These tempeh, sweet potato, and mushroom empanadas are plant-based comfort food at its finest. A filling of onions, garlic, mushrooms, tempeh, Mexican spices, and roasted sweet potato is enrobed in a spelt flour pastry and baked. Topped with avocado, salsa verde, and chipotle mayo or aioli and served with a green salad, these empanadas make a great lunch or dinner.
It seems as though we humans have a deep and abiding affinity for doughy pockets filled with any combination of protein and vegetables. Every region of the world has its own variation on the theme: India has samosa and paratha. Eastern Europe has piroshki. Jamaica has beef patties. The middle east has boreka. East Asia has bao. Venezuela has arepa. But with all due respect to the aforementioned foods, I have to say that my favourite of all is the empanada.
Have you ever enjoyed an empanada? Empanadas are named after the Spanish verb ’empanar’, which means to coat or wrap in bread. Traditionally, they consist of a wheat or corn flour-based dough that encases a beef and cheese filling, and can be baked or fried.
If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to enjoy empanadas, let the addiction begin with my healthy plant-based twist! My empanadas consist of a healthy spelt flour pastry dough that can be made with chilled coconut oil or grass-fed butter for a vegetarian option, and a tempeh, mushroom, and roasted sweet potato filling. Cheese is optional, though I opted to include some goat cheddar for an extra punch of flavour. If you are vegan, Daiya makes a delicious jalapeno havarti that would also work well with the spice profile in this recipe.
To make these empanadas, you’ll start by mixing up a dough with light spelt flour (or whole spelt if that’s all you can find), chilled coconut oil or butter, sea salt, and a little bit of water. Set the dough aside while making the filling: roast up a couple of sweet potatoes and saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, tempeh, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and a dash of tamari. Add the sweet potato to the pan, and grate some cheese. Divide the dough into six pieces, roll out into 7-inch circles, and assemble each empanada by spooning one sixth of the filling onto one half of the circle, topping with cheese, and folding over. Use a fork to crimp the edges and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake, then serve with avocado, salsa verde, and chipotle mayo or a creamy sauce of your choosing (see my tips in the recipe notes for options).
Tempeh, Mushroom, and Sweet Potato Empanadas
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 empanadas 1x
Description
These tempeh, sweet potato, and mushroom empanadas are plant-based comfort food at its finest. A filling of onions, garlic, mushrooms, tempeh, Mexican spices, and roasted sweet potato is enrobed in a spelt flour pastry and baked. Topped with avocado, salsa verde, and chipotle mayo or aioli and served with a green salad, these empanadas make a great lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Spelt Flour Dough
- 2 ½ cups light/white spelt flour (may sub whole spelt flour)
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup chilled coconut oil or grass-fed organic butter
- ½ cup water, as needed
Filling
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt, divided
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 12 medium crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 (8-oz) package tempeh, diced into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp coriander
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 cup grated goat cheddar or vegan cheddar cheese*
For serving
- Sliced avocado
- Salsa verde
- Chipotle mayo or chipotle ranch dressing**
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter or coconut oil and incorporate with a pastry blender or fork. Slowly add the water and stir just until a stiff dough forms. Transfer onto a lightly floured surface and mix by hand just until all of the flour is incorporated. Do not overwork. Transfer back into the bowl, cover with plastic-free food wrap like Beeswrap or Abeego, and refrigerate.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the diced sweet potato on the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of the sea salt and a few twists of black pepper on top. Toss to coat and roast for 25 minutes, or until sweet potato is fork tender and browned around the edges. Leave oven on but reduce heat to 375 degrees F.
- Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Add the red pepper and mushrooms, turn up heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring very occasionally, until liquid from mushrooms has evaporated and mushrooms are nicely browned. Add the diced tempeh, spices, pepper, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and the tamari. Remove from heat. Once sweet potatoes are roasted, add them to the skillet as well.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Divide it into 6 equal balls. To assemble one empanada, roll out one ball of dough into a 7-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place one-sixth of the filling on half of the circle, leaving some space around the edges to allow for crimping. Sprinkle with one-six of the cheese, if using, and fold over. Use a fork to tightly crimp down the edges. Transfer empanada to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining five empanadas.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve with sliced avocado, salsa verde, and chipotle mayo or dressing (see notes).
Notes
*I used goat cheddar from a producer that uses vegetarian rennet; i.e. no calves were harmed in the making of this cheese! For a vegan option, I recommend using Daiya jalapeno havarti cheese. **I used Primal Kitchen chipotle mayonnaise. For a vegan option, I recommend this chipotle ranch dressing.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Keywords: vegan empanadas, healthy empanadas, tempeh empanadas, sweet potato empanadas, mushroom empanadas
I hope you enjoy this recipe–it’s one of my favourites! If you make these empanadas, leave a comment and rating below to let everyone know how you liked them! And if you use Instagram, snap a photo and tag me #upbeetkitchen and @upbeet.kitchen. I’ll share your creations in my Instagram stories! 🙂
And if you love the flavours of this recipe, be sure to try out these ones, too!
Smoky Barbecue Black Bean Burgers
Santa Fe Salad with Crispy Tofu and Cilantro Lime Dressing
And, as an aside, I do apologize for the quality of these photos! I am in this weird space right now of finally posting the last few recipes that I shot with my iPhone while also posting some recipes that I shot with my DSLR, so that is the reason for the inconsistency!
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★★★★★
Oscar
Mexican food is my favourite, and this recipe is wonderful. The crust is terrific, and the vegetables in the filling, along with the spices, make it a definite show stopper. This is a perfect recipe for company when it is a Mexican dining night.
★★★★★
Allison
Oh my goodness, Oscar! Thank you so much for your kind compliment and for coming back to let me know how you liked it. It means so much!