Caprese Empanadas
These Caprese Empanadas are Puerto Rican style empanadas filled with diced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto. They are easy to make and are a delicious vegetarian empanada option. Make them during the summer when tomatoes and basil are plentiful, or make them in the winter when you are craving a fresh burst of flavor.
Puerto Rican Empanadas
My family is from Puerto Rico and we make so much of our traditional food throughout the year. My mom and aunts have taught me so many of my family recipes and I love making them for my own family. One of my favorite recipes from a young age was my family’s pastelillos recipe. Pastelillos are what many Puerto Ricans call empanadas, so I will use the words interchangeably in this recipe post. We normally make our pastelillos with ground meat, and if you are a meat eater, check out my recipe for Ground Pork Empanadas. I wanted to make these caprese empanadas to have a delicious vegetarian empanada option for the times when I do not want to eat meat.
I feel like so many cultures have their own version of meat/vegetable filled dough. Dumpling, samosa, gyoza, pierogi, mantu, patties, hand pies, wontons, lumpia, etc. I often think about all the times over the centuries that family members sat around the table talking and making these recipes. All of them are time consuming, all of them are small, and all of them take many hands to make.
My family has many recipes like this. One of these is our empanadas recipe. One shortcut that I like to take when making them is buying pre made empanada dough, called “discs” at the grocery store. They can be found at pretty much every grocery store I go to. Two brands that are pretty popular are Goya or La Fe. Even though the discs are usually pretty flat, sometimes the edges dry out and crack. My mom always told me to use a small rolling pin to gently soften the edges to make them easier to close.
Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Empanadas
These caprese empanadas have a mixture of diced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and pesto inside thin dough. Then I gently fry both sides in a little neutral oil and let cool. You can eat them plain or with more pesto.
For this recipe it is best to use Roma tomatoes because they are less juicy than a beefsteak tomato. Extra juicy tomatoes may make it more difficult to seal your empanadas, so choose a firmer tomato style for this recipe. I also like to remove the seeds, but I am not a perfectionist about it. I just remove what I can.
I used fresh mozzarella in this recipe, but you can also used shredded. The fresh mozzarella melts wonderfully and I love the way it pairs with the tomatoes and basil perfectly. You can also use burrata or burrata cream (stracciatella) if you are trying to use some up.
Ingredients needed to make Caprese Empanadas
- Tomatoes – I prefer to use less juicy tomatoes for this recipe as the extra moisture makes it harder to seal the empanadas. If you are not able to seal them well, they will open up as you are frying them and make a mess. Roma tomatoes are a great tomato to use in this recipe.
- Mozzarella Cheese – fresh mozzarella is preferred in this recipe because that is what is used in a Caprese salad. However, any mozzarella will work. You can also use a different cheese if that is what you prefer.
- Pesto – You can either use homemade pesto or store bought.
- Empanada Discs – I buy these in the frozen section of my grocery store. Sometimes they will be located in a dedicated latin food aisle. Some popular brands that make them are Goya and La Fe.
- Oil – Canola and Vegetable oil work best. Use enough to cover the bottom of a pan and come up 1 inch high.
Recipe for Caprese Empanadas
Ingredients
- 10 Empandas Discs find in the frozen section at the grocery store
- 4 Roma Tomatoes
- 6 oz Fresh Mozzarella I buy the one that is pre-sliced and comes in a log
- 1/2 cup Pesto
- Neutral Oil Enough to come up 1″ on the bottom of a heavy bottoms pot
Instructions
- Chop your tomatoes and remove as many seeds and moisture as you can.
- Cut your mozzarella slices in half
- Take out an empanada disc, and place it on a non-stick surface. Gently roll out the sides to make the circle slightly bigger.
- Spread a little pesto down on the bottom of one half of the empanadas disc. Then, add two pieces of your halved mozzarella, followed by some diced tomoatoes. Fold over the other half of your empanadas disc and press the edges together. Then, using a fork go around the edges and seal them on both sides. Set aside and repeat with remaining discs.
- Heat up your oil on medium heat. It is hot enough when you gently let a drop of water into the oil and it starts to sizzle.
- Add a few empanadas at a time into the oil. Fry until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with remaining empanadas. When they are done frying, you can place them on paper towels to soak up any remaining oil.
Caprese Empanadas
Ingredients
- 10 Empandas Discs find in the frozen section at the grocery store
- 4 Roma Tomatoes
- 6 oz Fresh Mozzarella I buy the one that is pre-sliced and comes in a log
- 1/2 cup Pesto
- Neutral Oil Enough to come up 1" on the bottom of a heavy bottoms pot
Instructions
- Chop your tomatoes and remove as many seeds and moisture as you can.
- Cut your mozzarella slices in half
- Take out an empanada disc, and place it on a non-stick surface. Gently roll out the sides to make the circle slightly bigger.
- Spread a little pesto down on the bottom of one half of the empanadas disc. Then, add two pieces of your halved mozzarella, followed by some diced tomoatoes. Fold over the other half of your empanadas disc and press the edges together. Then, using a fork go around the edges and seal them on both sides. Set aside and repeat with remaining discs.
- Heat up your oil on medium heat. It is hot enough when you gently let a drop of water into the oil and it starts to sizzle.
- Add a few empanadas at a time into the oil. Fry until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with remaining empanadas. When they are done frying, you can place them on paper towels to soak up any remaining oil.
