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They are made with homemade empanada dough and filled with a great tuna filling. They are smaller than regular empanadas but no less tasty. So, are you ready to learn how to make empanadillas de bonito? Let’s get started!
What You Need For This Recipe
To make this tapas recipe you need several ingredients. I would recommend making the dough yourself as it will taste so much better.
Put the following ingredients on your shopping list:
- Dough – you can buy or make empanada dough yourself
- Olive oil
- Onion – finely chop a small onion
- Garlic – use fresh garlic
- Tuna – use canned tuna in water
- Sweet red pepper – finely chop
- Tomatoes – use Roma tomatoes if you can find them they have a great flavor
- Parsley – use fresh parsley
- Eggs – large eggs
Note that the full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Spanish Empanadas With Tuna
- To make this recipe either make homemade empanada dough or buy store-bought dough (see below for more options). Finely chop the onion and the sweet red pepper.
- Preheat a skillet with the olive oil to medium hot and pan-fry the onion and finely chopped red pepper. Stir the vegetables until soft and translucent in about 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir until these are also soft.
- Boil one egg for 7 minutes and after you peel the egg you can chop the egg fine.
- Then drain the water from the can of tuna. You can use tuna in olive oil but then you can use the oil for pan-frying the vegetables.
- Add the tuna to the skillet and then the finely chopped tomatoes. Keep on stirring until all ingredients are soft and combined takes about another 5 minutes.
- Stir the chopped egg through the tuna mixture. Take the skillet off the heat and let it cool. Roll the dough and cut 12 empanada shells of 4-inch or 10 cm.
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Scoop 1 tablespoon on the empanada disc, and fold and press the discs close with a fork.
- Whisk the egg and brush the egg wash on the empanadillas. Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃ and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Your Spanish tuna empanadas are ready to serve.
Tasty Spanish Empanadas
A bite-sized snack that you can bake or fry whether sweet or savory. With empanadas, you have many options. If you make my empanada dough recipe and store it in the freezer you always have some on hand when you want this tasty snack.
When you are in Spain you can find these in restaurants, and bars but also at the local bakery. These are shaped as hand pies but you can also find oval-shaped empanadas.
Eat them warm or cold either way they taste delicious. These are in no way spicy but you can easily add some spice by adding some cayenne powder.
See How To Make Empanada Dough
If you want to make empanada dough for this empanadilla de bonito recipe you can take a look at the instruction video in the recipe card below.
You can see how easy it is to make this dough at home from scratch. Your Spanish empanadas will taste so much better. Try it!
What Are Good Substitutes For Empanada Dough?
In my opinion, empanadas taste best with homemade empanada dough. But what about those days when you want to serve them and do not have forever?
What are the best substitutes to use? There are several options:
- Pizza dough – you can get refrigerated pizza dough and use it for empanadas they will be more bready than the real thing
- Puff pastry – this can be a good substitute but this dough is much flakier than empanada dough. There is more butter in puff pastry causing this flakiness
- Pie crust – again a good substitute which is flakier than empanadillas dough but a good alternative altogether
How To Store Spanish Empanadas
There are several ways to store these tuna empanadillas de bonito:
- Outside the fridge – if you want to eat them straight away or at the latest one day you can keep them outside of the fridge
- Fridge – if you want to eat these within two to three days you can keep them in the fridge in an airtight container or ziplock bag
- Freezer – when you want to keep them longer than a couple of days put them in the freezer also in an airtight container or Ziploc bag
You can also keep the empanada dough or empanada disc in the freezer and the filling separately so you can assemble them when you want to eat them.
How To Reheat Spanish Empanadas
You have several ways to reheat empanadas. In short, you can reheat them using:
- Oven
- Air Fryer
- Deep fryer
- Cast-iron
- Microwave
More Empanada Recipes
If you love these empanadillas you have to try these empanada recipes as well:
- Beef empanadas – create this beef filling and you get a super tasty snack
- Sweet empanadas – filled with soft apples these empanadas are great for dessert
- Breakfast empanadas – egg and empanada is a great way to start the day!
- Mexican chicken empanadas – a delicious and easy Mexican empanada recipe
- Mushroom empanada – filled with loads of mushrooms and so tasty
- Fried cheese empanadas – one of my favorite empanadas filled with soft cheese
Have fun making this easy Spanish empanada!
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Empanadillas De Bonito - Spanish Empanadas
Amazing Spanish empanadas with tuna. Try these empanadillas de bonito a great tapas recipe that you can eat for lunch or as a tapa.
Ingredients
- 250-gram empanada dough
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tablespoons tuna on water
- 1 red pepper finely chopped
- 5 Roma tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the olive oil and pan fry the onion and finely chopped red pepper. Stir until soft and translucent about 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir
- Boil one egg for 7 minutes and after you peeled the egg you can chop the egg finely
- Add the tuna and finely chopped tomatoes. Keep on stirring until all ingredients are soft and combined for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped egg through the tuna mixture
- Take off the heat and let it cool
- Roll the dough and cut 12 empanada shapes of 4-inch or 10 cm
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Scoop 1 tablespoon on the empanada disc, fold and press close with a fork
- Whisk the egg and brush the egg wash on the empanadillas
- Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃ and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden
Click To Play Recipe Video
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Nutrition facts
Calories: 76; Fat: 1g; Carbs: 7g; Protein: 2g;
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