Air fryer spinach and cheese empanadas
Flaky golden pastry turnovers filled with creamy, cheesy spinach, Argentine style, made crisp in the air fryer instead of the deep fryer.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.92 a serving
- 820 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed in the fridge overnight
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup salsa
From your pantry
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, for the counter
Each serving has about 820 calories, 25 g protein, 59 g carbs and 55 g fat, and costs about $2.92 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the butter in a over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Take it off the heat and stir in the spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and pepper. Let the filling cool for 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
On a lightly floured counter, unfold the pastry sheets and cut each into 4 squares, for 8 in all.
Put a spoonful of filling in the middle of each square. Brush the edges with egg, fold into triangles and press the edges shut with a fork.
Heaping. Heaping means a rounded mound piled above the rim of the spoon or cup, not leveled off. It’s a little more than the measure, on purpose.
How you’ll know: The pile sits above the edge of the spoon, and you leave it there instead of scraping it flat.
Dolly’s tip: Don’t overfill. A tablespoon or so too much and they burst in the air fryer.Brush the tops with the rest of the egg.
Air fry in one layer at 375°F until puffed and deep , 10 to 12 minutes. Work in batches.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 11 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Let them cool for 5 minutes, then serve two each with salsa for dipping.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: To freeze, freeze them unbaked on a tray, then bag them. Air fry from frozen for 15 to 16 minutes.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Air fryer black bean empanadas
65 min
Vegetable pasties
85 min
Air fryer calzones
45 min
Black bean enchilada pasta bake
45 min
Vegetarian dinners ›Make-ahead and freezer-friendly ›What to make with parmesan and shredded mozzarella ›What to make with spinach and parmesan ›What to make with eggs and parmesan ›