Baked Vegetarian Empanadas

5 from 1 vote

Easy Baked Vegetarian Empanadas with mushrooms, wild rice, cranberries, pecans, Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, tucked into pie crust are a savory appetizer, snack, or dinner. Delicious with Whipped Yogurt Feta Dip!

Prep Time20

Cook Time18

Cooling Time30

Total Time1 8

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 231kcal

Author: Cara Lanz

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
½ cup onion, diced
2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup cooked wild rice
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup chopped parsley plus 12-18 whole leaves for the crust, if desired
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon water or milk
2 pie dough rounds

Instructions

Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Sautee for 6-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sautee for 1-2 minutes more.
Add the soy sauce and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the green onion, cranberries, wild rice, pecans, and parsley. Heat and stir for another minute.
Place the mixture in a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Speed this up by placing it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When cooled, stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Cut pie dough into approximately 4-inch rounds. I use a 4 ¼” round cookie cutter. Re-roll out the crust to get 12 rounds.
Use your rolling pin to press parsley leaves into and slightly flatten each cut-out (keeps it from puffing up).
Hold one pie dough cut-out face-down in one hand and use the other hand to spoon 2 tablespoons of filling into the dough. Fold dough and press both sides together. Set it down and crimp the edges with a fork.
Place the filled empanadas on the lined baking sheet.
Beat one egg with a tablespoon of water or milk. Brush the egg wash evenly over each empanada. Cut slits in the top of each empanada to vent steam.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with Whipped Yogurt Feta Dip or your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Let the filling cool to room temperature before stuffing it into the pie crusts to keep the crust from becoming gummy or soggy.

For the meat lovers, substitute the wild rice for browned ground beef, leftover rotisserie chicken, turkey, or ham.

Use a rolling pin to slightly flatten the pie dough cut outs, this will keep them from getting puffy.

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