Turkey Black Bean Baked Empanadas

A healthier take on empanadas, this baked, whole wheat version is stuffed with ground turkey, black beans, and a little cheddar cheese.

Today’s recipe is my latest attempt to expand my repertoire and appreciation of foods that are native to other countries. I’ll be honest; I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to making traditional empanadas. I did some research and then decided to give them my own spin. From what I’ve seen/read, empanadas vary a lot from region to region anyway. 🙂

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Whether my empanadas would be considered “traditional” or not, they definitely taste good! I was excited about having these for dinner last night.

As is my usual, I tried to make them a little on the healthier side. Traditional empanadas are either fried or baked, and I decided to go with a baked version. I used whole wheat flour in the dough, and stuffed them with ground turkey and black beans. You can always try beef instead, if you like.

I also made them bigger than traditional empanadas, simply because I’m not patient enough to roll out more circles of dough for a bunch of little empanadas. Just eat one big empanada instead of three or four little ones, right?

Patience or no, these are definitely fun to put together and I want to try some other kinds of savory AND sweet fillings in the future. 🙂

Turkey Black Bean Baked Empanadas

Servings: 6 large empanadas
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
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Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 15.25 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter
4 to 6 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Mash beans with a potato masher. Combine turkey, beans, cumin, paprika, and the 1/2 teaspoon salt in skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until turkey is no longer pink. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Combine milk, water, and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until butter is melted and mixture is almost boiling. Remove from heat. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add the milk mixture. Stir until mixture forms dough and is well combined. Divide dough into 6 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a circle. Place 1/6th of the meat mixture onto half of each circle. Sprinkle 1/6th of the cheese over meat on each circle. Fold empty halves of circles over top of meat and cheese halves and press edges together with a fork to seal. Place empanadas on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake for 20 minutes or until turning golden.

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