Appetizers & Snacks/ How to Recipes BY:Mireille PUBLISHED: 05/20/2020 UPDATED: 02/14/2024

Mexican Chicken Empanadas

These Mexican chicken empanadas are so good!

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And they are easy to make so you can put them on the table in no time. They are great to serve as a snack or as a starter. So, want to learn how to make Mexican chicken empanadas? Let’s get started!

What You Need For This Recipe

To make this empanada recipe you need several ingredients. Put the following ingredients on your grocery shopping list and have them available when you start:

Chicken – you can use chicken breast or chicken thighs
Olive oil – to cook the chicken
Seasoning – use Mexican seasoning
Onion – finely dice
Garlic – mince fresh garlic
Dough – you can make empanada dough for baking or buy in the store
Egg – use a large egg

Note that the full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Chicken Empanadas

To make this recipe start with the empanada dough. You need about half of the empanada dough for a baking recipe or you can buy dough in the store.
Take a bowl and combine the olive oil with the Mexican seasoning. Then add the chicken and stir to combine and coat the chicken.
Put it in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Preheat a skillet and add the marinated chicken breast. You do not need any additional oil as the marinade already contains olive oil.
Bake the chicken breast in the skillet until done, this will take about 8-10 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and cut it into small cubes. Heat a tablespoon of oil and add the chopped onion and garlic.
Stir the onion and garlic until soft and translucent this will take about 5 minutes. Add the diced chicken and stir to combine. Add a splash of water and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃. Cut empanada dough into discs and fill with about 1-1½ tablespoons of filling. Fold the empanadas and close. Put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Combine the egg with a splash of water. Brush the empanadas with egg wash before baking for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Take them out of the oven. Your Mexican chicken empanadas are ready to serve.

Mexican Chicken Empanada Recipe

This is such a great empanada recipe. It combines tasty chicken marinade and empanadas. These empanadas are baked in the oven but you can also deep fry them.

When you deep fry empanadas more fat is absorbed in the dough. I like how crispy and flaky this dough is when you bake it in the oven.

Use an egg wash to turn the empanadas golden brown.

See How To Make Empanada Dough For Baking

As the empanada dough for baking is one of the main ingredients in this recipe, take a look at the recipe video in the recipe card below. It provides step-by-step instructions to make the empanada dough so you can easily follow along.

How To Store Chicken Empanadas

You have a number of options to store chicken empanadas.

Room temperature – if you plan on serving the empanadas the same day you can leave the empanadas at room temperature and warm them before serving
Refrigerator – if you plan on serving the chicken empanadas within 1 or 2 days you can put them in an airtight container or a ziplock bag
Freezer – want to keep them even longer you can store the empanadas in the freezer. Put the empanadas in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. You can keep them for up to 3 months

How To Reheat Empanadas

You can reheat your empanadas in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ and wrap the empanadas in tin foil. Warm for 8-10 minutes.

You can also warm an empanada in a medium-hot skillet. Warm for about 5-7 minutes. Turn occasionally. Prevent the skillet from becoming too hot and burning.

You can also warm your empanadas in the microwave but beware in the microwave they usually get either very soft or if you leave them too long rock hard.

If you want to warm in the microwave warm with 30-second bursts and check if the empanadas are warm.

Different Types Of Empanada Dough

Did you know there are a number of varieties of empanada dough? Based on what you want to do you can select and make the appropriate dough.

You can make the following doughs:

More Empanada Recipes

If you like this recipe, you will love these empanada recipes:

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