These pumpkin empanadas are delicious pastry pockets with a smooth, soft and gently spiced filling. Think of them like a pumpkin hand pie or almost a mini pumpkin pie - either way, they are easy to make and delicious!

plate of pumpkin empanadas with a broken one on top showing filling

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It's funny, pumpkins are not something I grew up with (they're not a crop that's grown in the UK, where I grew up), but it's something I've adopted over the years. They started becoming more available as I got into cooking, and from my first pumpkin pie from scratch, things have evolved from there.

While we love some sweet pumpkin treats like these, we also enjoy it in savory dishes. Pumpkin ravioli are a favorite we have at least a few times each year, then we also love a comforting bowl of pumpkin risotto or homemade pumpkin pasta (with pumpkin in the dough).

close view of part pumpkin empanada sitting on top of stack of more

Bring on the empanadas!

But back to these little parcels of tastiness. If you're not familiar with empanadas, it's the Spanish term for a filled pastry, what you might translate as a turnover or hand pie. They can be both savory and sweet, and you find them in both Spain and across Latin America.

I don't make empanadas all that often, but they're a handy on-the-go snack and have endless filling options. I've made strawberry empanadas in the past which we all enjoyed, and keep meaning to play with more fillings.

I had a hunch that pumpkin would work well. It's soft, creamy texture kind of asks to ooze out of pastry. And in fact, as I did some digging I found it's a traditional Mexican treat as well, often made to use up a slow-stewed spiced pumpkin dessert.

bowls with flour, sugar, butter, pumpkin puree and spices with egg and milk to side

How they're made

While you can make the pastry by hand, I find that a food processor makes it so wonderfully easy and quick. It's as simple as adding and mixing until crumbs form. It's a relatively soft dough, so don't worry if it seems slightly sticky.

While as I say traditionally, the filling is leftovers from another dish, you can also make it by heating together pumpkin, sugar and spices as I have here. You cook them down a little to both dissolve the sugar and reduce the liquid in there.

You can use either bought pumpkin puree or homemade for the filling, as you have and prefer (be sure not to use pie filling, though, as it is loaded up with various spices etc).

sealing an empanada with fork with some of filling on dough disc behind

Tips for making pumpkin empanadas

As I say, these are pretty easy, but a couple tips to help them work well:

Allow time for the pastry to chill before rolling to make it easier to work with.
Be sure to reduce the filling on a low heat so that it doesn't get stick or burn, but then give it time to reduce down and thicken. It should be relatively jam-like. Let it cool before using as well.
Roll the pastry out thinly and loosen them before adding filling. This is to help avoid the pastry breaking as you lift it up (you can re-stick it when just pastry, but less easy with filling on top).
Add filling to one side to help you judge the amount. You want enough so it feels full, but not so much it spills out. Leave space around the edge to allow for joining.
You can join the edges either by pressing with a fork, or more traditionally by crimping the edge. Do whichever you prefer or feel able to do.
Make a small hole in one side to allow steam to escape.

formed pumpkin empanadas on baking sheet before baking

I like to hold back a little egg white from the pastry to brush over the pastry before baking. This saves you wasting part of an egg, but you still get that nice browning from adding it (though granted maybe not quite as much as a whole egg).

If you like, you can also drizzle a little coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar on top before baking. I have also made these with added mini chocolate chips. It's less traditional, but delicious, too.

These pumpkin empanadas are a fun little treat. They have a tasty mix of smooth, gently sweet spiced filling and crisp buttery pastry. As an added bonus, they're perfectly hand-held bites so are great to serve at a party, as after school snacks, or just because. Be sure to try them soon!

plate of pumpkin empanadas with mini pumpkin above plate

Try these other pumpkin treats:

Pumpkin cupcakes
No bake pumpkin cookies
No churn pumpkin ice cream
Plus get more seasonal ideas in the fall recipes archives.

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5 from 2 votes