Empanadillas de Pizza are the Puerto Rican Pizza Empanadas you must taste. They’re like mini-fried calzones but crispy.
Empanadillas de Pizza are really delicious pizza empanadas made A lo boricua. Made with a big braided border that you rip and dip in the cheese!
They’re the most popular empanadilla flavor in Puerto Rico and a popular Puerto Rican street food. Sold along beef yuca alcapurrias, fried bacalaitos, and refreshing pina coladas.
But empanadillas are a nostalgic food for many of us because they are one of the foods you can get in the school tienda. A long with a delicious ice.
My favorite empanadilla brand was Kikuet but sadly they changed their signature braid shape. So now I make my empanadillas and you can too!
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Why This Recipe Works
- These empanadillas can be made ahead and stored raw in your freezer for up to 6 months.
- A great recipe to make as finger food for parties!
Recipe Ingredients
You can buy the empanadilla disk in big supermarkets or Latin stores in their frozen section. Sold in a white or yellow color.
- Empanadilla dough- I used 10 pre-made white disks for convenience. But I also make an empanadilla dough from scratch and add some achiote infused oil for color.
- Mozzarella cheese- I used ¾ cup of this cheese to make a blend of cheeses.
- Cheddar cheese- I used ¼ cup, not a lot because in empanadillas de pizza the primary cheese is mozzarella.
- Marinara sauce- I use ¾ cup of sauce. You don’t want to use too much because your empanadillas will drip.
Variations
- Meats- There are many more variations than just pepperoni, sausage, or bacon. You can add Puerto Rican ground beef, shredded oven-roasted chicken, or shredded crispy fried chicken.
- Veggies- With the veggies, you can go all out. My favorite to add is mushrooms, but you can add onions, peppers, and even olives.
- Sauces- You can use different sauces besides the typical marinara. I love using Alfredo sauce or an aioli.
How To Make Empanadillas de Pizza
- Photo 1: In a small bowl add the sauce, and cheese and mix. Blend the cheese mixture. You can use a regular or hand-blender food processor like I did. You don’t have to blend this up but I find it does a good job spreading the cheese.
- Photo 2: Scoop 2 tablespoons of the mix on one of the sides of a disk. I like adding the mixture to all the empanadillas at the same time to distribute any leftover mix evenly.
📓 Note: When you blend the cheese, when it melts it doesn’t pool all down but it also spreads along the walls of the empanadilla, like the kikuet ones.
- Photo 3: Lightly moisten your fingers with water and run your fingers around the border. Fold the disk leaving only about ⅔ of the disk. We need to leave space for the braid fold. Press down the dough to seal in the cheese mixture.
- Photo 4: Softly press down on the border of the disk. This is to make it thinner and easier to fold. Lightly wet your fingers and begin making a fold by grabbing the excess dough and bringing it in.
- Photo 5: Keep folding while pressing down. You can do this on top of a surface or in your hand for better handling. It is best to work with room-temperature dough because it will be easier to shape the braid.
- Photo 6: Fry the pizza empanadas for 2 minutes on each side. Depending on how big your pan is, you’ll have to fry it in a few batches.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to make big empanadillas, it is best to use homemade dough because you can make the disk as big or as small as you like.
- This is a vegetarian-friendly recipe and can made vegan if you use non-dairy options.
What to eat an empanadilla with?
All you need is a drink to go down. An ice-cold mojito with passion fruit, a Coca-Cola, or a sweet lemonade.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use whichever you have available because both options are great. The only difference is that with the homemade you can make empanadillas any size you like.
There is a difference! The empanadas and empanadillas tend to have a variation in the dough ingredients like empanadas dough having eggs. Empanadillas and pastelillos are made from the same ingredients and cooked in the same way. Their difference is in how they are sealed.
Preheat the air fryer to 350°F and then cook for 8 minutes. Or bake in the oven for 30 minutes. But you must know that the finished result will be a dryer empanadilla than the fried version.
More Finger Foods To Taste
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Empanadillas de Pizza
Ingredients
- 10 empanadilla dough disks
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- 2 cups oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl add the mozzarella and cheddar cheese with the marinara sauce and mix. With the help of a blender or food processor blend the cheeses and sauce until you get a chunky mix.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side of the empanadilla disk and fold the dough to a little more than half of the disk. Press down in that seam to seal the filling in. Repeat this for all 10 disks.
- Lightly wet your fingers and press down on the border of the dough. Take half-inch pieces and fold them in to make a braid with the dough. Repeat this step to all empanadillas.
- Add oil to a large pan over high heat. Cook empanadillas for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from oil to drain onto a paper towel or cooling rack.
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Recipe Notes
- Fresh homemade or pre-made frozen dough are both fine to use.
- You can use any blend of cheeses you like or change up the sauce to a white one.
- You can add any meat you like. Popular choices are pepperoni, sausage, bacon, or ground beef.
- You can add veggies but cook them before to ensure they’re tender.
- Don’t overstuff the empanadilla because the cheese can ooze out or it can rip through the middle.
- Working at room temperature makes it easier to shape the braid border.
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