Guava empanadas are one of those treats that I swear everyone loves! I love how the flaky crust is such a great pair to the guava and cheese mixture. It’s creamy and fruity in the center but gold on the outside. Plus they aren’t hard to make either!
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How to make guava and cheese empanadas
Step 1: Prepare the crust
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Cut in cold butter cubes using a pastry cutter until you have various-sized crumbs. You can also use a fork if you don’t own a pastry cutter. Just try not to use your fingers as this will warm the butter.
Starting with a small amount, slowly add the cold water to the dry ingredients until a dough forms. If the dough is not coming together, add more water a little at a time. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 balls, wrap them in plastic, and let them chill for about 30-45 minutes.
Step 2: Assemble the empanadas
Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface, then cut out circles with a 4 ½-inch diameter cutter.
Place a dollop of cream cheese and guava paste in the center of each dough circle, then fold the empanadas in half and seal the edges with a fork.
Step 3: Bake the empanadas
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Brush the outsides of the empanadas with your egg wash and sprinkle them with a cinnamon sugar mixture for extra crunch and flavor. Refrigerate the empanadas once more, then bake them in an oven set to 375F until they turn golden brown and puffy.
Guava and Cheese Empanadas
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Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup very cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
- 1/2 cup very cold water up to 2/3 cup if you need it
For the Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 21 oz guava paste Goya
For Assembly
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Crust
- In a medium sized bowl, add flour, sugar and salt and whisk together to combine.
- Next add your butter cubes to flour and using your pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until various sized crumbs appear.
- Slowly add the cold water into the flour until a ball of dough forms. Start with 1/2 cup and add more water if you need it. Knead the dough quickly to bring it together. Don't worry if there is any flour left in the bowl.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, cut into 3 or 4 sections and round into balls. Cover each ball tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes to rest.
To Assemble
- Remove dough from the fridge and add a bit of flour to a working surface or clean counter and place dough on it.
- Using a rolling pin, quickly roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut out circles using a large cutter the size of about 4 ½ circumference.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese onto the lower half of the disc and use the back of your spoon to spread it a bit. Be sure to leave about ½ an inch of space around the edges. Spoon another layer of guava paste on top of the cream cheese.
- Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl.
- Brush a little egg wash around the outside of the dough circle, and fold it in half so the other side comes down over the filling, creating a semicircle.
- Seal each hand pie by pressing the edges of the dough together with the tines of a fork then add two tiny slits to the top of each pie.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- Brush pies with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Place back in the refrigerator for about 20-25 minutes to firm up before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Once firm, bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. (If you made super thick dough, you would have to bake for up to 40 minutes). Cool until room temperature or just warm.
Notes
How to Store
- Fridge: Leftover empanadas will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Just let them cool to room temperature before transferring them to the container.
- Freezer: Wrap each cooled empanada in plastic wrap, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Reheating: You can reheat empanadas in an oven at 350F for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through. I don’t recommend microwaving them as the crust won’t crisp up well.
- Prep ahead: Prepare the dough and filling in advance and keep them in the fridge. All you have to do is assemble and bake the empanadas when you’re ready to serve them.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Use cold ingredients: For a perfectly flaky crust, your butter and water must be cold!
- Work quickly with the dough: Move fast when handling the dough to prevent it from turning warm and sticky.
- Don’t overfill: Careful not to stuff the empanadas too full to avoid leaking during baking.
- Form a seal: Use a fork to create a tight seal around the edges of the empanadas.
- Rotate: Don’t forget to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking for even browning on all sides.
Serving suggestions
- A dollop of whipped cream
- Drizzled with caramel sauce, dulce de leche, or cajeta
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Sprinkled with powdered sugar
- Fresh fruit like strawberries, peaches, mangoes, or raspberries
More Fruity Recipes
If you love this, you should check out my Blueberry Hand Pies, Strawberry Hand Pies, or Homemade Pop Tarts.
Recipe Help
Yes, you can use store-bought pie crust or puff pastry as a quick and easy alternative to homemade dough.
Fresh guava can be used but you will need to cook it down with sugar to create that jam consistency.
Yep you can prep them and keep them unbaked in the fridge for up to a day.
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Delicious! Made these for a Friend from Cuba who loved them. Couldn’t find guava paste but did find guava and hot pepper jelly. Ised yhat instead turned out a sweet pastry with a spicy kick!
That sounds amazing! Love that twist!
lovely post…very informative…i am your big fan
Absolutely loving this!
WOW!!! These guava empanadas are so delicious, I had never cooked with fresh guavas, but they are worth it, they were excellent.
These Guava Empanadas are a flavor explosion! The combination of the creamy guava filling and the flaky homemade crust is simply irresistible. I can’t wait to try them out, and thanks for the recommendation on the other fruity hand pies too!
Wow! never cooked with guava paste before and these empanadas have been a great discovery! Thanks a lot, we will be making them again really soon!
These homemade Guava Empanadas are so good. I loved the mixture of cream cheese and fruity guava in the middle of the perfectly flaky dough. My mother and husband loved these and have already requested them again.
I love empanadas, but I have never tried to use guava as their fillings.
Guava itself is delicious, and I am pretty this recipe taste really good too.
I can’t wait to make this at home. Thank you!
Wow! This is such a great-looking treat, it looks amazingly delicious! A perfect treat that everyone will definitely love and enjoy eating!