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    Home » Recipes » Appetizers » Traditional Colombian Pork Empanada Recipe

    Published: May 13, 2018 · Modified: Nov 24, 2022 by Cari · This post may contain affiliate links. · Leave a Comment

    Traditional Colombian Pork Empanada Recipe

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    This blogpost was sponsored by Western Union.

     Mother’s day in my home has always been a combination of celebrating the amazing women that made my life possible and celebrating our rich culture. We do this by cooking food from Colombia, like these Colombian pork empanadas. My mother is originally from Nariño, Colombia and my grandmother still lives in Medellin, Colombia. Our family has been using Western Union to send money to my grandmother and aunts for nearly twenty years, so I’m really excited to team up with them on this campaign. Western Union is all about celebrating the little things in life like the good food we eat, the places we visit or the reasons we send money across the world, because it’s these little things that make us who we are.

     

    Colombian food is a very important part of my family’s Mother’s Day traditions and my mom’s Colombian empanadas are a staple at our table. One of the simplest and most delicious ways that we can express and appreciate cultural diversity is by sharing a meal. Food is everyone’s common ground; a delicious meal made with love puts a smile on everyone’s face. The comfort that comes from a home cooked meal made by your mamá or abuelita, is a feeling that almost every person can identify with.
    Growing up I always watched my mom call my grandmother long distance, ask for my abuela’s recipes and write every ingredient down in an old notebook. She would then proceed to recreate her childhood recipes with me. My mom no longer needs to revert back to that old, tattered notebook because those recipes have become a part of who she is.
     

    So now that I am a mom, I have asked my mom to begin teaching me my grandmother’s recipes so I can pass them down to my son. Last mother’s day she gave me her old recipe notebook, it was my mom’s way of passing down the baton. Now, I’m sharing my mother’s
    Colombian empanada recipe with you all.
    making the masa
    masa is ready to be rolled out
    finished empanada filling
    colombian empanadas
    making the empanadas

    Looking for more Colombian recipes?

    • Colombian Arepas
    • How To Make Chicharrones
    • Colombian Hot Chocolate with Cheese
    traditional colombian pork empanada recipe
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    traditional colombian pork empanada recipe

    Fried corn masa filled with pork, potatoes and spices
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time2 hrs
    Total Time2 hrs 30 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: colombian, latin
    Servings: 15 empanadas
    Calories: 535kcal
    Author: Cari

    Ingredients

    • 1 Lb. Bone-in pork loin rib chops
    • 4 Cups of water
    • 1 ½ teaspoon cumin - separated
    • 1 tablespoon of salt - separated
    • 1 Bunch of green onions minced
    • 3 Roma tomatoes chopped
    • ½ tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce feel free to use less, if you don't like spicy food
    • 4 Large red potatoes
    • 4 cups of yellow pre-cooked cornmeal Masarepa
    • 3 tablespoon of bacon fat If you don’t have a jar bacon fat laying around, you can use lard
    • 2 cups of vegetable oil for frying

    Instructions

    • Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water and boil until tender. Once cooked, remove potatoes and allow them to cool. Once cooled, you’ll be able to easily peel off the potato skins and then chop the potatoes.
    • In another pot place the pork chops, 4 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoons of cumin and boil until pork is fully cooked. Once cooked, remove the pork, chop the meat and discard any bones. Strain and reserve 3 ½ cups of pork broth.
    • In a large bowl prepare your masa, combine your cornmeal and reserved pork broth. Work the masa until it is well incorporated then cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
    • While your masa is resting, in a large saucepan saute the tomatoes and green onions in the bacon fat over medium heat. This is your sofrito.
    • Stir occasionally and add ½ tbs of salt, hot sauce and 1 teaspoon of cumin. Add the pork to your tomatoes and green onions. Once the pork has been well combined with the sofrito, gently fold in your cooked potatoes. You want your potatoes to still maintain their shape and texture, so don’t over mix your filling once you’ve added the potatoes.
    • Split up the masa into about ¼ cup portions and form into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands.Place the balls of dough between two pieces of plastic (I used a ziplock bag)  and roll each out very thinly to form a circle-ish.
    • Remove the top plastic and place filling in the center of each. I use a cookie scoop for the filling. Then using the plastic underneath, fold the dough over to enclose the filling, forming a half circle. Tightly seal the edges by pressing down with your fingers.
    • Fill a large pot with vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. Carefully place 3 Colombian empanadas at a time in the heated oil and fry for about 2 minutes until golden on all sides.
    • Using a slotted spoon transfer the empanadas to a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with pico de gallo, hot sauce and sliced limes on the side.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1empanada | Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 511mg | Potassium: 544mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 2mg
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    traditional colombian pork empanada recipe
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    My name is Cari and I'm the person behind FatgirlHedonist.com. I'm born and raised in Miami (Hialeah if you'd like specifics) and proud Latina. I'm a single mom to a very curious toddler. I completed a culinary program in high school that made my love of food blossom, but my career went in a very different direction. No matter what turns my life has taken, cooking, baking and eating have always been three of my favorite activities. I'm lucky enough that I can have this blog as an outlet for those three passions.

    More about me →

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