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Home » Yeast Breads » Baked Pretzel Empanadas

Baked Pretzel Empanadas

February 1, 2014 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 13 Comments

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Happy almost-Super-Bowl! I couldn’t help myself from making another pretzel recipe for the game.

close up of baked pretzel empanadas with salt on cooling rack

We will be watching the big game by ourselves at home, in our pajamas. With tons of food – way, way too much for 2 people.

Actually, we don’t usually watch the game in solitude like this, but my current job is a lot more socially stimulating than the one I had for the past few years, and being an introvert (in the sense that talking to people drains me of energy), I find myself needing more down time at home than I used to. I think you’ve gotta listen to your body on these matters. Plus, we won’t have rowdy guests to complain about afterward and everything we eat gets to be vegan. I’m trying some recipes from other bloggers that I’ve had my eye on for a while, so it should be fun 🙂

I know it’s a little late to add a yeast bread recipe to your Super Bowl lineup, but maybe for watching the Olympics? Or anytime, really. These baked pretzel empanadas are pretty insane. It kind of reminds me of Hot Pockets, back when I used to subject my body to ingesting those (college/grad school). They had a pretzel bread version that was definitely my favorite.

filling of a baked pretzel empanada made with pureed cauliflower, roasted garlic, and roasted red bell pepper on white plate

We tried out several different fillings – this was our favorite: pureed cauliflower and roasted garlic, & sliced roasted red bell pepper. Yum!

So consider these pretzel empanadas to be like pretzel Hot Pockets, except that they leave you feeling satisfied and happy, instead of leaving you full of disappointment and empty calories.

baking pretzel empanadas on cooling rack on white towel shot from head on

Hope that whatever you’re doing for the Super Bowl (or whatever you are doing this weekend instead) is relaxing & fun!

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5 from 1 vote

Baked Pretzel Empanadas

Empanada dough is stuffed with a variety of fillings, and then baked (not fried!) with a pretzel style crust for a moreish fusion food.
Course Appetizer, baked goods, Side Dish
Cuisine Spanish, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword pretzel empanadas
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 16 empanadas
Calories 134kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 package active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 tsp)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp neutral oil (I used grapeseed oil)
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (or substitute additional oil)

Crust:

  • 5 cups water
  • 5 tbsp baking soda
  • coarse salt

Filling:

  • see recipe notes for suggestions

Instructions

Proof the yeast:

  • Gently stir together the warm water, yeast and maple syrup in a large bowl. Wait 5-10 minutes or until you can see it starting to foam.

Make the dough

  • Add the salt, flours, oil, and applesauce, and mix together. If mixing by hand, knead for 5-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and stretchy. If using a Kitchenaid or other stand mixer, run it on low for about 2 minutes and then increase the speed, mixing for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
  • Lightly spray the top of the dough with cooking oil and cover it with a damp towel, then set in a warm area for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Fill the empanadas and prepare them for baking

  • Divide the dough into 16 approximately equal-sized balls and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat sheets. Keep the damp towel covering the ones you are not working with, whether filled or un-filled.
  • Take a ball of dough and flatten/roll it out into a disc shape, between 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch in thickness. You'll need to feel it out here and see what works best for your dough. If needed, lightly oil the surface that you use for this step - I wouldn't recommend flouring it.
  • Add a small scoop of your filling - approximately 1/4 cup - onto one half of the disc. Fold the other half of the disc over and use a fork to press the edges together and seal the filling inside.
  • When all of the empanadas are filled, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil in a saucepan and add the baking soda. One by one, gently drop the empanadas into the water for only 10 seconds, until they float back to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon, and place them on the baking sheets.
  • Sprinkle coarse salt over the tops of the empanadas while they are still wet from the baking soda wash.

Bake:

  • Bake at 450 Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes, until they feel firm and the tops are a nice golden brown.
  • Caution: insides will be extremely hot.

Notes

Here are the fillings we used:
Cauliflower and roasted garlic puree + roasted red bell pepper slices; soyrizo + caramelized onions (soyrizo recipe link is in the post)
Some other fillings that I think would be really tasty are refried beans and salsa, spinach artichoke dip (recipe link is in the post), or pizza sauce and cashew mozzarella (see pizza bread recipe link is in the post). But you can fill them with whatever you desire!
NUTRITION: Nutrition data excludes fillings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1empanada without filling | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 285mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g

A few filling ideas:

Vegan spinach artichoke dip

Cashew mozzarella and pizza sauce

Homemade soyrizo

salted baked pretzel empanadas shot from above cooling

Submitted to Yeastspotting.

Filed Under: Appetizers, Yeast Breads Tagged With: baking, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

« Homemade Soyrizo (Vegan Soy Chorizo) Recipe
Polenta Puttanesca »

Comments

  1. Deb says

    August 3, 2017 at 15:26

    5 stars
    Made filled with Daiya and tomato sauce and loved them.

    Reply
  2. Peggie says

    February 15, 2017 at 13:43

    Hi Shannon! These look amazing! I am wondering how I could make them gluten free though. Any suggestions?
    Thanks, Peggie

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      February 15, 2017 at 14:02

      Hi Peggie, I’m honestly not so sure how well swapping in gluten-free dough would work here. Gluten-free yeast breads still sort of elude me/I haven’t had much chance to experiment with them yet. I don’t believe it’s as straightforward as just swapping in GF all-purpose flour. If you end up playing around with the recipe please let me know though!

      Reply
  3. RaeAna says

    September 14, 2014 at 21:07

    Stumbled upon this site and love it! A fairly recent (evo-lacto) vegetarian myself (is 3 years considered recent?) I am constantly looking for veggie recipes to add to my repertoire. It is hard to find decent dishes that don’t include mushrooms (allergic). As an avid pinner, I find myself wanting to pin every recipe I’ve come across so far.

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      September 15, 2014 at 09:02

      Hmm, I would say after 3 years you are somewhat of a veteran now! At least in the sense that you’ve demonstrated that you can stick with it, and figured out a routine that works for you. I can promise you that there will never, ever, ever be mushrooms in any recipe on this website =P. Thanks for visiting – I really appreciate your comment!

      Reply
  4. Jessie says

    February 18, 2014 at 17:52

    Can I use anything to substitute for the maple syrup like agave or something?

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      February 18, 2014 at 18:27

      Hi Jessie, if we don’t have maple syrup we usually just use plain sugar, but I don’t see why agave wouldn’t work, or most other sweeteners. The yeast needs sugars to feed on so just don’t use Splenda or anything like that.

      Reply
  5. Cheryl says

    February 10, 2014 at 15:53

    I’d never thought to make empanadas in a pretzel-style dough, and they sound positively amazing. Filled with maybe mushrooms and a nootchy queso?! Or go super healthy (let me live in my dream world, please) with some homemade vegan hot dogs and mustard! 🙂

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      February 10, 2014 at 19:37

      Both of those are great ideas!! No mushrooms for me but my partner is a mushroom + nootch fiend and would love if I made that combo for him. I would so eat the hot dog & mustard one. I’m going to have to make them again!

      Reply
  6. Katie @ Produce on Parade says

    February 3, 2014 at 20:48

    Wow! Those are awesome! Todd would love those. I agree with the excessive necessity of downtime 😉

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      February 5, 2014 at 21:03

      Being a lover of relaxation… it’s a blessing and a curse!

      Reply
  7. Laura @ This is Thirty says

    February 1, 2014 at 13:59

    Oh my goodness – these look delicious! I’m super excited for the Super Bowl tomorrow (and all of it: football, food and commercials)!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      February 2, 2014 at 11:53

      Same here 🙂 Go Hawks! (for me anyway). Thank you!

      Reply

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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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