How to Keep Empanadas Warm

For centuries, empanadas have won over food enthusiasts with their crispy crust and bubbly savory filling. Every good host knows that the key to serving the best-tasting empanadas is to keep them warm, but maintaining warmth without sacrificing the classic texture is a challenging task. In this post, we answer all of your questions about empanadas, including our top tips for keeping them warm and reheating them.

What is an empanada?

An empanada is a traditional hand-eaten pastry made from a savory filling folded inside a wheat or cornmeal dough and baked or fried. Empanadas can even be made into a dessert by using a sweet filling and sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Because of their long history, empanada recipes vary widely from using seafood to vegetables, typically reflective of local food sources and regional preferences. For example, traditional Venezuelan empanadas are often made with cornmeal dough and deep-fried for a sweet crunch.

Origin of empanadas

Empanadas originate from medieval Spain and Portugal, evolving over hundreds of years to become a diverse staple in many homes across the world. The name “empanada” comes from the Spanish verb “empanar,” which means “to wrap or coat in bread.”

Are empanadas gluten-free?

Empanadas can be gluten-free if made with corn flour, rice flour, cassava flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Empanadas made with wheat flour dough are not gluten-free. If you’re expecting a guest with a gluten sensitivity, consider choosing a deep-fried recipe that uses cornmeal dough—a common and well-loved variation of empanadas.

Importance of keeping empanadas warm

Because traditional empanadas are savory pastries, they taste the best when served at the right temperature. Offering a dish of fresh, hot, and crispy empanadas is the way to any guest’s heart, but an empanada with plummeting temperature risks taste, texture, and most importantly, food safety.

Taste

The filling in empanadas depends on heat to deliver its best flavor. As soon as the temperature drops, so does the richness of your savory beef and the bite of your punchy seasonings. To avoid losing the valuable flavor of your empanadas, it's best to serve empanadas hot.

Texture

The best-loved feature of empanadas is the contrast created by flaky, buttery crust and delicious, creamy filling. Unfortunately, a drop in temperature means the filling in your empanadas starts to congeal and your crust loses its fresh crisp. Maintaining the right temperature means keeping the perfect texture everyone loves.

Food safety

Keeping your empanadas hot isn’t just about taste and texture; it’s about safety, too. Chicken, beef, or pork—nearly all empanada recipes include meat. Maintaining a safe hot holding temperature prevents the growth of bacteria that might lead to foodborne illness.

Keeping your empanadas at the right temperature can make all the difference in your guests’ experience. Before you know it, friends and family will be happily chatting around the table, enjoying every delicious bite.

6 ways to keep empanadas warm

Maintaining the warmth, taste, and texture of empanadas can be a challenge, but these six methods will give you the confidence you need to serve these savory pastries at just the right temperature.

1. Warm the plates

Cold plates start to draw out heat the moment food touches the surface. If you don’t want to risk your empanadas losing too much heat before the meal begins, you can warm your guests’ plates in the oven or microwave before serving.

Oven: Warm dry plates at 150ºF for 8-10 minutes.
Microwave: If there are no metallic elements, sprinkle dishes with water and microwave on high for 30-50 seconds per plate.

Note: Use caution when heating and handling your dishes to prevent overheating your dinnerware and risking burns.

While stoneware is the most effective at retaining heat, even your ceramic and porcelain plates will retain heat, giving your meal that extra boost of temperature your empanadas need.

2. Seal the heat in an insulated dish

Whether you’re the host of a family cookout or a guest at a potluck, you want to focus on the lively conversation, not the rapidly dropping temperature of your empanadas. Host Modern insulated dishes are an elegant solution to keep your empanadas at the perfect temperature for hours without using coveted microwave or oven space. Just drop in your fresh empanadas and seal in the heat.

Even when you’re on the go, your Host Modern insulated travel bag will keep everything hot and secure for the whole ride, so you can arrive confident, prepared, and ready to serve a great meal.

3. Keep in a warm oven

A popular way to keep empanadas warm without losing the crispy texture is to store them temporarily in the oven. Here’s how:

Preheat your oven to 250ºF or use the warm setting.
Place your empanadas on top of a cooling rack that’s sitting on a baking sheet to keep the bottoms crispy.
Cover loosely with foil, so the tops don’t burn.
Place in the oven and serve within 45 minutes to avoid drying out the crust.

4. Use your warming drawer

If there’s no oven space available, the warming drawer below your oven might be the perfect temperature to prevent your empanadas from losing their warmth. Place them in a dish, cover loosely to keep moisture, and place in the warming drawer of a hot oven. This is a less precise method of maintaining temperature, but it’s very effective at temporarily maintaining temperature when the oven is in use.

5. Insulate using foil, towels, and a cooler

If you’re transporting your empanadas to a picnic or family gathering, you might want to employ your cooler. Here’s what to do:

Preheat the cooler with hot water and dry completely.
Wrap your empanadas individually in foil.
Line the cooler with towels and nestle the empanadas inside.
Keep the cooler shut until ready to serve.

The foil will lock in moisture, the towels will insulate, and the cooler will lock in the heat for about 2–3 hours.

6. Set your slow cooker on low

If you have a smaller number of empanadas to keep warm, use a slow cooker. Place your empanadas inside the dish, cover, and put on the lowest setting. The empanadas will retain their temperature until you’re ready to serve.

Can you make empanadas ahead of time?

Yes, empanadas are the perfect freezer-friendly recipe that can be made ahead of time. If you’re preparing ahead for a party, you can freeze before baking or bake and freeze for later. Here are some tips:

If unbaked, freeze flat on a pan for the first 1-3 hours to prevent a deformed shape or sticking when packing together.
If baked, tightly wrap the individual empanadas with plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.

How long do empanadas last?

Wrapped well, empanadas can be stored for three months in the freezer or one week in the fridge. Just defrost, unwrap, and bake or fry as you normally would.

How to reheat empanadas

Once empanadas have already cooled or been frozen, reheating takes a strategic balance of heat and moisture. Reheating too fast at too high a temperature dries them out, but reheating too slowly can overbake them. While it’s an easy option, reheating empanadas in a microwave heats the crust from the steam of the filling inside, which can cause it to go soggy and limp.

Here are five reliable methods to reheat empanadas so they taste fresh and crisp:

1. Oven and cast iron skillet duo

This tried-and-true method will reheat your frozen empanadas to just the right level of crisp. Preheat your oven to 400ºF with a cast iron skillet inside, place your empanadas in the skillet, and reheat for 30 minutes.

2. Air fryer for smaller batches

The key to reheating empanadas in an air fryer is to avoid overloading the basket with multiple layers. Preheat your air fryer to 350ºF, place a single layer of empanadas inside, and heat for 7-8 minutes.

3. Toaster oven for even heating

The toast function on toaster ovens provides the unique advantage of evenly reheating your empanadas using the top and bottom heating elements. Even without using the toaster function, a toaster oven is very effective. Preheat oven to 300ºF, reheat empanadas inside foil for 20 minutes, and then remove foil and heat for another 5-10 minutes.

4. A second round of deep frying

You can level up the crisp on your thawed empanadas by briefly refrying them in oil. Heat your oil to 320ºF, fry for about 5 minutes, and let them dry on paper towels. Just use caution to avoid overcooking!

5. Frying pan for a quick reheat

While not the most effective method for maintaining great texture, warming your thawed empanadas in a hot pan can be a fast solution that still avoids the soggy microwave texture. Heat your pan on medium heat and crisp on both sides.

For all of these methods, remember that your goal is for the empanadas to reach an internal temperature of about 165ºF. If you’re reheating mini empanadas, reduce the time on each of these methods by about 1-2 minutes.

Keep all your meals hot and ready with Host Modern

Host Modern is your permanent solution for maintaining the right temperature throughout an event. Unexpected delays, multiple dishes, and limited space in the fridge, oven, and microwave can make gatherings more stressful than they should be. Host Modern insulated dishes take the guesswork out of hosting, allowing you to be confident and present when it matters most. Shop our insulated dishes to find the peace of mind that every host should have—and every guest can notice.

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