National Empanada Day
National Empanada Day on April 8 honors the hand-held stuffed pastry that conquered two continents — born in medieval Spain, carried across the Atlantic, reinvented a hundred ways in Latin America, and now beloved at every food truck, family kitchen, and bakery in the US. Savory, sweet, fried, baked, flaky, doughy — the empanada is Latin America's most perfect portable meal.
Why it matters
HAND-HELD HEAVEN!
It’s National Empanada Day. On April 8, America honors the most portable, adaptable, universally loved pastry in the Spanish-speaking world — medieval Spain’s gift to 20 Latin American countries, and now a staple of every major American city.
THE STORY
The empanada is old. The first known recipe appears in a 1520 Catalan cookbook, ‘Libre del Coch,’ by Ruperto de Nola — a recipe for ’empanadas de carne.’ But the technique is older still; stuffed pastries were common across medieval Spain, Portugal, and the Moorish Mediterranean, inspired by Persian samosas and the general medieval need to carry food that wouldn’t spoil.
The name tells the story: “empanada” comes from the Spanish “empanar” — to wrap in bread. The form is as simple as food gets: filling, wrapped in dough, sealed at the edge, cooked. Portable. Shareable. Works with whatever is on hand.
When Spanish colonists brought empanadas to the New World in the 16th-17th centuries, every country reinvented them. Argentina made them a national food. Colombia developed a cornmeal dough. Mexico called them “empanadas” but also fold them into their taqueria culture. Cuba made them smaller and sweeter. Chile made them massive and meat-heavy. Puerto Rico called them “pastelillos.” Every regional variation is defensibly authentic.
In the US, empanadas moved up the mainstream with the Latin American diaspora. Argentine and Colombian immigrants brought their versions in the 1960s-90s. Empanada food trucks are now a fixture in New York, Miami, LA, Chicago, and Houston. Goya sells 40 million empanada discs a year domestically. National Empanada Day, established informally in the 2010s, is the American recognition that this is now an American food too.
Give me empanadas or give me nothing.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT EMPANADA
Four technique fundamentals regardless of which country’s style you’re after:
Dough Matters
Flaky wheat (Argentine), cornmeal (Colombian), puff pastry (modern upscale), or plantain (Caribbean). The dough is half the personality — pick your country and commit.
Fold & Crimp
The ‘repulgue’ — that decorative rope-edge fold — seals the filling in. Every Argentine grandmother has her own crimping pattern. Not just cosmetic — it’s structural.
Dry Filling
Excess liquid = soggy dough = blowouts in the fryer. Filling should be moist but not wet. Let meat fillings cool completely before assembling.
Egg-Wash (if Baking)
Beaten egg brushed on before baking gives that deep golden shine. Skip if frying — the oil handles coloring. Never skip for a baked empanada.
REGIONAL EMPANADA STYLES
Six countries, six wildly different empanadas — each worth a pilgrimage:
DID YOU KNOW?!
Empanadas are in the Guinness record books.
The largest empanada ever made was produced in Yamba, Argentina, in 2012 — 20 meters long, weighed 3,200 pounds, fed 10,000 people. Local bakers used a specially-built oven tent.
Galicia has the ‘Empanada Day’ festival.
The Spanish region of Galicia (home of the galician empanada — tuna, flat, rectangular, served in slices) holds an annual Feria de la Empanada in the town of Bandeira every September.
Goya sells 40 million empanada discs a year.
Goya Foods — America’s largest Latin food brand — sells pre-made empanada dough discs (Goya Discos) in nearly every supermarket. 40 million packs annually, most to home cooks.
The ’empanada’ has a hundred cousins.
The stuffed-dough-pocket format is universal. Italian calzones, Indian samosas, Jewish knishes, Cornish pasties, Polish pierogi, Jamaican patties, Chinese jiaozi. Every culture invented one independently. Convergent food evolution.
READ & COOK
Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way
Francis Mallmann · 2009
Argentine master Mallmann’s cookbook includes the definitive Argentine beef empanada recipe. Not a beginner book, but every recipe rewards patience. Recipe yield: 24 empanadas.
Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes and Rituals
Mariana Velásquez · 2021
A beautiful tour of Colombian cooking including multiple empanada regional styles — corn-dough, plantain-dough, cheese-stuffed. Winner of two IACP awards.
Tortas, Tamales y Más (YouTube)
Latin American food culture
Spanish-language YouTube empanada-making videos from Latin American home cooks are a gold mine. Search ’empanadas caseras’ — you’ll find abuelas showing you every regional style.
PAIR IT WITH
Argentine Malbec (with beef empanadas) or a chicha morada (Peruvian purple corn drink) with sweet ones.
Chimichurri, aji, salsa roja, or chipotle crema. Empanadas need something to dip into. Non-negotiable.
Tango (Argentine), cumbia (Colombian), bolero (Cuban) — whatever country your empanada is from.
Netflix’s ‘Street Food: Latin America’ for empanada segments across multiple countries.
Fold, Fry, Share!
Tag us @celebrationnation with #NationalEmpanadaDay. Homemade, street-food, restaurant — bring us your empanadas.
How to celebrate
Find them; make them; share them:
- 🥟 Visit a Latin bakery or food truck. Every major American city has at least one outstanding empanada spot. Ask for the specialty of the house.
- 🌎 Try two different countries' styles. Argentine (baked, beef-and-olive) and Colombian (fried, cornmeal, chicken) are radically different. Taste both.
- 👩🍳 Make them at home. Goya sells frozen empanada discs in every supermarket. Stuff with whatever leftovers you have. Fold, crimp, fry.
- 🌶️ Bring the salsa. Every empanada needs a dipping sauce — chimichurri for Argentine, aji for Colombian, salsa roja for Mexican.
- 🎉 Host empanada night. Different fillings, a crowd, a bottle of Malbec. Instant party.
Celebration ideas by audience
For families
Empanada-making night: one person rolls, one fills, one crimps. Even 5-year-olds can crimp an edge. Great multi-generational kitchen activity.
For kids
Pizza empanadas (mozzarella + pepperoni + marinara) are a guaranteed kid win. Gateway empanada — they'll be trying beef-and-olive by high school.
For couples
Date-night order at an Argentine restaurant: empanadas + Malbec + chimichurri-grilled steak. Never fails.
At the office
Office lunch catered from a local empanada spot. Way more interesting than sandwiches; handles vegetarians easily.
At school
Great intro to Latin American cuisine in a social-studies or Spanish class. Each country's empanada = a lesson in regional identity.
In your community
Church or community fundraiser with homemade empanadas. Latin American churches have been doing this for a century; it's the most successful fundraiser format ever.
On your own
One from a food truck, eaten standing up, with hot sauce. Pure food-joy.
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