How to Make Empanadas: These Ground Beef Empanadas are made with a ketogenic and low carb fathead dough then filled with flavorful ground beef.
The weather out here has been very confusing. It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s really hot, then it’s cold again. We’re not having a real winter, even by California standards, but the sunny days are broken up by bouts of chilliness. I’ve actually been enjoying the colder weather though. There’s something about a nice fire roaring in the fireplace, my comfy leather couch and a good blanket that will just warm your soul.
Speaking of warming your soul, these Ground Beef Empanadas are definitely one of my favorite keto recipes. It’s really easy to make and so delicious plus super versatile because you can make all different kinds of flavor combinations.
I’ve made Buffalo Chicken Empanadas before and obviously they’re delicious but ground beef is probably my personal favorite (at least so far!). So long as you make the meat flavorful, your empanadas are going to be delicious.
These also freeze and re-heat really well. I’ve even taken them camping (empanadas in the woods, incredible). Put them in a gallon sized storage bag and freeze them then when you’re ready to eat, take one out and put it in a pan or in the oven until warm. You could also use the microwave but I like the way it cooks in a pan or oven better. If you’re worried about the empanadas sticking together while freezing, lay them out individually on a cooking sheet then put it in the freezer and let them freeze partially, then transfer them to the bag.
Ground Beef Empanadas Recipe Notes
If the dough is too sticky to work with, you can do a couple things to help: add a little more Almond Flour to the dough, put the dough in the fridge or freezer for 15 minutes before working with it or rub some olive oil onto your hands.
It’s really important to use Almond Flour instead of Almond Meal. Almond Meal will cause the dough to be kind of crumbly and it breaks apart easily but Almond Flour will make it light and stretch easily.
You might have some leftovers of the ground beef mixture. If so, you can make another batch of empanada dough or use it to make something else, like Bell Pepper Nachos or tacos in a Cheese Taco Shell (both I highly recommend).
Ground Beef Empanadas (keto, low carb)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- Filling:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped green olives (if desired)
- 1 tsp each: chile powder, cumin, smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup salsa of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a pan over medium heat, cook onions in 1-2 tbsp olive oil until slightly softened. Add in ground beef and break up with a spatula. Season meat mixture with chile powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Cook until browned. Add in salsa of choice and olives if using. Set aside.
- While meat is cooking, add mozzarella and cream cheese to a bowl and microwave for one minute. Take out and stir well, then put back in the microwave for another minute. Stir well.
- Add egg to mozzarella and cream cheese mixture and mix well. Then add in the almond flour and combine well again.
- Roll the dough flat with a rolling pin or with a piece of plastic wrap on top and use a wine bottles. Once you’ve rolled it flat, about 1/4″ thick, use a bowl to cut circle shapes.
- For excess dough, form into a ball then roll out again and repeat the process until all the dough has been used.
- Lay on a lightly greased cooking sheet, parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Place a couple spoonfuls of meat mixture into each circle on one half and then fold the other half over. Make sure to press down firmly on the edges. You can also slightly roll the edges to make sure they’re together well or use a fork to gently push down the edges.
- Once you’ve made all the empanadas, cook at 425 degrees for 12 minutes until starting to turn golden brown.
Products Used in this Recipe
So so delicious- made these this evening and they were a hit! We got rid of our microwave so I used a double boiler to melt the cheese. This is a keeper recipe – thank you for sharing! Yum.
★★★★★
Could you air fry these?
What is the carb amount?
Will the recipe still work if I use regular florist and not the almond flour want to make for dinner tonight but don’t have almond flour
This may be a dumb question but if im going to freeze them. Do i bake them first?
Hi to mix the cheese 🧀 and cream cheese I alway have a problem the cheese get cooked and it doesn’t melt properly what should I do?
★★★★★
Hi there! The easiest way I’ve found to do it is to put the mozzarella cheese in a bowl with the cream cheese and then microwave it for 1 minute. It should be slightly soft but not fully melted. Use a fork to mix it up a little then put it back in the microwave for another minute. Mix it up again. It doesn’t need to be fully melted, the two cheeses just need to well incorporated together. After that, add the egg and mix together well and then add your dry ingredients. I hope that helps!
I just made this recipe OMG! Absolutely amazing Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you 🙂
Ideas on how do make the dough dairy free? Do you think dairy free versions of mozzarella & cream cheese would work?! These sound amazing I want to experiment w/ a dairy free version!
hmm. to be honest, I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how it would turn but if you do try it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Hi For the Buffalo Chicken Empanadas what is the Nutritional information… so I can log it for eating keto? 🙂
Hi there! This will depend on how big you make each empanada in addition to the types of ingredients you’re using (especially the mozzarella and cream cheese) but the net carbs on this, if you’re making six, should end up around 4-5 carbs. At least, that’s what it ended up being for me with my chosen ingredients. You can also use an online nutrition calculator such as this one: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator to enter your exact ingredients for the most accurate nutritional information.
THANKS! The Buffalo Chicken Empanadas TO DIE FOR OH MY WORD! :):):)
haha glad to hear that!