Butternut Refried Black Bean Empanadas

This post is sponsored by Pacific Foods, a brand I’ve loved and used for many years! Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Kitchen Paper up and running! I'll be working with Pacific Foods regularly this year, so keep an eye out for some delicious recipes using their wonderful products!

Hi y'all! Are you having an amazing beginning to summer!? I know, I know. It's not actually/technically summer yet. But it's definitely beginning to feel like it, amiright? I know this because 1) I have had a sunburn (or 2 or 3. I'M SORRY I AM SO PALE IT JUST HAPPENS UGH), 2) I have been backpacking, 3) I want Mexican food all day every day.

Fiiine that's a partial lie b/c if you know me you know i want Mexican food all day/every day ALL THE TIME. But something about summer makes it extra noticeable. Chips and salsa? Oh yes please. Tacos? Yes every meal no duh. Empanadas? OH WHY DON'T I MAKE THESE EVERY WEEKEND!?! Seriously, this was a new stroke of genius — did you know you can make empanadas and then freeze them and bake them directly from the freezer!?! I didn't. But now I do and my life is changed and you might never see me again under the pile of empanadas I'm stockpiling in my freezer. Not the worst way to go, IMO!

These little cuties are actually pretty easy to make. You need pie dough, which you can make (and also stockpile in your freezer) or buy — no judgement. You do you, boo! Then, you just need some veg: garlic, onion, jalapeño, squash. I took the quick route here and cut my squash small so I could cook it on the stove. Cook it all together, cut out some cute little circles, slather on some Pacific Foods Organic Refried Black Beans (with Chiles, optionally!), and pop those suckers in the oven. We ate these straight out of the oven, then for breakfast, then for lunch, and then cried because they were gone. Womp womp.

You've all heard me drone on and on about my refried-bean obsession, so I'll try to spare you (kind of), but seriously this combination was awesome. Refried beans give a nice, all-encompassing, fill-in-the-gaps, hearty addition to the empanadas. The squash and veg keep it feeling fresh and healthy, plus a bunch of flavor and texture to balance the beans. You could call this a win-win-win-win-win. I'm not even going to begin to try to explain where those last 3 wins go — but they're applicable, trust me.

So, next summer bbq: what are you gonna bring? EMPANADAS. You'll be the life of the party. You could even make minis! Everybody loves mini empanadas (as demonstrated by a very late night mini-taco making/eating session I was an instigator of a few weeks ago on a work (fun) trip in Bend).

Let's talk about dip for a hot second: I'm not including a recipe here because we didn't really make anything groundbreaking. It was basically guacamole meets green goddess dressing. This would be SO good with a tomatillo salsa, or even regular (or roasted?) salsa. To be totally honest, they don't even need a sauce. They're great on their own. But tell me what you'd pair it with, 'cuz I'm still looking for ideas!

Have a WONDERFUL rest of your week, lovelies! xoxo

Butternut Refried Black Bean Empanadas

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Mary
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x

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Description

These vegetarian empanadas combine black beans, butternut squash, and other delicious vegetables for a healthy, savory hand pie!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 cups finely chopped butternut squash
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• salt & pepper
• 1 double pie crust
• 1 cup Pacific Foods Organic Refried Black Beans with Chiles
• 1 egg

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Instructions

1. Add the olive oil to a large frying pan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, cumin, and paprika.
2. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the butternut squash and jalapeño (or wait until later if you want more heat!). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash has soften to fork tender — 15-20 minutes.
3. Add about ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, or to taste, and remove from heat.
4. Roll your pie crust out to ⅛" thick, and cut into circles no bigger than 5" in diameter. Spread a ¼" layer of Pacific Foods Organic Refried Black Beans with Chiles on half of each round of dough, leaving ¼" bare around the edge. Spoon a small mound of the squash mixture on top of the beans, then fold the dough over to make a half-moon, crimping the edges with a fork, and making a small incision in the top of each empanada.
5. When all of the dough has been used up,  whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of each empanada with the egg mixture, then bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400F for 20-30 minutes, or until golden-brown.
6. Eat warm.

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Notes

If you want to freeze these to bake at a later date, form them all first and do NOT brush them with the egg wash. Freeze, and when you're ready to bake take them out of the oven and bake frozen (apply the egg wash just before baking). You may need to bake slightly longer when frozen, but not much.