Vegan Empanada Recipe (2024)

This vegan empanada recipe is so simple to make and is full of flavor!

The empanadas are baked instead of fried and filled with tempeh, potato, peppers and spices.

These empanadas are so fun and easy to make, and they taste absolutely delicious!

This is not an authentic recipe, but simply my take on the delicious meal!

These vegetarian empanadas are basically the meat free version of chorizo empanadas.

They use basically all the same ingredients, except sub out the chorizo with crumbled tempeh, which is a cholesterol-free, high protein and high fiber soybean product.

It’s also super cheap and delicious!

You won’t miss the meat with these empanadas, and they are perfect as an appetizer or a whole meal.

I love serving these with simple comforting sides like Vegan Mac and Cheeseor Vegan Potato Salad.

The vegan empanada dough recipe has just 4 simple ingredients and is very easy to work with, it’s also gets nice and crispy in the oven.

You’ll love this simple recipe and how fun they are to put together – you can even make the dough the night before and quickly fill and bake in the morning!

You can also fill these empanadas with anything customizations you’d like, try black beans, spinach, or even using an air fryer!

While making anything from scratch can seem daunting, this recipe comes together in no time and you’ll be amazed at how simple it is!

To make your empanada dough, simply mix together your flour and salt, and then cut in your cubed and chilled vegan butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until it becomes a bit clumpy and looks like sand.

Add in as little water as possible, starting with 1/2 cup and adding more if needed, mixing the dough until it forms a ball.

You may want to transfer it to a flat floured surface to knead it a bit – this will help it stick together more.

Let it rest in the fridge while you make your filling, then when ready place it on a flat floured surface and roll it out until it’s very thin but still sturdy enough to work with.

Cut roughly 4 inch circles and place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.

Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add a bit of oil to a large pan over medium heat, and add your chopped tempeh, onion, minced garlic and dried thyme.

Cook for about 5-8 minutes, or until it’s fragrant and the onions are translucent.

Now stir in your chopped pepper and cubed potato, as well as all the spices, and continue cooking until the potato and pepper are soft, about 10-15 minutes.

(At this time you would let your filling cool a bit while you roll out and cut your dough into circles)

Add about 2 tablespoons or so to each empanada dough circle, wet the edges with a bit of water or oil and then fold them over, squishing the edges together.

Then use a fork to fully seal them.

Lightly brush the top of the vegan empanadas with more oil to help them brown and give them a bit more moisture since we are not frying them.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning the oven to broil for the last couple seconds so they develop a nice brown color.

Once you turn the oven to broil, you will want to watch them constantly because they can burn very quickly, in a matter of seconds!

Then you’re done!

Perfectly crispy meatless empanadas that are flavorful, delicious and so savory.

Empanadas are just as yummy baked as they are fried, the taste and texture are still amazing.

You can easily get that savory flavor with a warm filling made from veggies and spices like smoked paprika, cumin and thyme.

You can serve them with anything you’d like!