Oven Baked Chicken Empanadas

The first time I had these tasty little treats was at my friend's birthday party. His aunt is from Puerto Rico and she made them right there in front of me. I was mesmerized by these fried golden nuggets. I thought they were so amazing and there was no way I was going to be able to make them taste as delicious. After researching many recipes and playing with the concept I finally came up with a recipe that does her's justice. I really didn't want to deep fry them, which is the authentic way of making them, I wanted them to be oven baked. I decided to bake them not only because it's a lot easier than sitting in front of a deep fryer but because it's also a lot healthier. So this is my take on her amazing empanadas and they're only 140 calories each!

What you'll need for easy yummy empanadas:

2 chicken breasts

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese 

1/4 cup chopped Green Bell Pepper

2 tablespoon chopped Jalapeño Pepper

1 clove Garlic minced
1 egg

1 packet Taco Seasoning mix
Glass of ice water

1 box refrigerated Pie Crust 

Rinse the chicken, chop and cook according to the directions on the taco seasoning packet. I think it's easier to use a packet of taco seasoning because instead of having to find all of the spices the packet has all of them already in there for you. 

Once the chicken has finished cooking let it cool. Then you can tear apart the chicken with your fingers or chop it with a knife. (I was a little to impatient to wait for it to cool completely so I just chopped it up with a knife.)

Chop up the bell pepper, jalapeño, onion and garlic.

 Throw the chicken, bell pepper, jalapeño, onion, garlic, and Monterey Jack cheese into a bowl and toss. Get in there and use your hands!

Use a large glass and cut out circles from the pie crust. Place them on a greased baking sheet.

Place heaping spoonfuls of the chicken mixture onto the pie crust rounds.

Dip your finger in the glass of ice water and dab the rim of the pie crust round.

Then pull the dough over the chicken filling. (very carefully, I ended up tearing my first few. If you do end up tearing the dough just use a small piece of extra left over pie crust and dab a little ice water on the tear. Good as new!)

Continue folding the rest then use a fork to seal each.

Use the egg to make an egg wash (Which is just an egg lightly beaten.) and brush each empanada so that they'll be all golden and shiny when they're done.

Pop them in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

They are so good!! I wish I had more right now!!


Let me know what you think, do you like them better fried or baked?

Nutrition Facts

12 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories                140.5

Total Fat               8.8 g

Cholesterol          42.5 mg

Sodium                453 mg

Potassium             50.5 mg

Total Carbs          8.1 g

Dietary Fiber        0.2 g

Sugars                  1.1 g

Protein                  7.4

*I use this recipe calculator to calculate calories