Vegan Empanadas Recipe (Catibías)

Learn how to make these delicious vegan style empanadas using cassava flour. Known as catibías. These savoury turnovers are a copy cat version without the use of animal products, gluten free, no deep fat frying meaning minimal use of oil courtesy of the air fryer.

I'm really excited to share this recipe with you and cannot wait until you guys actually try my version of this recipe.

I LOVE empanadas, I mean I really enjoy eating them. They remind me very much of Jamaican patty, without sounding too biased but perhaps that's why I like them.

Nevertheless, don't you just love recipes that are already gluten free without having to make a million and one changes or substitutes?

To my gluten free readers you will be pleased to know these empanadas are made using cassava flour and some arrowroot starch which I will go into more detail further on. 

What are empanadas?

Empanadas are a crescent shaped turnover, eaten as a snack, made from pastry with a savoury filling. You can find them in various part of the world including Latin America, Spain and Southern Europe.

The origins of them is still up for debate, however they are thought to originate from Northwest Spain.

A dough is made and shaped into a circle which is filled with savoury ingredients and folded over to resemble a turnover.

The most popular filling used is meat (beef to be precise), however, cheese, tomato, corn, beans and other ingredients and seasoning are used.

Once the empanadas are formed they are either baked in the oven or deep fried to a crisp.

Veganized and gluten free empanadas

As the title suggests these empanadas are eggless and flourless. This variation is made from cassava flour instead known as Catibías or Empanaditas de Yuca.

The great thing about this version is that they are naturally gluten free making them perfect for anyone who is wheat intolerant or suffering from celiac disease.

The most traditional method of making catibías is to use freshly grated cassava (yuca), similar to what is used in

Achieving a meatless "meat" substitute

Okay, so we aren't using any jackfruit this time, even though it made a superb mock meat replica for my

• On medium heat, proceed to saute the onion and garlic until soft and transculent in a medium sized skillet/frying pan.
• Add the textured vegan protein (TVP) along with the seasoning - sazon, smoked paprika, oregano, onion and garlic powder and capers/olives if you are adding them.
• Continue to fold and stir the seasoning into the TVP for about one minute.

• Stir in the tomato puree and then pour in the vegetable broth.
• Bring the pan to a rolling boil before reducing the heat to medium-low.
• Allow the TVP to cook and meld with the season, stirring occasionally until the liquid has completely absorbed (this is very important, this should take 10-15 minutes).
• Once cooked, do a taste test then add black pepper and pink salt.
• Pour the mixture into a medium sized bowl and set aside to completely cool.

To make the dough

• Place the cassava flour, arrow root starch and pink salt in a medium sized bowl.
• Mix in the olive oil.
• Pour the boiling water in increments, you may want to use a spoon to do this. 
• Keep adding and stirring, use your hands as you start to mix in most of the water in and the dough comes together until you achieve a soft pliable dough ball.
• Line a countertop with parchment paper.
• Place the dough on top of the parchment paper.

• Lightly dust the rolling pin with cassava flour and then proceed to roll the dough out  (you may want to add another piece of parchment as a layer in between the rolling pin and the dough) to a thin as you can about ¼ inch should suffice.
• Use a cookie dough or a small bowl to form discs.

• Place a few tablespoons of the "meat mixture" in the centre of the circle. Making sure not to overfill or being too close to the edges.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the perimeter with some warm water.
• Fold over one half to form a semi circle/crescent shape.
• Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges and then set each one aside.
• Repeat the above 6 steps with the rest of the dough.

To air fry the empanadas

• Preheat the air fryer.
• Thoroughly coat both sides of each empanada with olive oil.
• Place the empanada on a lined fryer basket (you may need to fry them in batches).
• Air fry the empanadas 180at C/356F until golden (this may vary, mine took around 16 minutes).
• Turn over half way through cooking and thoroughly re-coat both sides with oil.
• Repeat and fry the remaining empanadas if required.

Notes and tips

• If you are a novice, you may find it easier to use an empanada press to form and shape the turnovers.
• I cannot emphasize how important it is to use BOILING WATER, you must do this or your dough will crumble and fail.
• Be sure to use quality cassava flour because not all is created equally - TIANA for my UK audience and OTTO's cassava flour for my stateside audience (both available on Amazon).
• Be sure to press down firmly with the fork, this is important so the filling stays inside and doesn't seep through.
• Any leftover cooked TVP can be refrigerated for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• The total amount of empanadas you make will vary depending on the size.
• Becareful not to roll out the dough too thin or it will rip.
• Please use the cooking time as a rough guide as this may vary depending on the model of air fryer that you are using.
• For best results, it is better to prepare the empanadas fresh on the same day and not ahead of time.
• If you don't plan on frying your empanadas, you can prep and freeze them. You will need to store on a lined baking tray and cover with saran wrap (cling film) and place them in zip lock bags individually saran wrapped.
• Don't freeze cooked empanadas.
• To re-heat your empanadas wrap them in aluminium foil on a low setting until heated through.
• Uncooked empanadas are suitable for freezing for 1-2 months. Thaw out before following the air fryer instructions.
• Feel free to substitute VTP with mushrooms, tofu or a medley of vegetables instead.

Other recipes to try

• Yuca en Escabeche
• Sopa de Plátano Verde
• Yuca Con Mojo
• Arroz Con Coco
• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Jamaican Refried Gungo Peas
• Cuban Black Beans
• Moros y Cristianos

**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

Vegan Empanadas Recipe (Catibías)

Learn how to make these delicious vegan style empanadas using cassava flour. Known as catibías. These savoury turnovers are a copy cat version without the use of animal products, gluten free, no deep fat frying meaning minimal use of oil courtesy of the air fryer.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetiser

Cuisine: Latin American

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 333kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

For the filling

• ▢ 1 small onion sliced
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 cup soya protein mince/textured vegan protein (110g)(uncooked)
• ▢ 1½ tablespoon sazon seasoning (12g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (2g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oregano (2g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder (2g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder (3g)
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoon capers or olives (16g) sliced (optional)
• ▢ 2 cups vegetable broth (475ml)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato puree (16g)
• ▢ black pepper and pink salt to taste

To make the dough

• ▢ 2 cups cassava flour (240g)
• ▢ ⅓ cup arrow root starch (42g)
• ▢ 2 cups boiling water (475ml)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil (28g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pink salt (6g)

Instructions

To cook the TVP

• On medium heat, proceed to saute the onion and garlic until soft and transculent in a medium sized skillet/frying pan.
• Add the textured vegan protein (TVP) along with the seasoning - sazon, smoked paprika, oregano, onion and garlic powder and capers/olives if you are adding them.
• Continue to fold and stir the seasoning into the TVP for about one minute.
• Stir in the tomato puree and then pour in the vegetable broth.
• Bring the pan to a rolling boil before reducing the heat to medium-low.
• Allow the TVP to cook and meld with the season, stirring occasionally until the liquid has completely absorbed (this is very important, this should take 10-15 minutes).
• Once cooked, do a taste test then add black pepper and pink salt.
• Pour the mixture into a medium sized bowl and set aside to completely cool.

To make the dough

• Place the cassava flour, arrow root starch and pink salt in a medium sized bowl.
• Mix in the olive oil.
• Pour the boiling water in increments, you may want to use a spoon to do this. 
• Keep adding and stirring, use your hands as you start to mix in most of the water in and the dough comes together until you achieve a soft pliable dough ball.
• Line a countertop with parchment paper.
• Place the dough on top of the parchment paper.
• Lightly dust the rolling pin with cassava flour and then proceed to roll the dough out  (you may want to add another piece of parchment as a layer in between the rolling pin and the dough) to a thin as you can about ¼ inch should suffice.
• Use a cookie dough or a small bowl to form discs.
• Place a few tablespoons of the "meat mixture" in the centre of the circle.
• Making sure not to overfill or being too close to the edges.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the perimeter with some warm water.
• Fold over one half to form a semi circle/crescent shape.
• Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges and then set each one aside.
• Repeat the above 6 steps with the rest of the dough.

To air fry the empanadas

• Preheat the air fryer.
• Thoroughly coat both sides of each empanada with olive oil.
• Place the empanada on a lined fryer basket (you may need to fry them in batches).
• Air fry the empanadas 180at C/356F until golden (this may very, mine took around 16 minutes).
• Turn over half way through cooking and thoroughly re-coat both sides with oil.
• Repeat and fry the remaining empanadas if required.

Notes

• If you are a novice, you may find it easier to use an empanada press to form and shape the turnovers.
• I cannot emphazie how important it is to use BOILING WATER, you must do this or your dough will crumble and fail.
• Be sure to use quality cassava flour because not all is created equally - TIANA for my UK audience and OTTO's cassava flour for my stateside audience (both available on Amazon).
• Be sure to press down firmly with the fork, this is important so the filling stays inside and doesn't seep through.
• Any leftover cooked TVP can and refrigerated for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• The total amount of empanadas you make will vary depending on the size.
• Becareful not to roll out the dough too thin or it will rip.
• Please use the cooking time as a rough guide as this may vary depending on the model of air fryer that you are using.
• For best results, it is better to prepare the empanadas fresh on the same day and not ahead of time.
• If you don't plan on frying your empanadas, you can prep and freeze them. You will need to store on a lined baking tray and cover with saran wrap (cling film) and place them in zip lock bags individually saran wrapped.
• Don't freeze cooked empanadas.
• To re-heat your empanadas wrap them in aluminium foil on a low setting until heated through.
• Uncooked empanadas are suitable for freezing for 1-2 months. Thaw out before following the air fryer instructions.
• Feel free to substitute VTP with mushrooms, tofu or a medley of vegetables instead.

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 1329mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 4mg

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