Easy Black Bean & Cheese Empanadas (empanadas de frijoles con queso)
Black bean and cheese empanadas are a delicious and easy to make Mexican treat that can be served as an appetizer or as a main meal. This meat-free empanadas recipe is made with masa harina and different than other Mexican empanadas. You've got to give them a try!
Servings: 10 Servings
Calories: 540kcal
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients:
- 2.75 cups refried black beans alternatively use pinto beans
- 8 oz Oaxaca cheese or vegan cheese
Dough Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups masa harina
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 medium roma tomatoes weight is 8.45 oz or 240 grams
- 3 whole dried chiles de arbol deseeded and stem removed
- 1.5 cups water adjust as needed
- 1.5 cups vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Char the tomato on a hot comal or pan. Turn to evenly blacken. Place the deseeded chiles on the comal and toast for a couple of minutes. Place tomatoes and chiles in a blender, add a splash of water and blend until smooth. You can strain the salsa if desired.
- Combine masa harina, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Pour in the blended salsa and begin incorporating it into the dry ingredients. Start adding water to the dough until you have a smooth dough that doesn't stick to your hands or fingers. The consistency is similar to play-dough.
- Cover the bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Divide masa into 10 even-sized balls.Line your tortilla press with two pieces of plastic or parchment paper.Place one masa ball and put in center of the tortilla press lined with the plastic or parchment. Press down to flatten into a disk.
- Take the masa disk and place one heaping tablespoon of the refried black beans into the center, then add some strands of the cheese. Bring the two ends of the disk together to form a half moon and pinch the edges to seal. Set aside and repeat the whole process until all of the dough has been used.
- Line a large plate with a few paper towels and set it aside.Heat the oil in a frying pan, heat the oil to 365°F or 185°C. Fry each empanada on both sides until the empanadas are golden and feel a bit crispy around the edges.Carefully remove from the hot oil and allow to drain off any excess oil on the paper towel lined plate. Allow to cool for a bit before serving. Serve with your salsa of choice.
Notes
*When purchasing your corn masa make sure that it's not the one for making tamales dough. The tamal one has a different, courser texture.
* With this recipe I made 10 quite large empanadas to serve as a main dish. If you'd like you can divide the dough into smaller pieces and get around 20 appetizer-size empanadas.
* Please notice that the calories will differ depending on how much oil sticks on the empanadas from frying.
Nutrition
Serving: 10servings | Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 461mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3mg
