Can I use a different filling?

You can use a variety of different fillings for your Pastelitos and Empanadas. I love to use lentils as an alternative or you can use vegan ground meats as well. For the lentils, I would recommend cooking 1/2 cup dry lentils first in some vegetable broth. Then add the lentils in where you would add the tempeh in this recipe. You just won’t need to add as much liquid. So simmer everything in 1/2 cup of broth and allow it to mostly cook off before using as your filling.

How do I make these gluten-free?

While I have not personally tested them out myself, a few of my followers on Instagram have made these using an old recipe where the dough is made with flour and sweet potato. Instead of the flour, they use oat flour and they managed to work well. You can find my Sweet Potato Empanadas here for reference.

I have included 3 different methods for making this recipe. To make this traditionally, shallow fry in oil until golden on both sides like the instructions indicate. For air frying, depending on the size, I find that 3-5 minutes works well at 375F. For baking, place on a baking tray and place in the oven at 325F for 15-20 minutes.

Is this a recipe I can make in advance?

This recipe is best made fresh because it’s easy for the dough to dry out if you aren’t careful. However, you can make the filling in advance to help save on time. Cook and cool the filling and then place in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Vegan Pastelitos - Plant Based RD

Name: Vegan Pastelitos
Prep time: PT-476115H48M1S
Cook time: 30 min
Cuisine: Dominican
Ingredients: 1-2 tbsp olive oil; 1/2 large yellow onion, diced; 1 block (227g) tempeh, crumbled; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1/2 cup diced bell pepper; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tsp sazon; 1/2 tsp adobo seasoning, ground cumin, coriander, and oregano; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 cup vegetable broth; 2 tbsp chopped green Spanish olives, optional; 1/4 cup cilantro; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; Salt and pepper to taste; 2 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 3 tbsp oil or vegan butter; 1/3 cup water or more as needed to make a smooth dough

Description

These vegan Pastelitos are pockets of dough stuffed with ground tempeh simmered with Dominican spices. Can be baked or fried as a delicious Christmas appetizer.

Ingredients

Scale

Vegan Carne Molida

1–2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 block (227g) tempeh, crumbled
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sazon
1/2 tsp adobo seasoning, ground cumin, coriander, and oregano
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp chopped green Spanish olives, optional
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil or vegan butter
1/3 cup water or more as needed to make a smooth dough

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Instructions

Vegan Carne Molida

Heat up oil in a medium sized skillet, then add in your onions to sauté until translucent.
Stir in your tempeh and sauté along with the minced garlic sauté for about 2 minutes.
Pour in soy sauce and sprinkle in spices then continue sautéing until fragrant.
Make a well in the middle of your pan and add your tomato paste and a small splash of oil.
Cook your tomato paste for about 2 minutes, then stir into the tempeh mixture.
Pour in vegetable broth, stir, then cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in your cilantro, Spanish olives and vinegar, then allow to continue cooking until most of the liquid has absorbed.

Dough

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl and mix well to combine.
Fold in the oil and water and kneed flour until a smooth dough forms. If dough is really dry, add additional water by the tablespoon until dough is formed. If too wet, add a small amount of flour.
Allow your dough to rest for 5 minutes before rolling.

Preparing the Pastelitos

Roll out your dough and cut out little 4 inch circles from the dough using a thin lipped glass.
Take a disk and roll it out a little thinner on a floured surface.
Spoon about a tablespoon of filling into the center of the dough, making sure not to overfill it.
Take one end of your dough and fold it over to meet the other end. Press your fingers down to seal and reseal again using a fork all around the edges of your dough. If you have excess dough around the edges, feel free to trim it using a knife.

Cooking

To bake, place your prepared pastelitos on a baking sheet and spray with a little oil then bake in the oven at 375F for 10 minutes and then set to broil on high for 2-3 minutes until dough has browned.

To air fry, brush the pastelitos with some oil and place in the airfryer at 375F for 3-5 minutes until golden.

To fry, place 2 cups of oil in a pan and heat up before frying each empanada on both sides until golden. Rest the cooked empanada on a paper towel to soak up excess oil, then serve as desired.

Notes

For best results, make sure to roll your dough out fairly thin. If it’s too thick, it won’t be as flaky for frying.

Make sure the pastelitos are properly sealed to avoid the dough from opening up while they are cooking.

If you’d like to make gluten-free baked pastelitos, follow the instructions for this Sweet Potato Empanada recipe, but use oat flour. This was tested by other users and they had great success with it.