Berry sweet empanadas – flaky pastry pockets filled with creamy ricotta and juicy summer berries. A sweet twist on traditional empanadas.
A few weeks ago, while writing down ideas for recipes I would like to bake, I start flipping pages through a couple of cookbooks and saw a recipe for empanadas. I have eaten countless time these pastry pockets stuffed with various fillings but haven’t made my own. What has been stopping me? I have no idea!
But now I wanted some. I wanted to bite into one warm empanada, enjoy a glass of aqua fresca and day-dream of sunny places along the Caribbean shores.
A few days passed by and my cravings for empanadas grew stronger. In the Mexican cookbook they stuffed these pastries with a mixture of dried fruit, but i wanted something else. Something light and creamy. Something summer-y. Like fresh berries cuddled in a spoonful of creamy ricotta.
That’s it! Empanadas filled with cheese and berries!
I was afraid the pastries might get soggy from the wet filling, but they stayed flaky and crispy. The berries softened while baking, some juices ooze out from the pockets. Although these empanadas are sweet, they are not overwhelmingly sweet. The only sugar added is the one in the pastry.
Dust some powder sugar on top if you prefer and enjoy!
[mpprecipe-recipe:446]
Sending love your way,
Roxana
A great recipe for the 5 de maio…And any other day as well! I love empanadas (or pastel as we say in Portuguese).
Roxana, these empanadas are divine! I had flaky pastries many times, but they were all savory. Stuffing them with fresh berries and ricotta is a brilliant idea! I sometimes top ricotta with strawberry jam as a dessert and I do love their combination. Now I can imagine how scrumptious your sweet empanadas are!
I love the berries and cream combo here. They sound fabulous!
I love empanadas, but they are usually so heavy and oily, I rarely have them. I love how airy yours look with the ricotta cheese and oven baking. What a fun twist on a traditional dish. Perfect for cinco de mayo (and summertime too!)
Empanadas filled with cheese and berries! Oh yum, definitely yes! We can even do several kinds of berries in each embanada and it’ll be fun to find out what’s in it. 🙂
These empanadas are so gorgeous, Roxana! They look delicious and very easy. Thanks for sharing!
I love ricotta with berries, these empanadas look so tasty!
I was just thinking that I would love to try and make empanadas! I should start here!
Love the sweet and creamy and flakey combination here!
Love that you used ricotta! Great combo!
I love this Roxana! They are so beautiful!
Oh my, these look fabulous, great idea Roxana! I could definitely eat more than one of these. I love that they could go well for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
How amazing and adorable are these empanadas? Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, aka stuffing my face-o 🙂
Oh roxanne, to me you have outdone yourself on this one. Love this more than any bread out there because it reminds me out our meat pies I used to have growing up yet it has berries instead and I love my berries! This is a winner!
Combining ricotta and berries can’t get any better…these are beautiful, Roxana! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been thinking about fruit empanadas for a long time now. Each time I forget about it. I love the shape of yours, I need a little helper in my kitchen for empanadas and pierogi 🙂
Oh these are sweet looking berry empanadas-I want to make a batch for my grandkids-on my to bake list for sure Roxana-thanks for your inspiration;-)
I haven’t made empanadas from scratch yet – maybe this will be my first! They look irresistible!
These sound so yummy! I bet my kids would love them! Thanks for sharing!
These look absolutely divine! I love the mixture and taste profiles of cheeses and berries.
What does “1 egg yolked” mean? Yolk only? White only? Both, separated?
My apologies,
It’s 1 egg yolk. Just the yolk. Use the egg white for another recipe.
Hello is it only one berry in each empanada?Thank you
Hi Sabrina,
there are a few berries in each empanada. It depends how big you make them.
Hi Sabrina,
there are a few berries in each empanada. It depends how big you make them.
I made these this afternoon, and they came out fantastic! I did cheat a little, by using store-bought pie crust instead of making my own. Maybe because of that change, the filling was kind of lost in the crust. If you’re like me and use a premade crust (they sell them rolled up in little tubes), you might consider adding something to the filling to help bring it out. I’m thinking I should have used a little sprinkle of sugar over the berries, or a dash of cinnamon or something. Perhaps next time.
In any case, I rarely bake, and I still couldn’t be more pleased with the results of this recipe! Thank you so much for the idea!