Empanadas are a signature dish in Latin America. They can be found in any street food market and each country has its own flavor and preparation technique. One thing about empanadas is that you cannot go wrong with the fillings. Beef, chicken, ham & cheese, you name it! All of them are delicious! We dare to say that empanadas are a piece of heaven.

In this blog article, we want to share a mouthwatering ground lamb empanada recipe from our own Gaucho Squad member, Lau!. If you have the chance to visit our Grill Boutique, say “Hello” to her and tell her that her Ground Lamb Empanada recipe made it to the Gaucho Ranch blog!

This recipe is completely delicious and easy to prepare. If you’re not a big fan of the strong lamb flavor, dip your empanada into a chimichurri sauce to balance it out.

Ok! Enough of chit chat. Let’s jump to the recipe.

Ground Lamb Empanadas Recipe

Servings: 24 little empanadas or 12 regular-size empanadas

Ingredients:

• Empanadas disks
• 1 lb ground lamb (Lau used 2 lamb patties)
• 1 medium onion
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 3 minced garlic
• 1 small green bell pepper
• 1/2 can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup minced olives
• 2 tsp Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 cup melting cheese
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Olive Oil
• Water

Directions:

1. Heat some olive oil in a medium pan. Sauté onion and bell pepper until tender. Add some water to help soften it. Put it in a separate bowl and save for later.
2. On the same pan put some olive oil and add garlic, cook it for a little bit and then add the lamb burgers.
3. Separate the lamb burgers with a wooden spoon so you don’t end up with big meat chunks. Cook lamb on medium high until brown and a little crunchy.
4. Add onion & pepper mix, olives, fresh parsley, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook on low heat until you reach the desired texture for the empanadas, try to reduce as much liquid as possible so you end up with a thick filling instead of runny.
5. Cool off the mixture. Add cheese and mix.
6. Fill empanadas with 1 tbsp of the mixture, fold it and freeze them for later or if you’re eating them right away, fry them in heat resistant oil on medium heat or brush them with egg yolk and bake them at 350F for 12-15 min.
7. Enjoy it with some Garland Chimichurri and green salad!

Find the best sustainable meats at our Grill Boutique. Shop 24/7 at www.GauchoRanch.com. Check out our Deals of the Week!