Air Fryer Pastelillos

Pastelillos, empanadas, turnovers… you can call them whatever you’d like, but we love em! My husband is Puerto Rican and I’m lucky that my mother-in-law shares all her recipes with me and this is one that I make over and over and over again! They are SUPER easy to make (esp in the air fryer), you can freeze em to have for after school snacks and my boys can take down a dozen of these no problem! You can make them with so many different fillings – cheesesteak, buffalo chicken, taco meat, etc, but I’m sharing the basic ground beef filling I use. Traditionally, you would fry these in oil on the stovetop, but for a healthier take and less mess, I’ve adapted them to the air fryer.

Print Recipe

Air Fryer Pastelillos

A healthier and less mess take on pastelillos!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: hispanic

Keyword: air fryer

Servings: 4 people

Equipment

• saucepan
• air fryer

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 roma tomato chopped
• 1/2 green pepper finely chopped
• 1 handful cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 splash olive juice
• 1 tbs cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs black pepper
• 1 bayleaf
• 1 pkg Goya Frozen Empanadas Discos

Instructions

• Cook ground beef over medium-high heat in saucepan and season with salt and pepper, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
• When browned, drain off extras juices.
• Reduce heat to medium low and add the onion, garlic, tomato, green pepper, cilantro, tomato sauce, olive juice, cumin, and bay leaf. Stir to combine well.
• Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
• Place a thawed disc on plate and spoon beef mixture in the middle of the disc. Fold one side of the disc to the other and press edge with a fork to seal it.
• Repeat this step for however many pastelillos you'd like to make.
• Preheat air fryer to 370.
• Spray pastelillos with olive oil and cook in air fryer for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
• Let cool before eating bc these will be hot inside straight out of the air fryer!

Notes

I like to serve these with rice and beans and/or salad for a quick weeknight meal!  You can also freeze these for after-school snacks or another quick meal!

If you make these, be sure to tag me @jillianrosado so I can see! You can also find some of my meal plans HERE and all of my food posts HERE

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