to form small tears when you stretch them over the filling to make a half-circle. However, this is not really an issue, because (a) you’ll likely have additional scraps of dough and can patch the tears, and (b) as they bake, the dough puffs up, and everything comes together beautifully - no spills. Traditionally, the edges of empanadas are crimped with a fork to make a pretty pattern. But I find that the keto dough is a bit too sticky for that. So I skip this step. But sometimes I serve them as a main course, and then I serve three per person accompanied by an easy salad such as arugula salad, tomato salad, or cucumber salad. Reheat them gently, covered, in the microwave at 50% power. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
