These Baked Mushroom Ala King Empanadas are my vegan take on those I grew enjoying. Empanadas are one of those baked goods that I grew up enjoying. My favourite growing up were ham and cheese or chicken empanadas my mom would always get for me at a local empanada store. I’d enjoy them after she’d pick me up from school as an afternoon snack or merienda.
These ones are filled with a mushroom ala king filling, basically a mushroom version of chicken ala king with a creamy base and veggies.
This Baked empanadas recipe really takes me back to my childhood and the best part is that they’re baked and vegan!
What are empanadas?
Empanadas are said to have originated in Spain in Portugal in the 1500s but have made their way to the Philippines when the country was colonised by the Spaniards for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898.
Due to this, a lot of dishes in Filipino cuisine are actually of Spanish origin but have become ‘Filipinzed’ over the generations.
I brushed the empanadas with a mix of oil, cornstarch, and soy milk before baking.
See the video below to see how to make these!
I was also very happy with how the crust turned out! It was crisp o the outside but chewy and somewhat flaky on the inside.
As for the filling, one of my other childhood favourites was a baked chicken ala king dish over some steamed rice so I made more filling with the intention of having it with rice!
A vegan mushroom version for the empanada filling
This is a mushroom version of the chicken ala king, which is said to be of American origin. I’m not entirely sure how chicken ala king came to be in the Philippines, but it’s most likely from the influence of American culture in the country–having been an American colony for 48 years too (after the Spanish colonial period).
Anyway, this filling can also be used as a rice topping for a delicious meal! It’s creamy, comforting, and really hearty.
Check out the recipe below!
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MORE FILIPINO RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Adobo
- Tokwa’t Baboy
- Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
- Mushroom Tocino
- Filipino Fried Garlic Rice
- Filipino Lumpiang Gulay or Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Filipino “Pork” Barbecue
- Crispy Tofu Sisig
- Tofu and Mushroom Salpicao
Baked Mushroom ala King Empanadas (Vegan)
Ingredients
Mushroom ala King Filling
- 1 cup room temp. soy milk or other milk (230g)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (35g)
- 1 tbsp oil or vegan butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cans sliced button mushrooms , total of 400g drained weight*
- 1/4 cup green peas
- 1 small carrot (80g), makes 1/2 cup diced
- 1 bell pepper or pimiento diced
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- Dash of pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth or more to thin out mixture
Empanada Wrappers (see notes)
Dry
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (190g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder for colour optional
Oil Mix For Brushing
- 1.5 tbsp soy milk
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp olive or neutral oil
Instructions
Mushroom ala King
- Mix the flour and milk in a bowl until the flour has dissolved. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add in the vegan butter or oil. Once hot, sauté the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add in the mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes over high heat to get rid of excess liquid. Add in the peas, bell pepper, and carrots. Cook over medium high heat and then season with salt.
- Mix the flour and milk mixture again to make sure the flour didn’t clump together. Pour in the flour and milk mixture to the mushrooms while constantly stirring over medium heat. Leave the mixture to thicken. Cook down the carrots while adding more vegetable broth to thin out the mixture and cook down the carrots.
- Leave to cook for 4-5 minutes, mixing every minute or so, or until the carrots are tender. Turn off the heat and leave to mixture to cool if you’re using this as empanada filling. You can also prepare the filling the day before and refrigerate it until ready to use. This way the mixture will also thicken!
- Alternatively, you can enjoy this over rice or even some cooked pasta for a hearty meal. Enjoy!
Preparing the Dough and Empanadas
- Mix the milk and oil together. In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients together. Create a well in the center and then pour in the warm milk and oil while mixing. Keep mixing and kneading until you have a smooth ball of dough.
- Shape the dough into a ball, then cover to prevent it from drying out if you won’t be working on the wrappers immediately.
- Preheat your oven to 380F/200C.
- Flour your work surface. Prepare a large round cylindrical cover or cookie cutter to create around 3.5” wrappers. Place the ball of dough on the surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. Cut the circles and then remove the excess dough. Shape the excess dough into a ball and roll out to create more wrappers.
- Alternatively, you can also divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll them out individually into 3.5” wrappers.
- Place 3/4 to 1 tbsp filling* in the centre of each wrapper. Be careful not to get any of the cream sauce into the edges, since this will make it hard to seal the edges.
- Fold the wraps in half and pinch down to seal. Create small pleats (see video) if you’d like, or press down with a form to create a lined texture. Repeat this for the rest of the wrappers. Place the empanadas on al lined baking tray. I used parchment paper to line my tray.
Cooking the Empanadas
- Mix the oil and cornstarch mixture together. Generously brush each empanada with the oil mixture.
- Place the empanadas in the oven and cook 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the empanadas halfway through cooking to brush with more of the oil mixture, as needed.
- Leave the empanadas to cool for a few minutes. Best enjoyed while hot! See storage tips in the notes below.
WATCH Video
Notes
- Empanada Filling and Wrappers: The dough recipe is good for 12 empanadas but the filling is good for 24 empanadas. So if you’re making this recipe solely for empanadas and not for the rice topping as well, you can double the dough recipe or half the filling recipe! Alternatively, you can use other filling of your choice!
- Mushrooms: Feel free to use fresh button or baby bella mushrooms!
- As rice topping: You can use leftover filling to top over rice or enjoy with some pasta!
- You can refrigerate the empanadas and enjoy by reheating. Brush some oil onto the empanadas. Reheat empanadas in the oven toaster for 5-6 minutes or hot and crisp again. Enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL INFO
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This Post Has One Comment
Easy to follow recipe! I just wish the filling was more flavorful. But overall, happy with how this turned out! not bad for my first attempt at making empanadas! thank you 🙂