empanada

noun

em·​pa·​na·​da ˌem-pə-ˈnä-də How to pronounce empanada (audio)
: a turnover with a sweet or savory filling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Lay out the empanada shells, fill with them with 2 tablespoons of the ground beef. Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023 Even a simple guava empanada dazzles with the freshness of its fruit and proves a good foil for a cup of thick hot chocolate. Gary Shteyngart, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Dec. 2022 Their pescadillas were thin and shattering; Aguilar’s are puffy, nearly a masa empanada, encasing shrimp and tilapia in a marinade of tomato, onion, cilantro and oregano. Bill Addisonrestaurant Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2023 On the restaurant's website, Nunez, an Argentinian native, describes an empanada as the perfect finger food. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 21 Dec. 2022 That includes Venezuelan empanada food truck Que Rico, operated by the mother-daughter team of Jeannette Aragones and Jessica Hahn. Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, 31 July 2022 The dish seemed to take the best parts of a Mexican concha and a classic char siu bao — as if a sugar cookie had a kid with a baked empanada. Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Nov. 2022 In Buenos Aires, Melian would often come home from school and eat a leftover empanada. Luz Lazo, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2022 Some people don't know what an empanada is by looking at it, but people like them. Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 7 July 2022 See More

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.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of empanada was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near empanada

Cite this Entry

“Empanada.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empanada. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.

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