African Meat Pie (Beef Empanada)- slightly sweet, flaky and crusty with a succulent beef filling. Comes together quickly and flies off the table. Simply Delicious!!
Don’t you think there is just something irresistible about spicy minced meat stuffed in a crunchy short bread crust ? I do. So far everyone I have had the pleasure of encountering has whispered ever so diligently a secret passion for a hot filled crusty pie loaded with all of your secret pleasures.. hmmm hmmm.. sounds so good
Believe me when I say it tastes divine. The joy of this recipe is the numerous variety of fillings around the world. Meat pie can be an ethnic success and render any novice chef into a well sought out after caterer! Trust me.. With the flaky, crispy savory crust coupled with sweet succulent spices, count me in.
My love for meat pies means that you better believe I am always looking out for alternate recipes. The best ones are all have the same unique trait. A sumptuous flaky crust. Admittedly, I have frequently nibbled on the pie crust and thrown away the pie filling. See folks for me, the crust rules!
Now lets talk about these African meat pies and what makes them different. First of all Empanada lovers you will not be disappointed, from all the recipes sampled I feel that this recipe is most close to the Argentinian empanada, with a slight twist. In addition to butter and flour we add milk and eggs for a creamy, smooth and tender dough. Now keep in mind, there are no hard or fast rules about what goes into a meat pie every family or street vendors pie is known to have it’s own secret ingredient. Now I share my secret, it is the tasty filling of ground meat, onions, tomatoes, parsley, green onions which makes for a flavorful, moist and tender pie.
Now if you’ve baked any kind of pie, you know that the work comes with kneading and creating the dough. All that being said, if you are a lover like I am, then you can make numerous batches of dough and freeze them for future usage. That makes this meal a 30 minute adventure after defrosting. (If you look in my freezer I always have a stack of unbaked pies, my son loves this and makes for a wonderful ‘lunch’ option for him at school).
Watch How To Make It
African Meat Pie (Beef Empanada)
Ingredients
- 4 cup or (544 g) flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 tablespoon or (25 g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon or (8.53 g) salt
- 8 ounce or (228 g) butter
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup or (177.75 ml) milk
Meat Filling
- 2 tablespoon or (30 ml) canola oil
- ½ pound or (226.80 g) ground meat
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- ½ cup or (112.5 g) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon or (6.90 g) smoked paprika
- 2 green onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 boil eggs (optional)
Instructions
- In a food processor or by hand, mix together salt, sugar ,butter blend well Add the egg, milk in small amounts, pulse until combined and dough holds together in a soft ball.
- Place the dough on a well floured surface . Divide it into 2 and roll it out .
- Using a large mouth, glass glass or bowl about 4 - 5 " cut out circles by gently pressing on the dough and releasing it, shaping the meat pie dough. Continue cutting out dough until all dough has been cut. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
Make the Meat pie filling
- Add 2 tablespoon of oil to a sauce pan, followed by onions, garlic, chicken bouillon tomato sauce and paprika . Let it 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 about 10 or more minutes.
- Finally add green onions and parsley, white pepper. Followed by salt to taste Adjust seasonings to taste .
- Remove from stove top and let it cool.
Assembling Meat pie
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each circle, top with egg and brush the egg white around half of the circle. Fold over twist and and press with fingers gently to seal the edges of the meat pie.
- 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 you may freeze to use later.
- Set oven temperature to 350 degrees .Bake for about 30 minutes .
Nutrition Information:
Mary says
Can I deep fry if I don’t have a cooker
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Mary. I have never tried frying these empanadas because I feel they will be too oily. But at per the recommendations of others, in order to successfully deep fry these empanadas, you have to make sure you oil is really hot and then fry for about 2-3 minutes. Hope this helps. Do let me know how this worked out for you.
Yvonne says
Can I use margarine instead of butter?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can.
Fly girl says
so no need to add baking powder or soda and it will rise?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, no need to add any of those . Happy Cooking!!!
princess says
which type of flour do we use
ImmaculateBites says
Regular or all purpose flour.
Ifeoluwa says
I noticed you didn’t use baking powder for the dough. The last set I made was kinda tough, the dough was shrinking and even in the oven the fillings came out. Was it because of the baking powder?
imma africanbites says
Sorry to hear that. I can’t definitely pin point, but there could be a couple of reasons why it turned out that way. It could be that you over mixed it or rolled out excessively. Or it could possibly be that the ingredients are too warm and not using enough butter.
Lola says
Hi! Your recipe sounds yum! When you freeze the uncooked pies, do you defrost before baking or bake from frozen. If you defrost before baking, for how long? And if you bake from frozen, how long do you bake for and at what temperature? Sorry for bombarding you with all these questions . I look forward to your response. Thanks in advance!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Lola,
No worries about the questions. I usually bake from frozen and add about 6 or more minutes . You might have to add more minutes , use your best judgement , until it is cooked through.
Lola says
Thanks!
Kedei says
Hi Imma,
This was my first time making these pies in my life. They turned good. I followed everything to the T. I don’t have a food processor, l used the bread maker instead to mix the ingredients.
The only concern l have is that my crust was a bit hard instead of soft and flaky. I am wondering what lncan next time l try to make this again? Appreciate your feedback.
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry to hear about this .Do not over-mix. Using a bread dough would make it tougher. It’s best to use your hands instead – add about 1/4 cup milk to mixture . Hope this helps
OBADIAH says
Hi how i can bake it on jiko i don’t have oven.
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry, I don’t know what jiko is.
SN says
To use a jiko, use big sufuria. Place the meat pies on metal plate in the sufuria. Put some hot ash and some of the charcoal on top to keep the heat going above and below. If you Google baking with a jiko you should find steps esp on youtube
khadijah says
Hello there!
I tried searching in the directions for what setting you set the oven to in order to bake the meat pies and I did not see it. and for how long?
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until slightly brown . Thanks
Gerald says
Hi I may, this particular delicacy is capable of controlling my mind and make me ‘sleep walk’ to the kitchen should there be any in the fridge. When I was growing up in Kumba [a town in my country] I use to steal money from my dad’s suit pocket to buy this the next day at school. Anyway, my question is; the tomato sauce you mentioned, is it precooked or what. Thanks
imma africanbites says
I feel you! I used to buy this every after school back home. 🙂 As for the tomato sauce, please use the canned ones. You can usually buy those at the groceries.
Sebastian says
Hey there. This is a great dough. I love meet pies too. Have you heard of chef Pierre thiam from Senegal… in one of his cookbooks he has a recipe for this amazing fish pastel. Also has a pepper or pepe soup recipe that uses a cassava broth. It’s soo good fiery with fish and lime juice and maybe some bay leaf. It is a cousin of Bahia shrimp bobo
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks ! Yes, I have . I believe I do have one of his cookbooks. Might have to look for the fish pastel and the pepper soup- cause it sounds delicious.
Shalonda says
Hello do you think using flaky biscuit dough would work in the place of making the dough from scratch?
ImmaculateBites says
I can’t say for sure . I have not used pre made biscuit dough for this recipe. If you do, please let me know how it works out for you. Thanks!
Shalonda says
Thanks for your response! Based on all the awesome comments I think I will follow your recipe. Have a great day 🙂
Joan says
My boyfriend was surprised I made these and he likes them practice makes perfect thank you so much
ImmaculateBites says
Agree! Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Joan says
My boyfriend’s from togo I am trying different dishes I think he’s gonna love this one I sure do.
ImmaculateBites says
He sure would! It’s always a crowd favorite.Happy Cooking!!!
Ruben T says
Imma, I’ve been playing around with empanadas and looking for the dough that would give me a flakey fried pie. I found your recipe but you said you had not tried frying because you felt they would be to greasy like my fried pies were turning out. A friend told me the reason they were turning out greasy was because my grease was not hot enough. I had not fried any using your dough only baked as you suggested. I ran the temp on my deep fryer up to 400 degrees and fried a pie made with your dough for 2 minutes. What I ended up with was to me the perfect (not greasy) very flakey pie. I smoke a beef or pork roast 2 or three times each month year round. I use the smoked meat for my filling. Thanks for the recipe.
ImmaculateBites says
Thank you so much Ruben. Appreciate you taking the time to share this with us. Am definitely going to fry these empanadas – next time I make it . You rock!!!
Agnes says
Hello imma can I freeze the meat pies for some time before using them? Is it going to taste the same? Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Agnes! You sure can. I do it all the time – make sure you wrap tightly and place in a ziplock bag.