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Apr 2, 2023

Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles

These mini chicken empanadas with cheese and chiles are the perfect game day snack. It was really difficult not to devour more than my share of these when I pulled them out of the oven. 

Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles on a blue plate.



They are ridiculously tasty... and so easy peasy to make! 

What is an Empanada?

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry which is either baked or deep fried. Their origination is Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish), and there are many iterations of empanadas throughout the world. 


Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles on a blue plate.


This version consists of pie dough filled with cheeses, chicken, and chiles, and baked before serving. They are soooo good! 

Ingredients

Pie crust: I used store bought pie crusts and cut them into smaller circles for filling. 

Shredded cooked chicken: I used the meat from a rotisserie chicken. 

Cheeses: Use the pre-shredded Mexican blend that you can find in the supermarket along with some creamed cheese. 

Spices: Cumin, salt, and pepper. 

Chiles: You will need both fresh and pickled chiles along with some of the juice from the jar of the pickled jalapeños. 

Pickled jalapenos in a jar.


After trying the pickled jalapeños in these empanadas, I've become a little hooked on them. They're great on hot dogs, burgers, nachos, quesadillas, and in Gibson martinis. 

To Make these Empanadas: 

First, just mix together all of the filling ingredients. 

Next, cut the pie crust dough into 3 inch rounds, re-roll the scraps and continue to cut it into rounds until you have about 20. 

After that, place a rounded teaspoon in the center of each round, fold them over, and crimp the edges with a fork. 

Finally, bake the empanadas for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Empanadas on a sheet pan before baking.


Equipment You May Need:

A 3-inch round cookie cutter. You could also use a drinking glass. Just trace around it with the tip of a knife. 

A half-sheet pan along with parchment paper for lining the pan. 

Make-Ahead:

You can serve these hot or at room temperature. You can also make these in advance and freeze them before baking. Just bake them when you need them! 

Mini Chicken Empanadas on a blue plate.


More Filled Dough Recipes You May Also Enjoy:

Empanadas de Picadillo

Spinach, Ricotta, and Three Meat Calzones

Ricotta Calzones with Spinach and Sausage

Ukranian Spinach and Potato Dumplings


More Dumpling Recipes from the Sunday Funday group. 

Our host this week is Culinary Cam. 


Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles on a blue plate.



I first posted this recipe in August, 2015 as part of Secret Recipe Club (kind of like a secret Santa group for recipes in which many of my food blogging friends participated). My source is no longer blogging and her link is gone, so I cannot link back to her recipe. 

I've updated the post and added a printable recipe card. Enjoy! 



Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles

Mini Chicken Empanadas with Cheese and Chiles
Yield: 20 Empanadas
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This mini chicken empanadas with cheese and chiles are the perfect game day snack.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shredded chicken (I used meat from a rotisserie chicken)
  • 2/3 cup (about 5 ounces) shredded taco cheese
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 teaspoons diced pickled jalapeño peppers
  • 2 teaspoons pickled jalapeño juice
  • 2 teaspoons fresh sweet cayenne or other fresh peppers (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 package refrigerated pie crust, or homemade pie crust of your choice (enough for the top and bottom crust of a pie)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the chicken, cheeses, jalapeños, jalapeño juice, cayenne peppers, cumin, salt, and pepper together.
  3. Unroll the pie crusts and cut into 3 inch circles with cookie cutters or a drinking glass. Gather up the scraps into a ball and roll them out to cut more circles. I ended up with 20.
  4. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the crust. Don't over fill or they will pop open. Using a fork, seal the edges together.
  5. Bake on a lined baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
  6. Make ahead tips: You can assemble them and freeze them up to 30 days before baking. You can also reheat leftovers in a 325 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

136.88

Fat (grams)

8.29 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.13 g

Carbs (grams)

11.15 g

Fiber (grams)

0.64 g

Net carbs

10.51 g

Sugar (grams)

0.21 g

Protein (grams)

4.2 g

Sodium (milligrams)

193.54 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

11.66 mg
empanadas
Appetizer
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Would you like to comment?

  1. These look GORGEOUS, Karen! :D And loaded with fantastic flavors! What a wonderful choice for the SRC! :D

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  2. These look great, in fact they are very similar to Brazilian "pasteis", so I grew up enjoying this type of delicacy

    great choice for your assignment!

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  3. What an awesome looking recipe! I just live things that involve hot peppers and cheese!

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  4. What a perfect coincidence! I was just asking a friend about pickled jalapenos and he bought me a jar. So now I have the only ingredient for this recipe that I would not ordinarily have had in my pantry. Can't wait to make them. So cute:)!

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  5. Nice looking empanadas, and an excellent reveal day choice!

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  6. They're the perfect tailgating food! Great SRC recipe!

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  7. These look beautiful! Now I am really having a craving for empanadas. Great pick for tailgating.

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  8. So pretty. We love empanadas in our house!

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  9. These are beautiful! What a fun thing for a tailgate.

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  10. I love empanadas so much. I never make chicken ones, but these look fantastic. Wonderful SRC post.

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  11. These would be perfect for one of my Tapas Nights, and I love empanadas as well.

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  12. These are the perfect addition to an appetizer buffet.

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  13. These look so crispy and make a perfect party treat!

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