Vegan Empanadas with Spinach
Author:These vegan dumplings are the perfect finger food snacks, hot or cold they’re delicious. They’re filled with garlic spinach but you can add anything you like! They can be prepared with gluten-free corn flour or regular wheat/ spelt flour.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) flour *
- 3.5 oz (100 g) vegan butter optional margarine
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) dairy-free milk (or water) lukewarm
Filling *:
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10.6 oz (300 g) spinach frozen
- 1 ⅓ cups (150 g) 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.
Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @biancazapatka or tag #biancazapatka!