These vegan empanadas are filled with zesty black beans and wrapped in flaky puff pastry. They're packed with flavor and surprisingly easy to make!
- 2 tablespoon, olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch ground cloves
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup frozen corn, thawed
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce. such as Cholula (Note 1)
- ¼ cup chopped scallions
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 (8.7 ounce or 245 gram) sheets vegan puff pastry (Notes 2 and 3)
- 1 tablespoon unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
-
Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.
-
Once the oil is hot, add the pepper and onion. Cook them for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pepper is tender and the onion is soft and translucent.
-
Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and cloves. Stir everything and cook the mixture for about 1 minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
-
Add the beans, water, and tomato paste. Stir everything to blend the tomato paste with the water.
-
Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, until the beans have softened up a bit and most of the liquid has cooked off.
-
Remove the skillet from heat.
-
Stir in the corn, hot sauce, scallions, and cilantro. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
-
Preheat the oven to 425°F and oil two large or three medium-sized baking sheets.
-
Place one of your puff pastry sheets on the counter, and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 9x14 inch rectangle.
-
Cut six circles in the dough, about 4 ½ inches each in diameter. To do this you can use a large cookie or biscuit cutter, or find an appropriately-sized bowl and use a knife to cut around it. You can also just eyeball it, if you're comfortable doing that.
-
Repeat the process until all of your dough has been rolled and cut. You should have eighteen circles.
-
Fill a small bowl with water.
-
Grab one of your dough circles and spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center.
-
Wet a finger with the bowl of water, then spread a thin layer of water around the edges of the circle. Fold the dough in half to enclose the filling, and pinch the edges tightly to seal. Place it on a baking sheet and crimp the edges with a fork.
-
Repeat until all of the filling and dough circles are used, arranging the empanadas evenly on the baking sheets with about an inch separating them.
-
Use a fork to poke a few holes in each empanada, then brush the tops of the empanadas with the milk.
-
Place the empanadas into the oven (you can bake them in batches if they don't all fit), and bake them for 15 minutes.
-
After 15 minutes, remove the baking sheets from the oven and brush the empanadas with the remaining tablespoon of oil.
-
Bake the empanadas for about 5 minutes more, until golden brown.
-
Let the empanadas cool for just a few minutes before serving.
- I don't recommend skipping the hot sauce, as it adds a lot of flavor. If you absolutely must omit it, try adding a dash of vinegar or lime juice to help balance the flavors.
- Pepperidge Farm brand puff pastry is vegan.
- You'll need 1 ½ packages if you use Pepperidge Farm brand puff pastry.