These deep-fried avocado empanadas have a delightfully crispy crust filled with savory chunks of avocado, Oaxaca cheese, cream cheese, seasoning, cilantro, green onions, and more. A delicious empanada recipe the whole family will enjoy.
I love avocados, and I love empanadas, so I decided to combine those two loves into one amazing recipe. That’s how I came up with these delicious avocado empanadas. I love making batches of these empanadas for game day parties, cookouts, potlucks, or even for movie nights with my guy. We’ll go through an entire batch of them in the two hours it takes to watch a movie! Don’t judge. When you taste these, you’ll understand exactly why.
Avocado Empanadas
These delicious empanadas are stuffed with an avocado cheese mixture featuring cream cheese, Oaxaca cheese, green onions, red onions, cilantro, and lime juice. Oh, and I can’t forget a healthy dose of Cajun seasoning. After they’re stuffed and closed, I deep fry them to golden brown perfection for the ultimate empanada snack. That golden, flaky crust combined with the rich, cheesy avocado mixture is always welcome no matter where I serve them.
Why You’ll Love This Avocado Empanada Recipe
- The filling is creamy and flavorful, and the avocados are mixed with seasonings, cream cheese, cilantro, green onions, and more.
- They are easy to make and use store-bought dough and are quick and easy appetizers or snacks.
- They are great to add to a larger spread of delicious Mexican food.
Avocado Empanadas Ingredients
This recipe only uses some simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. Even the Oaxaca cheese is usually available at most stores!
- Large avocados
- Cream cheese
- Oaxaca melting cheese
- Lime juice
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Red onions
- Pickled jalapeños
- Garlic salt
- Black pepper
- Cajun seasoning
- Goya empanada dough
- Vegetable oil, for frying
How to Make Avocado Empanadas
Making these empanadas is as simple as mixing the filling and frying them up. That’s really all there is to it. It only takes a few minutes and a few steps.
Step 1: Make the filling
Beat the cream cheese until smooth in a large bowl. Then, add the seasonings and stir. Add the Oaxaca cheese, green onions, cilantro, red onions, and lime juice and stir again. Finally, gently stir in the diced avocado until combined.
Step 2: Fill and Seal the Empanadas
Place a heaping tablespoon or two of filling in the center of the empanada dough. Then, lightly moisten the edges of the dough and fold it in half over the filling. Pinch the edge and crimp with the tines of a fork to seal.
Step 3: Fry
Heat oil to 375 degrees in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Then, add a few empanadas at a time and fry until golden brown on both sides. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overfill your empanadas. If they’re too full, they’ll pop open while frying.
- You only need to dampen the edges of the dough to seal the empanadas. Don’t drown them.
- Don’t crowd the pan when frying the empanadas. Adding too many empanadas to the oil will lower the temperature, which will make for soggy empanadas rather than crispy ones.
Variations
- For a spicier filling, add diced jalapenos.
- If you don’t have or can’t find Oaxaca cheese, you can use any cheese that melts easily.
- Mexican and Taco blends are delicious in the filling
- You can use homemade empanada dough in place of pre-made empanada dough.
What to Serve with Avocado Empanadas
These delicious empanadas are perfect as part of a larger appetizer or Mexican-themed spread. As deep-fried appetizers, they pair perfectly with all of your favorites. If you’re serving them at a Mexican-themed event or themed meal, try them with all your favorites like:
- Tacos
- Fajitas
- Burritos
- Quesadillas
- Spanish rice
- Mexican rice
- Cilantro rice
- Chips and guac
- Chips and salsa
Recipe FAQ
Empanadas are a type of hand pie found in Latin American countries and Spain. They can be savory or sweet, but the most readily recognizable version is savory with meat and cheese filling.
Empanadas are a popular appetizer worldwide, but they’re most popular in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Empanadas can be baked or fried, and are traditionally enjoyed either way.
Depending on the filling, empanadas pair well with a variety of sauces for dipping. Some popular options include:
Salsa Criolla
Chimichurri sauce
Salsa verde
Honey mustard sauce
Romesco sauce
Anaheim chili sauce
Marinara sauce
Mole sauce
Ranch
Avocado ranch
That’s really a matter of personal preference. Empanadas can be either baked or fried. Both methods make for delicious snacks.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Avocado Empanadas
You can refrigerate these empanadas in an airtight container for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze them for up to a month in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
To reheat the empanadas, air fry them for 6 minutes at 350 degrees. You can also bake them for 10 minutes at 300 degrees.
Try This Delicious Avocado Empanada Recipe Today
These avocado empanadas combine a cool, creamy filling full of zesty spices with a golden, brown, and flaky fried empanada exterior that always has everyone coming back for more. And because they’re so easy to make, you’ll be looking for reasons to whip up batches of them. From Taco Tuesdays to any party or just an afternoon snack, there’s never a wrong time for these empanadas. Try them once, and I know you’ll agree.
More Delicious Empanada Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Here is an Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies you’ll enjoy, and from our other blog, Great Grub, Delicious Treats, here is a delicious Caramel Apple Empanada recipe. Both of these apple recipes are perfect for Fall.
Avocado Empanadas
Ingredients
- 3 large avocados, diced
- 4 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cups Oaxaca melting cheese, cut into small chunks
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ⅓ cup green onions, sliced
- ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup red onions, diced
- ¼ cup diced pickled jalapenos
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 11.6 ounce Goya empanada dough
- 1-2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, 2-3 minutes.
- Add seasonings into the cream cheese, stir.
- Next, add oaxaca cheese, green onions, cilantro, red onions, and lime juice. Stir to combine.
- Gently stir diced avocado into the cream cheese mixture until combined.
- Place a heaping tablespoon or two into the center of the empanada dough.
- Lightly wet the edges of the dough and fold in half.
- Pinch to seal close, and use a fork to press the edges together.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.
- Fry until golden brown on both sides.
- Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce.
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