As opposed to normal tacos, which require two hands to prevent the shells from breaking and the fillings from spilling out, these taco pies are easier to handle. Cheese made of pepper jack and pico de gallo complete the taco beef’s flavor profile. For gatherings and quick dinners on the fly, taco hand pies are ideal. Serve with dipping picante sauce.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 hand pies |
Ingredients
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ¼ jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
- ½ cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
- 12 frozen empanada wrappers, thawed
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and garlic salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Cook and stir beef in a saute pan over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain fat and return beef to the pan. Add water and taco seasoning; stir thoroughly until fully incorporated and water has been absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato mixture and pepper Jack cheese,
- Lightly flour a work surface. Roll each empanada wrapper out to a 6-inch circle. Scoop 1/3 cup beef filling onto the center of each wrapper. Fold each wrapper in half to enclose the filling. Crimp edges with a fork to seal. Pierce the top of each pie twice with a fork. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Whisk egg and water together to make egg wash. Brush egg wash over the tops of the pies.
- Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 226 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 44 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 439 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is a great filling recipe with an extremely fresh taste from the pico de gallo. It is also very adjustable to your personal tastes as far as level of heat, cheesiness, etc. I could not find frozen empanada wrappers anywhere so I used pre-made pie crusts, cut to 6″ rounds after rolling the dough slightly thinner. They were excellent as far as being fast and easy, I’m sure it was better with the wrappers if you can obtain them. All-in-all, a keeper!
I liked it! and will do it again, I agree with Mark, add more jalapeno and leave some seeds for more of a kick, of course if you like heat, another thing I’ll change, it called for 3 tbsp of taco seasoning, I’ll try 4. oh I made my own empanada dough, found the recipe on Layla Pujol web site. Thanks for the recipe
Great recipe and pretty easy to make. I would just pump up the amount of jalapeño pepper to increase the kick if you want it hotter like I do. Also I sprayed the sheet to make them come off easier.