African Meat Pies (Beef Empanada)
African meat pies (beef empanadas) are slightly sweet, flaky, and crusty with a succulently savory beef filling. They come together quickly and fly off the table. Simply delicious!!
Don’t you think there’s something irresistible about spicy minced meat stuffed in a crunchy shortcrust pastry? I do. So far, everyone I’ve had the pleasure of encountering has whispered ever so diligently a secret passion for a hot, filled, crusty, hand-held pie loaded with all of your secret pleasures. Mmmmm hmmm! So good.
Believe me when I say it tastes divine. The joy of this recipe is the variety of versatile fillings around the world. Meat pies are an ethnic success that can turn any novice chef into a sought-after caterer! Trust me. With the flaky, crispy, savory crust coupled with sweet, succulent spices, count me in.
My love for meat pies means you better believe I’m always looking for a variety of recipes. The best ones all have the same traits.
What Makes an Empanada Great
The melt-in-your-mouth flaky crust is essential. Admittedly, I have nibbled on the pie crust and thrown away the pie filling. For me, the crust rules!
Now, let’s talk about what makes these meat pies different. Out of all the recipes I’ve sampled, this recipe is closest to the Argentine empanada, but with an African twist. In addition to the traditional butter and flour, we add milk and eggs for a smooth and tender dough.
Keep in mind that there are no hard or fast rules about what goes in the filling. Every family and street vendor has their own secret ingredient. Now I share my secret: it’s the tasty filling of ground meat, onions, tomatoes, parsley, and green onions, which makes for a flavorful, moist, and tender pie.
How to Make African Meat Pies
- Mix the dry ingredients, grate in the butter, add the wet ingredients, and knead.
- Place the dough on a well-floured surface. Divide it in half, roll it out, and cut out the circles.
- Sauté the onions and garlic, add the seasonings and tomato sauce, then add the ground beef and cook until done. Add the rest of the seasonings and stir well.
- Assemble the meat pies, crimp with a fork or your fingers, brush with the egg wash, and bake.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to cook the filling until it’s not quite dry, but not too juicy either. You don’t want soggy meat pies. Breadcrumbs will soak up excess liquid in an emergency.
- Shredded cheese is fantastic in the filling. Stir it in after the filling cools and before assembling.
- A friend told me she replaced the meat with minced mushrooms and used vegetable broth instead of the chicken for a vegetarian version. She saved me one, and it was fabulous.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
If you’ve baked pies, you know the work involved with kneading and rolling the dough. That said, you can make a double or triple batch of dough and freeze it for future usage. That makes this meal a 30-minute adventure after defrosting. If you look in my freezer, you’ll see a stack of unbaked pies, and my son loves coming home from school and popping one in the oven or air fryer.
What to Enjoy Beef Empanadas With
These guys go great with African pepper sauce, Caribbean coleslaw, and pickled onions, which are classic sides.
More Delicious Meat Pies to Try
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in July 2013 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
African Meat Pies (Beef Empanada)
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 4 cups (480g) flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon (9g) salt
- 8 ounces (227g) butter
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup (178ml) milk
Meat Filling
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil
- ½ pound (225g) ground beef
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon (3g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (3g) chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- ½ cup (112-113g) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon (7g) smoked paprika
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons (7-8g) fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 boiled eggs (optional)
Instructions
Pie Dough
- In a food processor or by hand, mix the salt, sugar, and butter, and blend well. Add the egg and milk in small amounts, pulsing until combined and the dough holds together in a soft ball.
- Place the dough on a well-floured surface. Divide it in half and roll one half out.
- Using a large mouth glass or bowl (4-5 inches), cut circles out by gently pressing down on the dough and releasing it, shaping the meat pie dough. Continue cutting out the circles until the dough is used up. Repeat with the other half. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
Meat Pie Filling
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into a saucepan, then follow with the onions, garlic, chicken bouillon, tomato sauce, and paprika. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add about ½ cup of water if needed.
- Then, add ground meat and continue cooking for 10 or more minutes.
- Finally, add the green onions, parsley, white pepper, and salt to taste. Taste it and adjust seasonings to taste. Remove it from the stovetop and let it cool.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each circle, top with a slice of boiled egg, and brush egg white around half of the circle. Fold over, twist, and press with your fingers gently to seal the edges.
- Another way of sealing is by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough. Carefully place each meat pie on a baking sheet or freeze them for later.
- Set oven temperature to 350℉ (178℃), and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Tips & Notes:
- You can take a shortcut by buying premade pastry crusts. No judgment here.
- Making the filling the day before lets the flavors develop.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Hi Imma, nice recipes and procedures, thank you. After mixing my dough it justrefused to come together. It’s not stretching at all, it breaks so bad as I try rolling it out . Gosh!!!! Its very frustrating. Plz what could be the cause and how can i remedy it? Plz i need to make it now, help me sis.
Sorry to hear about that ! I would go ahead and add more milk- about 1/2 cup more , to make into a soft dough. I have updated recipe
Hi Imma! I’m back 🙂 Went to Cameroon for the holidays and came back with baking fever…. lol! Gave a go at your chin chin recipe and it was TheBomb.com. Then I decided to give these are try….. the struggle was real with the dough. Not sure what I did wrong but it was on the crumbly side and hard to roll. I kept adding milk until I got it to a more manageable consistency. I would say I probably added a total of 3/4 cup of milk to get it right. I freestyled my filling with whatever I had on hand and it turned out awesome. Thanks for another great recipe
AWESOME! WELCOME BACK! Little Sis! I was wondering where you’ve been hiding … haven’t seen you here in a while . Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Must we refrigerate the dough?
No you don’t have too!
HI Immaculate,what measurements can I replace with oz? I don’t understand that word oz. Thanks
Recipe had been updated Careen- with grams and cup
Hi, just wanted to thank you for all your recipes and ideas…it’s always a help when i want to try something new or need african recipes.
My husband is Cameroonian and he was wondering from who i learned cooking his favorite meals like meat pies, N’Dole…. Especially the kids love meat pie so much.
So glad to hear hubby is enjoying the meals…I know what you mean about these meat pies-they are my weakness!!! Thanks for taking the time to try out my recipes . Soo appreciate you!
Hello Imma, thank you for this recipe. I have one question. can the pie be fried instead of baked?
Hi Malaika! To be honest, I have never tried frying this pie- I think it would soak up tons of oil and maybe fall apart, you might have to add more flour to make it firm enough.
Thank u loads imma. The tomato sauce, is it the type we buy in tins or sachets from the market?
I have fried empanadas before right before serving…make sure oil is hot and put enough to cover pies. Drain on paper towels and keep in warm oven. Frying gives the crust a more crisper texture than baking.
No need to add baking powder or soda?
No, no need for that!
Have you added cheese before?
Hi Imma, Am Emmanuel, nice one, my is question.
Why the PARSLEY?
It adds flavor.
how much dose it make
14-16 medium size or 20-25 small meat pies
Hi Immaculate,
For the recipe did you use all purpose flour?
Yes.
Best.pies.ever.
Aww, thanks Mich.
Hello ImmaculateBites, I have being missing out on your great cooking. You are doing a fabulous work. Thank you
5 stars!
Thanks for the recipe.Looks good and will try it soon.How long to bake the pies for? Thanks 🙂
Bake for about 25-30 minutes
can you fry this with oil.Thanks so much
Melanie, I have never tried frying this meat pie because I feel they will be too oily. You may use this fish roll dough here http://africanbites.com/?p=3377. Just replace the fish with meat. Let me how it works out. Thanks for stopping by!
Pls can I make meat pie with stove instead of oven?
Is the milk powder or liquid milk
Liquid milk
Happy New Year!!! I have a questions; if you freeze the dough do you bake them longer or at a higher temperature. Thanks in advance.
Ola, you bake it longer about but the oven temperature stays the same. Happy new year to you too!
Hi immaculate this is Doreen I love ur site and will definitely try some of the tasty bites.love and may God continue to empower you.
Thanks Doreen, Wishing you a Happy New year!
I’m excited to make this recipe for my family and a friend who is on bed rest. My only question is what temperature the oven should be?
Amanda the temperature is 350 degrees, you’re friend would be thrilled with this empanadas .
Hi Imma, I did try the meat pie recipe and it came out good. The only problem I had was to roll the dough, it was kind of a little bit tough to roll so I was straining quite a bit. What could be done to make the dough a little bit softer; maybe to add a little bit of water you think? Thanks a lot.
Kelsey ,try adding about a 1/4 more of water or milk to the dough. Thanks for the feedback.
I did the meat pie again adding 1/4 cup of milk and it came out super good. No more straining rolling the dough. I believe I made several errors the first time. I realized I did not put enough butter and I did refrigerate the dough before cutting instead of vice versa. Thanks so much Imma, you have made me to be a proud cook serving tasty foods.
Looks yummy, will definitely try this out. I didn’t know I could use food processor to make dough.