🇲🇽 Mexican
Mini Beef Empanadas (Fathead Dough)
⏱ 50 min
🍞 ~8g (3 mini empanadas)
🍽 6 (3 mini empanadas each) servings
⭐ 5/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Empanadas crossed oceans with the Spanish and put down roots all over Latin America. In Mexico, they're handheld magic — perfect for parties, lunchboxes, and after-school snacks. We use "fathead dough" (mozzarella + almond flour) so our T1D kiddos can grab two without the giant post-meal spike.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Fathead dough is mostly cheese, egg, and almond flour — fraction of the carbs of regular pastry
- High-protein filling means a flatter, slower BG curve
- Mini size makes portioning + insulin dosing way easier than full-size empanadas
Ingredients
Fathead Dough
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (3g total)
- 2 oz cream cheese (2g)
- 1.5 cups almond flour (18g total, 3g per serving)
- 1 large egg (0g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (0g)
- 1 tsp ground cumin (0g)
Beef Filling
- 3/4 lb 85% lean ground beef (0g)
- 1/4 yellow onion, finely diced (2g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1g)
- 1 tsp chili powder (1g)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (0g)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin (0g)
- 1/4 tsp salt (0g)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (4g, ~1g per serving)
- 2 tbsp water (0g)
- 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped (traditional!) (0g)
- 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash) (0g)
Directions
- Make the filling first: brown beef and onion in a skillet 6 min. Add garlic, spices, salt, tomato paste, and water. Cook 3 min until thick. Stir in chopped hard-boiled egg. Cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
- For dough: microwave mozzarella + cream cheese in a bowl 1 min, stir, microwave 30 more seconds until melty.
- Quickly mix in egg, then almond flour, salt, and cumin. Knead a few times into a smooth ball. (If too sticky, refrigerate 5 min.)
- Roll dough between two sheets of parchment to about 1/8-inch thick.
- Cut out 3.5-inch circles using a cup or biscuit cutter. Re-roll scraps.
- Place 1 tsp filling in the center of each circle. Fold over, press edges, crimp with a fork.
- Brush with beaten egg.
- Bake 14-16 min until deeply golden.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash's secret weapon: kids love crimping the edges with a fork — give them a job!
- Freeze unbaked empanadas on a tray, then bag — bake straight from frozen, add 4 min
- Pack 3 in a lunchbox with a few carrot sticks for a low-carb school lunch win