African Meat Pie (Beef Empanada)- slightly sweet, flaky and crusty with a succulent beef filling. Comes together quickly and flies off the table. Simply Delicious!!
Don’t you think there is just something irresistible about spicy minced meat stuffed in a crunchy short bread crust ? I do. So far everyone I have had the pleasure of encountering has whispered ever so diligently a secret passion for a hot filled crusty pie loaded with all of your secret pleasures.. hmmm hmmm.. sounds so good
Believe me when I say it tastes divine. The joy of this recipe is the numerous variety of fillings around the world. Meat pie can be an ethnic success and render any novice chef into a well sought out after caterer! Trust me.. With the flaky, crispy savory crust coupled with sweet succulent spices, count me in.
My love for meat pies means that you better believe I am always looking out for alternate recipes. The best ones are all have the same unique trait. A sumptuous flaky crust. Admittedly, I have frequently nibbled on the pie crust and thrown away the pie filling. See folks for me, the crust rules!
Now lets talk about these African meat pies and what makes them different. First of all Empanada lovers you will not be disappointed, from all the recipes sampled I feel that this recipe is most close to the Argentinian empanada, with a slight twist. In addition to butter and flour we add milk and eggs for a creamy, smooth and tender dough. Now keep in mind, there are no hard or fast rules about what goes into a meat pie every family or street vendors pie is known to have it’s own secret ingredient. Now I share my secret, it is the tasty filling of ground meat, onions, tomatoes, parsley, green onions which makes for a flavorful, moist and tender pie.
Now if you’ve baked any kind of pie, you know that the work comes with kneading and creating the dough. All that being said, if you are a lover like I am, then you can make numerous batches of dough and freeze them for future usage. That makes this meal a 30 minute adventure after defrosting. (If you look in my freezer I always have a stack of unbaked pies, my son loves this and makes for a wonderful ‘lunch’ option for him at school).
Watch How To Make It
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African Meat Pie (Beef Empanada)
Ingredients
- 4 cup or (544 g) flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 tablespoon or (25 g) sugar
- ½ tablespoon or (8.53 g) salt
- 8 ounce or (228 g) butter
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup or (177.75 ml) milk
Meat Filling
- 2 tablespoon or (30 ml) canola oil
- ½ pound or (226.80 g) ground meat
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- ½ cup or (112.5 g) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon or (6.90 g) smoked paprika
- 2 green onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 boil eggs (optional)
Instructions
- In a food processor or by hand, mix together salt, sugar ,butter blend well Add the egg, milk in small amounts, pulse until combined and dough holds together in a soft ball.
- Place the dough on a well floured surface . Divide it into 2 and roll it out .
- Using a large mouth, glass glass or bowl about 4 - 5 " cut out circles by gently pressing on the dough and releasing it, shaping the meat pie dough. Continue cutting out dough until all dough has been cut. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
Make the Meat pie filling
- Add 2 tablespoon of oil to a sauce pan, followed by onions, garlic, chicken bouillon tomato sauce and paprika . Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning, add about ½ cup of water if needed.
- Then, add ground meat and continue cooking for about 10 or more minutes.
- Finally add green onions and parsley, white pepper. Followed by salt to taste Adjust seasonings to taste .
- Remove from stove top and let it cool.
Assembling Meat pie
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each circle, top with egg and brush the egg white around half of the circle. Fold over twist and and press with fingers gently to seal the edges of the meat pie.
- Another way of sealing is by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough.
- Carefully place each meat pie on a baking sheet or you may freeze to use later.
- Set oven temperature to 350 degrees .Bake for about 30 minutes .
Nutrition Information:
Toke says
Hi Imma,
Going to try this recipe this christmas. I have a question.
Would you call the dough a shortcrust pastry? Or ts jes a variation that tastes like shortcrust pastry?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Toke! Just a variation that tastes like a short crust pastry. Merry Christmas !!!!
Gillian says
OMG this recipe of yours is the bomb.com
My pies came out incredible and sooo crispy.
Damn! they were so good. Thank you so much for helping me have a taste of home again.
ImmaculateBites says
My pleasure! Glad to hear it brought back fond memories.
Gina says
Hi there. I want to ask, when making the dough, do you add softened (room temperature butter) to the food processor to blend?
I know typically to make a flaky crust, one adds very cold cubed butter and pulses it with flour in the food processor. So I am wondering if this is the same method or different? I actually made your Jamaican beef patties the other night, which were delicious by the way. It was very flaky. But I am curious though to try this other kind of dough and wondering if it might yield a softer dough (which I would tend to prefer over the very flaky and crispy dough for this kind of meat pie). Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes I do, and it does make for a slightly soft dough. Although hardly noticeable to some . If you do give it a try let me know how you like it .Thanks!
Chibuike says
Imma thank you for your good teaching, may God Almighty bless you,
Please were can i buy oven am going to use, am a newbie i want to give it a try
Pls i want you to recomend the oven to use and were to buy it,
Thanks Ma.
ImmaculateBites says
Where are you located chibuike?
Francisca says
Pls i want to learn how to make roses. Cake decora tions .nd icing
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry I don’t do cake decorations ! Maybe sometime in the future.
Urenna says
Please dear, I need to know if I’m to rub egg on the folded meat pie with brush, and the baking pan am I to rub oil and flour on the baking pan. Thanks alot madam
ImmaculateBites says
Yes . On the baking pan just brush with a little bit of oil . I used oil spray.
Lunesse says
I want to like this recipe, but the layout of the directions and ingredients is horrid. It says one egg, but then add EGGS to the flour. Which is right? One or two? It never says what to do with the smoked paprika. Boullion goes in early, but is way down the list of ingredients, which usually go in order. Flour is never mentioned in the directions.
I have made two rounds of dough, wasting the first batch, and now I don’t even know if the second batch will work, with two eggs in it, per directions, instead of 1, in list of ingredients. I probably have wasted another cup of butter and now 8 cups of flour.
ImmaculateBites says
So sorry to hear about this. I have updated the instructions and ingredients to make it more clearer.
Ann okike says
Thnx ma’am, i appreciate, and i just learnt a new recipe for meatpie.
Nina says
Hi Imma,
Your recipe for the meat pies sound amazing. What type of tomato sauce do you use? Is it tinned tomatoes, passata or your own special recipe?
ImmaculateBites says
It’s tinned tomatoes . Use your favorite kind.
Nina says
Great, thanks.
Françoise says
Hey, can I use water instead of milk? Same quantity? 3/4 cup? Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.
Michelle says
Hi Imma, nice recipes and procedures, thank you. After mixing my dough it justrefused to come together. It’s not stretching at all, it breaks so bad as I try rolling it out . Gosh!!!! Its very frustrating. Plz what could be the cause and how can i remedy it? Plz i need to make it now, help me sis.
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry to hear about that ! I would go ahead and add more milk- about 1/2 cup more , to make into a soft dough. I have updated recipe
Nullacia Willayi says
Hi Imma! I’m back 🙂 Went to Cameroon for the holidays and came back with baking fever…. lol! Gave a go at your chin chin recipe and it was TheBomb.com. Then I decided to give these are try….. the struggle was real with the dough. Not sure what I did wrong but it was on the crumbly side and hard to roll. I kept adding milk until I got it to a more manageable consistency. I would say I probably added a total of 3/4 cup of milk to get it right. I freestyled my filling with whatever I had on hand and it turned out awesome. Thanks for another great recipe
ImmaculateBites says
AWESOME! WELCOME BACK! Little Sis! I was wondering where you’ve been hiding … haven’t seen you here in a while . Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
stephie says
Must we refrigerate the dough?
ImmaculateBites says
No you don’t have too!
Careen says
HI Immaculate,what measurements can I replace with oz? I don’t understand that word oz. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Recipe had been updated Careen- with grams and cup
Sepideh says
Hi, just wanted to thank you for all your recipes and ideas…it’s always a help when i want to try something new or need african recipes.
My husband is Cameroonian and he was wondering from who i learned cooking his favorite meals like meat pies, N’Dole…. Especially the kids love meat pie so much.
ImmaculateBites says
So glad to hear hubby is enjoying the meals…I know what you mean about these meat pies-they are my weakness!!! Thanks for taking the time to try out my recipes . Soo appreciate you!
Malaika says
Hello Imma, thank you for this recipe. I have one question. can the pie be fried instead of baked?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Malaika! To be honest, I have never tried frying this pie- I think it would soak up tons of oil and maybe fall apart, you might have to add more flour to make it firm enough.
Malaika says
Thank u loads imma. The tomato sauce, is it the type we buy in tins or sachets from the market?
Bell says
I have fried empanadas before right before serving…make sure oil is hot and put enough to cover pies. Drain on paper towels and keep in warm oven. Frying gives the crust a more crisper texture than baking.