Party Food: Sausage Empanadas Recipe

Make this Sausage Empanadas Recipe the next time you want a hearty party appetizer to serve. These tasty packets are like hand-held comfort food that can be served for cocktail hour or for brunch. You can even make them ahead and freeze! Get the recipe here. 

I’m excited to share this party appetizer recipe today because I’ve teamed up with Mulay’s Sausage, which I think you’re going to love! I have to admit that I wasn’t familiar with them in the beginning, but after sampling their product I was so impressed.

The quality of their sausage is so good, you’re going to feel great about using it to make this sausage empanadas recipe. These appetizers are the perfect pick-up food for any party, and the dipping sauce I made to go with them is ridiculously easy.

Serve these pastry turnovers for a wine tasting happy hour with friends, or when you’re entertaining with appetizers & sangria al fresco. They’re just what you need to lay a foundation for those cocktails!

I’ve mentioned before that I grew up in farm country in North Carolina. We were surrounded by fields owned by my aunt & uncle who also had a small pig farm. As such, I consider my self a pretty good judge of quality, home-grown food. What I first noticed about the sausage is that it seemed very “clean,” meaning you’re not biting into any weird bits or fillers. It also checks off a lot of boxes, especially for people with restrictive diets. It’s paleo, and gluten free; has no sugar, nitrates, or MSG; and it’s been raised on a vegetarian diet, and without antibiotics.

Make this sausage empanadas recipe ahead and freeze them for later use. Just prepare the triangles as directed, but don’t bake them until ready to entertain.

I used the mild Breakfast Sausage for this recipe, which is a terrific all-purpose choice to use in many dishes. You may have extra sausage filling after making the empanadas; you can use another package of pie dough to make more triangles, or you can fill filo cups and cook them for about 10 minutes.

Sausage Empanadas Recipe

• 12 ounces Mulay’s Breakfast Sausage
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 package refrigerated pie dough (2 sheets)

Glaze:

• 1 egg, lightly beaten + 1 teaspoon water

Let pie dough sit at room temperature before unrolling, according to package directions.

Meanwhile, remove sausage from casings and place in a large skillet with diced onion. Cook over medium heat until cooked through.

Remove onto paper towels to drain and pat dry excess oil.

In a large bowl, combine sausage & onions, bread crumbs, egg, and cheese. Mix well.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a pizza cutter, cut in a grid pattern to create 3-inch squares of dough.

Place about 1 tablespoon of sausage filling in the center of each square. Fold corners together to create a triangle and press edges together using the tines of a fork. FOR BEST RESULTS DIP YOUR FINGER IN WATER AND RUN IT AROUND THE EDGE OF THE DOUGH BEFORE SEALING IT.

Continue process and place triangles on a baking sheet. Rub the egg wash lightly over each triangle.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.

Makes about 16-20 empanadas.

Serve with this delicious spicy dipping sauce: 1/2 cup mild salsa + 1 teaspoon sriracha