Brisket Empanadas with Passion Fruit Chimichurri

Baked brisket empanadas are made easy thanks to leftover cooked brisket and seasoned with a flavorful spice blend of cumin and sazon. But the true highlight is the bright and tangy passion fruit chimichurri sauce that's served alongside.

🍋 About Brisket Empanadas

Savory and full of flavor, these baked brisket empanadas use leftover cooked brisket combined with potatoes, fresh herbs and seasoned with one of my favorite Latin spice blends, sazon. A homemade empanada dough wraps the beef filling, but simple puff pastry works just as easily.

You can often find sazon in Latin markets and I have a recipe to make your own sazon blend. And once you do, put it onto everything including fish tacos with mango salsa and one pot chicken with black beans for an explosion of flavors! For a great appetizer that is going to impress your guests, try my Steak crostini.

🌸 About Passion Fruit Chimichurri

The highlight of this brisket empanada recipe is the passion fruit chimichurri! A twist on traditional Argentinian chimichurri, I added a tropical twist with the addition of floral passion fruit puree. The flavor is bright, tropical and a bit sour and is a gorgeous complement to the herby chimichurri sauce.

I grew up eating passion fruit (called lilikoi in Hawaiian) and since it's not easily found on the mainland, many Latin markets carry frozen passion fruit puree which works very well.

If you are lucky enough to source fresh passion fruit or frozen passion fruit puree, make a batch of lilikoi bars or pour yourself a refreshing passion fruit mojito.

📋 Ingredients

• Empanada Dough: This recipe includes an easy homemade empanada dough or if you want to make it even easier, you can find empanada discs in many Latin markets or use puff pastry.
• Leftover Brisket: This is a great use for leftover slow cooked brisket or even leftover grilled steak.
• Potatoes: Thin peeled Yukon gold potatoes are used in these baked empanadas. They are creamy and crisp well on the outside. You can also use russet potatoes or even sweet potatoes for a sweeter flavor.
• Jalapeño: If you prefer less heat, remove the seeds of the jalapeño. And if you like spicy, substitute with a serrano pepper.
• Spices: Cumin and sazon are the main flavors in the empanada filling. Sazon is a blend that includes, cumin, garlic powder, annatto and coriander. Sazon can be found online and in Latin markets or make homemade sazon seasoning.
• Fresh Herbs: Both fresh parsley and cilantro are used in the chimichurri and in the brisket empanada filling. You can use all parsley pro all cilantro if preferred.
• Passion Fruit Puree: You can find frozen passion fruit puree in Latin and international markets, usually it will be the Goya brand. Keep it in the freezer and thaw when ready to use.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🫒 Substitutions and Variations

• Use any leftover brisket that is cooked and ready to go, such as smoked brisket, slow cooker brisket or this Cuban flavored brisket.
• Add chopped green olives or chopped hard boiled eggs to the brisket mixture.
• Instead of making your own empanada dough, make baked empanadas with puff pastry which works great!
• If vegetable shortening isn't available, substitute with ice cold butter.

⏲️ Instructions

Make the empanada dough. In a food processor, add the flour, salt and shortening and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand.

Add the water, vinegar and eggs to the flour mixture and pulse until a ball of dough forms. Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until it is a smooth ball.

Make the empanada filling. Heat a skillet over medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the diced potatoes and jalapeño and sauté until potatoes are cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.

Add the cumin, sazon, salt and pepper and toss to combine for another minute. Then add the cooked brisket and fresh cilantro and mix everything together, then set aside and let cool.

Make the empanada discs. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a ¼ of an inch in thickness and use a 4-inch round cookie cutter to cut round discs.

Fill the empanadas. Place the empanada disc in the palm of your hand and fill a tablespoon of the brisket filling in the center.

Crimp the empanada. Wet the edges of the dough with your finger and seal the empanada on all sides, gently pushing out any air bubbles. Use your index finger to gently crimp the edges (or you can use a fork) to seal.

Bake the empanadas. Place empanadas on lined baking sheet (I like using a silpat. Brush each empanada with egg wash and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25 minutes until golden brown.

Make the chimichurri.  To a food processor, add the passion fruit puree, cilantro and parsley, garlic, jalapeño, lime juice, water, olive oil, salt and pepper and blend together until smooth.

Serve empanadas with passion fruit chimichurri.

Recipe FAQs

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Brisket Empanadas with Passion Fruit Chimichurri

Samantha Ferraro

LittleFerraroKitchen.com

Baked brisket empanadas seasoned with warm spices of cumin and served with a bright passion fruit chimichurri sauce.

5 from 5 votes

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Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Chilling 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main

Cuisine Latin

Servings 12 empandadas

Calories 315 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Empanada Dough

• ▢ 3 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable shortening
• ▢ ½ cup cold water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• ▢ 2 eggs lightly whisked together

Brisket Filling

• ▢ 2 cups cooked brisket roughly chopped into smaller pieces
• ▢ ½ jalapeño chopped finely (seeded for less heat)
• ▢ 1 cup Yukon Gold potatoes diced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sazon spice
• ▢ ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ Olive oil for drizzling

Passion Fruit Chimichurri

• ▢ 1 cup passion fruit puree found in Latin markets
• ▢ 1 bunch of fresh cilantro about ½ cup
• ▢ 1 bunch of fresh parsley about ½ cup
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves
• ▢ ½ jalapeño roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice
• ▢ ¼ cup water more or less depending on desired consistency
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Egg wash (for brushing on empanadas)

• ▢ 1 egg + 1 Tb water whisked together

Instructions

 

• Make the empanada dough. In a food processor, add the flour, salt and shortening and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Add the water, vinegar and eggs to the flour mixture and pulse until a ball of dough forms. Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until it is a smooth ball. Then wrap the dough plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the rest of the dish.
• Make the empanada filling. Heat a skillet over medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the diced potatoes and jalapeño and sauté until potatoes are cooked through, about 7-10 minutes (cover the pan with a lid to help speed up the cooking).
• Add the cumin, sazon, salt and pepper and toss to combine for another minute. Then add the cooked brisket and fresh cilantro and mix everything together. Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning, then set aside and let the mixture to room temperature.
• Make the empanada discs. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut the dough in half, keeping the other half covered so it doesn’t dry out.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a ¼ of an inch in thickness. Use a 4-inch round cookie cutter (or a standard cup works too) and cut out circles in the dough.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Fill the empanadas. Place the empanada disc in the palm of your hand and fill a tablespoon of the brisket filling in the center. Wet the edges of the dough with your finger and seal the empanada on all sides, gently pushing out any air bubbles. Use your index finger to gently crimp the edges (or you can use a fork) and place empanadas on parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake the empanadas. Brush each empanada with egg wash and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Make the chimichurri. To a food processor, add the passion fruit puree, cilantro and parsley, garlic, jalapeño, lime juice, water, olive oil, salt and pepper and blend together until smooth. Add more or less water for your desired consistency, but enough to be pourable.
• Serve empanadas with chimichurri sauce.

Notes

• • Don't overfill the empanadas too much, as the filling can poke up and cause the seal to open.

• • To freeze before baking. Form the empanadas and place in a single layer and place in the freezer until fully frozen. Then transfer to a resealable plastic bag.

• • To freeze after baking. Let empanadas cool completely, then freeze in a single layer and place the empanadas in the freezer until fully frozen. Then reheat in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through.
  • Instead of making your own empanada dough, make empanadas with puff pastry which works great!
  • If vegetable shortening isn't available, substitute with ice cold butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 13gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 454mgPotassium: 335mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 286IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 3mg

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