empanada

noun em·pa·na·da \ ˌem-pə-ˈnä-də \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of empanada

: a turnover with a sweet or savory filling

Recent Examples of empanada from the Web

The Taste of Jamaica ($19.99) plates up a little bit of everything: jerk chicken, pulled jerk pork, a beef empanada, callaloo, sweet plantains, white rice and black beans.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Bahama Breeze's Reggae Fest promises special food, drink, music at restaurants," 29 June 2018
Livery Order every empanada -- chefs make six varieties from scratch -- and kick back with a rosé sangria on the cushy rooftop deck.

— liz biro, Indianapolis Star, "These rooftop bars and restaurants will help you live your best summer," 18 June 2018
See step-by-step instructions here and get the chicken empanadas recipe here.

— elyssa goldberg, Bon Appetit, "80 Dishes to Bring to an Outdoor Party," 6 June 2018
On the menu: The wide variety of dishes from 14 vendors include wine and craft cocktails, empanadas, barbecue, raw seafood, smoothies, poke and Vietnamese food....

— ann maloney, NOLA.com, "Pythian Market dishes out food from around the world: Opening alert," 1 June 2018
The food features the local delights: empanadas (delicious typical meat pies cooked in mud-ovens), and carbonada (typical meat, squash and corn stew served inside a pumpkin).

— maita barrenechea, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to South America," 5 Oct. 2016
Empanadas Close cousin to the hand pie is the empanada.

— alex van buren, Health.com, "10 Snacks a Food Writer Packs for Day Hikes and Car Trips," 6 June 2018
The Denton menu is relatively small, with a handful of empanada (both savory and sweet) and taco choices (for carnivores and vegetarians), a couple of sandwiches, yuca fries, daily specials and more, as well as aguas frescas, beer and wine drinks.

— robert philpot, star-telegram, "A Denton fave is bringing its Latin American street food to Keller | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 21 May 2018
Don’t miss the panades ($5.95), which are basically fried empanada-like dumplings that come with fizzy pickled cabbage that offsets their carb-tastic richness.

— michael nagrant, RedEye Chicago, "A guide to eating your way through Chicago's South Side," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'empanada.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of empanada

American Spanish, from Spanish, feminine of empanado, past participle of empanar to bread, from em- (from Latin in-) + pan bread, from Latin panis — more at food

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1866

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year