Super Easy Pizza Empanadas (Empanadillas de Pizza)
These Pizza Empanadas feature crispy fried dough, stuffed with melty cheese, sauce and pepperoni, topped with a super easy garlic butter. It’s all of the best things about pizza, in an easy-to-eat, handheld format. They’re a combination of Puerto Rican and Italian cuisine and two of my favorite foods!
If you love pizza and you love empanadas, welcome to your new favorite appetizer.
I like to think of these pizza empanadas as Puerto Rico’s love letter to Italy. It’s kind of a no brainer that these two super popular staples of our cultures go great together.
Just like a classic Puerto Rican style Empanadilla, these have that savory tomatoey filling that works so well. And the buttery fried empanada dough mimics a crispy pizza crust in all the best ways.
Keep it simple and use whatever pizza-like toppings you’ve got in the fridge with some store-bought empanada discs, or go the extra mile and make your empanada dough from scratch!
Step by Step
Seal, seal, SEAL!
If you’ve ever made empanadas before, you know how important it is to seal them shut before frying.
Using a fork is the easiest way to do this, but you can also use the more traditional ‘braided’ method.
Whatever method you choose, just make sure they’re sealed tightly before hitting the oil, to prevent dangerous splattering.
More Empanadas
If these empanadillas de pizza are your first try at making empanadas, allow me to introduce you to some more of my favorites:
Enjoy!
Super Easy Pizza Empanadas
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12–16 empanadas 1x
- Category: Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish, Snack
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: American, Italian, Puerto Rican
Description
These Pizza Empanadas feature crispy fried dough, stuffed with melty cheese, sauce and pepperoni, topped with a super easy garlic butter. It’s all of the best things about pizza, in an easy-to-eat, handheld format. They’re a combination of Puerto Rican and Italian cuisine and two of my favorite foods!
Ingredients
- 12–16 empanada dough discs (store bought or homemade)
- 8 oz pizza sauce + more for dipping
- 16 oz mozzarella
- 8 oz pepperoni*
- 1 egg, beaten
- oil for frying
For the Garlic Sauce: (Optional)
- 4 oz butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp parsley, minced
Instructions
- Fill the empanadas: Add a spoonful of pizza sauce to the center of an empanada dough disc before topping with some of the mozarella and pepperoni.
- Seal the empanadas: Brush the inner perimeter of the dough with beaten egg before folding the dough in half over the fillings. Crimp shut using a fork or by folding and pinching the edges (iykyk). Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all the empanadas are assembled.
- Fry: Heat the oil to 350°F before frying the empanadas in batches until golden brown all over. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to drain any excess oil.
- (Optional) Finish with garlic butter: While the empanadas fry, whisk together the melted butter, garlic, and parsley in a bowl. Brush over the finished empanadas as they come out of the fryer.
Notes
*Use any classic pizza toppings you like in addition to or instead of pepperoni.