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Air Fryer Empanadas

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Flaky, golden beef empanadas with a classic picadillo filling — made with store-bought Goya discs or homemade dough and cooked in the air fryer in just 12 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale
  • For the beef filling:
  • 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
  • ½ onion, finely diced
  • ½ green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ cup green olives, sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • For assembly:
  • 12 Goya Large Empanada Discos, thawed (or equivalent homemade dough circles)
  • 1 egg + 1 tbsp water (egg wash)

Instructions

  1. Heat a large pan over medium-high. Add ground beef and break apart; cook until no pink remains, then drain excess fat. Push beef to the side and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 3–4 minutes until softened.
  2. Combine beef and vegetables. Add cumin, paprika, oregano, and tomato paste; cook 2 minutes to toast the spices. Stir in olives, season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat. Spread filling on a wide plate and refrigerate at least 20 minutes until completely cool.
  3. Lay a thawed empanada disc flat on a clean surface. Place 2 tablespoons of cooled filling slightly off-center — do not overfill. Fold the empty half over the filled half to form a half-moon and press edges together with dampened fingers.
  4. Crimp the edges with a fork or fold a repulgue pattern. Poke one small steam vent in the top of each empanada with a toothpick or fork tine.
  5. Brush the tops of the empanadas with egg wash. Preheat air fryer to 350°F. Place empanadas in a single layer with at least 1 inch of space between them.
  6. Air fry at 350°F for 12 minutes until deep golden brown. Check at 10 minutes; if tops are pale, continue for 2 more minutes. Let cool 3 minutes before serving.

Notes

The filling must be fully cool before stuffing — warm filling creates steam that makes dough soggy and can burst the seam during cooking.

Do not overfill: 2 tablespoons of filling per disc is the maximum. Overfilling is the most common cause of burst empanadas.

Always poke a steam vent in the top of each sealed empanada to prevent pressure buildup.

No need to flip — the air fryer browns the top via egg wash and the bottom via direct basket contact.

For frozen pre-filled empanadas (Goya, José Olé): cook straight from frozen at 350°F for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Find it online: https://airfrycentral.com/air-fryer-empanadas/