These baked vegan garlic spinach empanadas are the perfect healthy finger food snacks – hot or cold, they’re incredibly delicious! They can be made with gluten-free cornflour or simple all-purpose or spelt flour. You can even stuff these dumplings with other veggies you like!
Vegan Empanadas with Garlic Spinach
Today I have a recipe for vegan empanadas for you. These are stuffed dumplings, which are mostly served in Spain, Central, and South America, and the Philippines. Often, however, they are made with eggs and filled with minced meat and cheese. But I think this recipe proves once again that the vegan version tastes just as delicious without dairy products. I prefer to snack on them in the evening while relaxing in front of the TV or serve them when friends come over. In combination with different dips, such as guacamole or cashew cream dip, they are a great party snack. But these empanadas are also perfect as a side dish to a fresh salad or for preparing for the next day to take away.
Vegan Empanadas can be made in so many ways!
Usually, empanadas are made from gluten-free (precooked) cornflour or simple all-purpose flour. But you can also combine both types of flour or use a gluten-free flour blend. Optionally, you can also use spelt flour. Anyway, in this recipe, I made the dough with wheat flour because it is available in every supermarket and I think most of you already have it at home. Also as regards the filling different combinations are possible. In this recipe, I chose a simple filling of garlic spinach with vegan shredded cheese. But I also like to fill them with beans, corn, peas, and carrots. With a filling of potatoes and mushrooms, as I did with my vegan pierogi, they certainly taste very good as well.
How to make Vegan empanadas- It’s so easy!
Step 1: Prep the dough
To make these healthy baked vegan garlic spinach empanadas, start by making the dough. First, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Shape a pile and press a hollow in the center. Then add the soft vegan butter into the hollow and fill in plant-based milk (or water). Now knead everything well until you have a nice smooth dough. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film. Place the wrapped dough ball in the fridge to chill for at least 1/2 hour. If you leave the dough longer in the fridge, you should remove it approx. 15 minutes before using it so it can come to room temperature before using. Otherwise, it’ll be pretty firm and more difficult to roll out.
Step 2: Make the filling, assemble and bake
In the meantime, you can prepare the garlic spinach filling or another filling you like. While the prepared filling cools down, you can roll out the dough and cut out medium-sized circles (I easily used a big glass of about 10 cm diameter). Then place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each dough circle and fold the empanadas over the filling into a crescent. Now press the edges firmly with a fork, so that the filling does not run out. Before I put the stuffed empanadas in the oven, I always brush them with a mixture of olive oil, soy milk, and some turmeric for a nice golden color. You can either bake the vegan empanadas in the oven for about 20 minutes at 392°F (200°C) until they are golden brown and crispy, or deep fry them. This recipe yields about 12-16 empanadas, depending on size.
If you tried this baked vegan empanadas recipe, I would appreciate a comment. You are also welcome to post a picture on Instagram and link it to @biancazapatka so that I can see your great creations. Maybe you will also like my similar recipe for vegan dumplings with spinach and cashew ricotta.
Vegan Empanadas with Spinach
Author:Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 ½ cups flour *
- 3.5 oz vegan butter optional margarine
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup dairy-free milk (or water) lukewarm
Filling *:
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10.6 oz spinach frozen
- 1 ⅓ cups shredded vegan cheese or vegan cream cheese/feta*
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- chili optional
- nutmeg optional
To brush:
- 3 tbsp soy milk or other dairy-free milk
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch of turmeric optional
Instructions
Dough:
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Then form a mold in the center of the flour.
- Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan. Allow to cool slightly, then pour it into the flour mold. Pour in dairy-free milk (or water) and knead everything until a nice smooth dough forms.
- Then form the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in cling film, and place in the fridge to chill for at least ½ hour.*
Filling:
- Thaw and squeeze out the spinach.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic.
- Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté chopped onion and garlic briefly. Then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper, a bit of nutmeg, and chili to taste. Set aside and let cool slightly before adding the vegan cheese.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and knead again on a lightly floured surface. Then roll it out and cut out 4-inch (10 cm) diameter circles (I used a big glass to do that). Collect the remaining dough and knead it together into a ball. Then roll it out again, and cut out more circles of dough. Continue this process until all of the dough is used up.
- Place 1-2 tsp of the filling in the center of each dough circle and fold the empanadas into a half-moon shape. Then press the edges together firmly using a fork.
- Brush a baking tray with oil (or line it with parchment paper) and arrange the stuffed empanadas onto it.
- Mix the olive oil, soy milk, and turmeric to combine, then brush the filled empanadas with it.
- Bake them in a preheated oven at 392°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. (Optionally, you can also deep fry them).
- Serve your vegan empanadas hot or cold.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of all-purpose or spelt flour, you can also use gluten-free (pre-cooked) cornflour, or combine both types of flour. You could also use a gluten-free 1 to 1 all-purpose flour blend, however, I do not recommend using whole grain flour.
- You can also use other ingredients for the filling.
- I used vegan shredded cheese, but you can also use vegan cream cheese, homemade vegan feta, or homemade cashew ricotta.
- If you leave the dough in the fridge for longer than 1/2 hour, you should remove it earlier and allow it to come to room temperature before using it. Otherwise, the dough will be too firm and difficult to roll out.
- They taste best when you serve them with different dips, such as guacamole or cashew cream dip, or vegan mayonnaise.
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Made your empanadas and they were soooo good! I had to make a few modifications based on what we had on hand. Used oat milk instead of soy and the dough was lovely! We also added black beans, mushrooms, cumin, and smoked paprika to the filling. Love the Turmeric glaze for the top and will definitely be making these again. Thank you!
I’m happy you liked the recipe! Many thanks! 🙂
So delicious! Thank you for this recipe 🤩
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you! 🙂
Good recipe and I am going to try but no oven temperature provided. 🤔
In step 8 you can find the temperature: “Bake them in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) for about 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.”
Hi Bianca,
My pastry keeps splitting, any tips?
cheers John
Which kind of flour did you use? Did you use vegan butter and dairy-free milk or water?
I figured out that vegan butter and soy milk works best in this recipe!
How long do you normally knead the dough. I felt like I was kneading for 10 minute straight and it was still not smooth. Did I do something wrong? I used unbleached ap flour, earth balance vegan butter sticks, and soy milk. Used the dough hook on my stand mixer and then kneaded by hand.
It was more smooth after the refrigeration. Whew. I was worried I ruined it. Hahaha
Thanks for letting me know! 😃
So happy it turned out perfectly! ❤️
I usually knead the dough for around 8 minutes by hand until it is smooth. I figured out that it works better by hand.
I’ve read the recipe a 100 times and can’t see at what point you add the cheese? Am I losing my mind?
It’s mentioned in step 3. It’s the last step of making the filling.
This is such a great recipe! We successfully made our first vegan empanadas. Very delicious!! Instead of feta cheese, we used marinated tofu instead 🙂 The idea of using olive oil and soy milk to brush is awesome! Will definitely try out more Bianca’s recipes.
So glad you love this recipe! Thank you so much! ❤️
Hi! Trying these as I type and having a really hard time with the dough. I’m using a GF flour blend and followed your instructions, but the dough is cracking when I try to fold the empanada. Any suggestions?
Hi Kat, if using gluten-free flour you cannot avoid some cracks. Which gluten-free flour did you use? Maybe you could try another one or adding an egg substitute for better binding.
Unfortunately, I didn’t love the dough. I found the dough to be quite dry and bland. I was really hoping this recipe would be a winner since it was so easy to make. Thank you anyways.
Hi Valeria, the dough is similar to pizza dough but without yeast. Anyway, it’s normal this kind of dough doesn’t have much flavor. Maybe you’d like trying my vegan burrito samosas made of tortillas? Just take note that tortillas don’t have much flavor either xD But the filling and dips is what it makes delicious!
Re: spinach… cook first then freeze? Or raw , freeze? Is freezing necessary?
Hi Pame, I used frozen spinach in this recipe. Just defrost overnight or in the microwave. Once thawed, squeeze out as much liquid as you can. But you can also use fresh spinach if you prefer. If using fresh spinach, cook in a skillet with a little water until wilted, then transfer to a colander and squeeze out any excess liquid. 🙂
I just made the empanadas and they were so delicious! Will definitely bake them again (and again and again). There are so many options for the fillings. I made these with vegan Mexican nacho salad and a crossover dip, that combined a classic chimichurri with Oriental Sh‘uk!
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! ❤️
Hi Eva, so glad that you liked these vegan Empanadas! Your vegan Mexican Nacho Filling sounds so good to me! I also love this vegan burrito samosas filling! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
about what thickness to roll dough out ? Thank you looks great!
Hi Diana, I roll out the dough to 1/4 inch (a little over half a centimeter) thick. Have fun trying the recipe 🙂
Wonderful recipe. My 19 year old son has been vegan for about a year now and is very passionate about animal rights and health so I am always looking for great vegan recipes. I loved this meal and used the Follow Your Heart brand Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Shreds and fresh spinach. Thanks again for posting.
Hi Tamara,
Thank you for your positive feedback!
So glad that your son liked this dish too!
Will try this vegan mozzarella ?
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️