Air Fried Apple Empanadas

Apple empanadas are a delicious Latin American treat. These little hand pies are filled with chopped spiced apples, then air fried to cut down on the calories. Serve with caramel sauce for dipping!

It's our monthly Progressive Eats party, and today we're having Tapas! Spain’s tourism agency declared the third Thursday in June as World Tapas Day to celebrate Spain’s tradition of miniature plates.

I love dining tapas-style because I get to try several different dishes. Empanadas are a Latin American dish, often seen in Mexican, Cuban, and other Latin American cuisines. These hand pies can have sweet or savory filling. They are typically fried in oil, but air frying them cuts down on the fat and calories.

Ingredients to Make Empanadas

These empanadas can be made with store-bought or homemade empanada dough. Not all stores sell the pre-made discs, however, but several bloggers have shared their recipes for the dough.

However, empanada dough is very similar to traditional pie dough. Pie dough is a little flakier, and a little more absorbent of liquid from the filling (leading to sogginess), but it will work perfectly well in this recipe.

For the filling, you'll need apples: a good, firm baking apple. I used Honeycrisps, but Granny Smith, Braeburn or Pink Lady apples (or even a mix of these!) would also work well.

Spice up the filling with some ground cinnamon and nutmeg, and sweeten it with light brown sugar. The apples are sauteed in a little unsalted butter to tenderize them before going into the air fryer.

How to Assemble Empanadas

Assembling empanadas is very similar to making other hand pies, or even homemade ravioli. Roll out the dough and spoon on some filling. For a disc rolled out to about 4.5 to 5 inches in diameter, about two tablespoonfuls of filling is sufficient.

Fold one half of the dough over the filling and seal the ends together by pressing them together with the tines of a fork. Brush with egg wash for a nice, shiny finish, and cut slits for steam to escape during the frying.

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FAQs

Depending on the size of your air fryer, you will likely need to cook these in batches. If you stack them and try to cook them all at once, they will stick together and won't cook through.

These are delicious served warm or at room temperature with caramel sauce for dipping.

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is Tapas Party! Our host is Coleen who blogs at The Redhead Baker. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it's a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious Spanish Tapas inspired dishes!