Easy Pumpkin Empanadas with pie crust are sweetened with date paste, dairy free and can be on your dessert table in under 30 minutes. Perfect hand pies for autumn. Learn our hacks for sealing empanadas and recipe shortcuts. (Video and step by step included).
Spiced Pumpkin and Date Empanadas (hand pies) are like taking a bite of autumn without all the guilt. Delicately sweetened with date paste and baked instead of fried. Delicate flaky pie dough followed by a creamy spiced pumpkin bite that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Jump to:
- It’s Officially Pumpkin Everything Now!
- Why You Are Going to Love Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
- Portable Convenient Thanksgiving Hand Pies
- Traditional Pumpkin Pie vs Pumpkin Empanada?
- Time Saving Empanada Hacks
- How to Make Homemade Date Paste
- How to Make Pumpkin Empanadas
- Healthish Empanadas
- Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)
- More Autumn Desserts
- Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
It’s Officially Pumpkin Everything Now!
We have been busy baking our Healthy Pumpkin Muffins and Easy Pumpkin Empanadas. It’s this special time of the year that is cool enough to actually turn on the oven. We crave nourishing and warming spices and enjoy all that the fall harvest has to offer. A delicious bowl of comforting Roasted Chestnut Pumpkin Risotto is like getting a warm hug from your mom.
If you are getting ready to carve your pumpkin, do not throw out your seeds. The boys love Roasted Cajun Pumpkin Seeds even more than candy on Halloween. If you want a grab and go snack for work or school lunches be sure to try our Easy Roasted Pepitas.
Why You Are Going to Love Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
The first bite is like taking a bite into autumn as it has a of the flavors that remind you of the change of seasons. First the buttery, flaky and delicate crust is the first to hit your palate followed by the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, mace and nutmeg which is a perfect complement to the slightly sweet and spiced pumpkin.
The dates add another dimension of flavor and give this dessert a delicate natural sweetness just like our apple oatmeal date cookies. Delicious either hot out of the oven or at room temperature.
You can pick up a spiced pumpkin and date empanadas with one hand and have an Instant Pot Apple Cider (or something a little stronger for the adults) in the other. If you want to try a Spanish savory version of an empanada be sure to try our Beef Empanadas with our Spicy 5 Minute Chimichurri Sauce.
Portable Convenient Thanksgiving Hand Pies
These delicious mini pumpkin pies are not just for Thanksgiving but for any autumn or winter delicious treat. After all, you can be serving these little date sweetened desserts hot out of the oven in under 30 minutes flat. You got to love that!
The best part about these delicious dessert empanadas is their portability. All you need is one empty hand and you are good to go. If your family gatherings are anything like ours, there is not even a table large enough to sit everyone down for a proper pumpkin pie with messy whipped topping.
Whether you are sitting, standing or walking, everyone can enjoy a delicious bite of a portable pumpkin spice hand pie. They are also fantastic as a dessert to pass.
Traditional Pumpkin Pie vs Pumpkin Empanada?
Unlike baking a whole pumpkin pie that can take up to an hour to bake, our Easy Pumpkin Empanadas only take about 18 minutes to bake. Traditional whole pumpkin pies are made with a ton of sugar and lots of dairy.
Little hand pies can help with portion control. In addition, no plates to wash. We used NO REFINED sugar in our little mini pumpkin pies, but instead replaced it with natural date paste and a little honey. Dairy is not our friend. Instead, we used just a little non-dairy almond milk in the pumpkin mix.
So, there you have it! The main difference between a traditional pumpkin pie and a pumpkin empanada is that the hand pies are a heck of lot easier to make and a little healthier too.
Time Saving Empanada Hacks
- Use refrigerator pie dough in a box. They have 2 pie crusts and are usually around 14 oz (396 grams) for a box. If you need a gluten free pie crust, be sure to try Fearless Dining’s Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe. Please note that a gluten-free crust is more finicky than a regular crust to work with so be patients and roll between 2 sheets of waxed paper.
- Assemble your pumpkin hand pies in advance and freeze them before baking. Then, on the day that your guests arrive, you can bake them for about 25- 28 minutes straight from the freezer to the oven. They need a little extra time in the oven, if frozen.
- Buy and use pre-made pumpkin pie spice blend at the grocery store. (We have included a recipe if you choose to make your own below).
- Purchase date paste or make in advance at home and store in the refrigerator for all of your baking needs.
How to Make Homemade Date Paste
- Boil water enough to cover the dates
- Let dates set in hot water for about 15 minutes or just until softened.
- Drain water from dates but reserve the water to help thin out the paste. (
- Place dates in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
- Date paste can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for about 1 month. Date paste can last up to 6 months in the freezer in a freezer safe container or baggies.
- Consider making 2 cups worth so you can have extra on hand to add to your oatmeal and other baked treats.
How to Make Pumpkin Empanadas
- Mix plain pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice mix, salt, almond milk, honey and date paste until well incorporated.
- Roll out your pre-made refrigerator pie crusts a little thinner.
- Find a round bowl or large cup as your stencil and cut into circles. The size bowl we used was 5.5 inches (14 cm). You want your round stencil it to be big enough for your pie to fit in one hand but not so small that it is difficult to stuff and seal.
- Use your bowl or cup as a stencil and cut with a butter knife around.
- Egg wash the ends of the round circles to help seal the Easy Pumpkin Empanadas with Pie Crusts.
- Place about 1-2 tablespoons of date sweetened pumpkin pie filling over ½ of the pie crust. Keep at least 1 inch away from the sides. Do not overfill as it will be VERY difficult to close and seal the hand pie. The amount of pie filling needed for each depends on how big of a bowl stencil you used.
- Fold the empanada in half and press down with your fingers to seal around the edges.
- Next, either use your fork to crimp the edges and seal or use a fold over technique as shown in the video below.
- Use a fork to place a couple of holes in the top of the crust so the steam has some place to escape during the baking process.
- Brush the tops with a little egg wash and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- If you like you can eat plain on the go or with a little Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream on top.
Healthish Empanadas
Traditionally, empanadas are fried. Do you like fried foods or dealing with the aftermath in the kitchen? We thought not. Instead, we opted to bake to save on fat and calories and clean up was a snap.
Our Spiced Pumpkin filling is made without any refined sugar. Instead, we used natural date paste and a little raw honey to delicately sweeten the pumpkin. Refined sugars, like granulated sugars and brown sugars, can cause your glucose levels to spike and then crash. Dates are less likely to cause a spike in your blood glucose levels according to NIH.
In addition, dates are high in fiber, iron and most importantly are delicious. Did you know there are over 200 different types of dates? Wow! You can use whatever is convenient for you just make sure they are pitted so that it is less work for you. If you live near a Middle Eastern Market, they usually have date paste already made in packages. This is super convenient.
If you have Chinese Red dates, be sure to try our Goji Berry and Red Dates Herbal Tea or you can make jujube paste. The perfect tea to nourish your body and revitalize your blood during the change of seasons.
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Assemble your pumpkin hand pies in advance and freeze them BEFORE baking. Then, on the day that your guests arrive, you can bake them for about 25- 28 minutes straight from the freezer to the oven. They need a little extra time in the oven, if frozen.
Easy Pumpkin Empanadas can be enjoyed straight out of the oven or at room temperature. They can be kept at room temperature for 2 hours. Then, they can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days. We do not recommend freezing them after they are baked as they can get soggy.
Rewarm/bake in the oven at 350 F. degrees (176 degrees C) for about 7-10 minutes. You might want to put a little piece of aluminum foil over the top to prevent over browning.
More Autumn Desserts
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Dairy Free and Sugar Free)
Best Orange Almond Flourless Cake
Coconut Rice Pudding with Cardamon Spiced Honey Pears
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Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
Equipment
- baking sheet
Ingredients
Pumpkin Empanadas
- 14 oz pie crust dough pre-made refrigerator pie crust dough (found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Each package usually contains 2 individually wrapped crusts.)
- ⅓ cup flour all purpose to keep dough from sticking
- 15 oz pumpkin puree plain
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
recipe below - ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup date paste (about 16 dates (113 grams) or ½ cup tightly packed dates soaked in hot water for 15 minutes then pureed with ⅛ of the water until smooth)
- 3 tablespoon honey (or other sugar substitute of choice)
- 2 tablespoon almond milk or dairy free creamer
or dairy or non-dairy of choice - 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoon date sugar optional - for sugar cinnamon topping
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon optional - for sugar cinnamon topping
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice (skip if using store bought)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
dried ground - 2 teaspoon ginger
dried ground - ½ teaspoon cloves
dried ground - ½ teaspoon allspice
dried ground - ½ teaspoon mace
dried ground - ½ teaspoon nutmeg dried ground
Instructions
Make Pumpkin filling
- Pumpkin Spice: If using store bought or pre-made pumpkin pie spice, skip this step. If you want to make homemade pumpkin spice, add dried cinnamon, ginger, cloves, all spice, mace and nutmeg in a bowl. Reserve 2 teaspoons for recipe and store the remaining in a sealed container for up to one year.
- Date Paste: If using store bought or pre-made date paste, skip this step. If you want to make homemade date paste, check out our recipe. https://www.hwcmagazine.com/recipe/how-to-make-date-paste/
- Mix pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, salt, puree dates, honey and almond milk or dairy or non-dairy of choice together in a bowl until well incorporated. Set Aside
Assemble Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C)
- Open up refrigerated pie crusts. These come in a box in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. Generally speaking, there will be 2individually wrapped pie crust in each box. You will be using both of them. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Gently roll pie dough crust a little thinner.
- Find a round bowl or large cup as your stencil and cut into circles. The size bowl we used was 5.5 inches (14 cm). You want your round stencil it to be big enough for your pie to fit in one hand but not so small that it is difficult to stuff and seal.
- Use your bowl or cup as a stencil and cut around the edges with a butter knife. Remove excess dough. Roll all excess dough into a ball. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until all of the pie crust dough is used. Make as many round circles as you can with the pie dough. We made 10 circles.
- Brush beaten egg around the edge of the round pie crust dough circles. The egg will help seal the Easy Pumpkin Empanadas.
- Place about 1-2 tablespoons of date sweetened pumpkin pie filling over ½ of the pie crust. Keep at least 1 inch away from the sides. Do not overfill as it will be VERY difficult to close and seal the hand pie. The amount of pie filling needed for each depends on how big of a bowl stencil you used.
- Fold the empanada in half and press down with your fingers to seal around the edges.
- Next, either use your fork to crimp the edges and seal or use a fold over technique as shown in the video below.
- Use a fork to place a couple of holes in the top of the crust so the steam has some place to escape during the baking process.
- Brush the tops with a little egg wash and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- OPTIONAL: Mix date sugar (or alternative sweetener and cinnamon in a little bowl) Sprinkle pumpkin empanadas with a little date sugar and cinnamon, if desired.
- Enjoy! Can be served hot out of the oven or room temperature
Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen says
Your empanadas look excellent!! My grandma has made them my whole life growing up, but never like this - I love the ingredients you used. I love pumpkin in pretty much anything 😀
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you Kristi! It is a real twist on the original beef filled ingredients. i think actually these empanadas have so many possibilities with baked apples, cherries, pecans for the sweet but you could also take it on the savory side to try Moroccan chicken or even Indian potatoes and dals with a chutney. Have a super day. BAM
Sibella at bakingwithsibella.com says
This is such a great idea Bam! I love all the ingredients, spices and i bet dates and pumpkin go well together. I will have to give it a try!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Sibella. How is your drawing coming along? I can't wait to see what you bake this upcoming week in Sibella's Kitchen. Is is getting cold in Michigan? Any snow yet? Take Care, BAM
Sibella at bakingwithsibella.com says
My drawing is done. It is being auctioned on a FB page and proceeds will go to help needy families in my hometown in Bosnia. MI and IN are fairly warm for this time of the year. This weekend supposed to be around 60 F, but they say this is the last warm weekend until the spring. Talk soon! Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
What a beautiful charity event! Enjoy your last lovely weekend before the snow. Take Care, BAM
RecipeAdaptors says
Lovely recipe! My husband has been eating holiday food over the last few weekends - early recipe preparation for my blog 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you. I am sure your hubby is a very happy camper as you are such a wonderful cook. Take Care, BAM
Villy says
Perfectly shaped and perfectly baked! Very helpful photos!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you for your kind comments. You should see my camera, it is just full of flour and other food things from always having one hand cooking and one hand on the camera. I think I really need to invest in a tripod. Take care, BAM
rsmacaalay says
Wow those empanadas are perfectly shaped, love the filling
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hello Ray, thanks for your kind comment. I am going to try experimenting with some different fillings as this one was such a big hit with the teenagers. Take care, BAM
petit4chocolatier says
Oh My!! What a filling! Looks so good! I love the serves 10 and 1 hungry teenager; so true : )
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you! Do you have teenagers? Hmm maybe my serving options were incorrect. Maybe it should read something like this..."serves 10-20 adults and 1 hungry teenager for a light snack". Take care, BAM
petit4chocolatier says
My last child has just tipped past the teens, and he could have several snacks from a meal when he is here! Great post and quote! I loved it.
All You Do Is Eat says
Oh my goodness your empanadas look so perfect!! And what a delicious sounding filling! Wish I'd been there!
Healthy World Cuisine says
You are welcome to stop by any time. Healthy World Cuisine is always open...Take Care, BAM
All You Do Is Eat says
If only you were a liiittle bit closer..!!
yummychunklet says
What delicious looking pouches! The filling looks great.
Healthy World Cuisine says
I think there are so many possibilities for different fillings. Maybe apples and cinnamon, pecan or cherry. Whatever your family enjoys. Take care, BAM
ChgoJohn says
Buona Sera, BAM! These look really good, just the right size and the perfect golden brown. I'm sure that they taste of Autumn and I bet your kitchen's aroma matches the taste. I can see the guys grabbing a couple and heading back to the X-Box., to the game, or just about back to anything. Best of all, they're not terribly sweet. What a great little empanada!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Gratzie John! I found a little secret. If you don't give teenagers a plate they can usually only carry one empanada in each hand and head back to the game room. However, one of the more creative teenagers used his shirt tail as a carrying device to stock pile many back for the group. Now if I could just find away to lock the kitchen for their return runs back in the kitchen for seconds and third helpings. Until I get that sorted out, I highly recommend either doubling or tripling the recipe if you are serving teenagers. Take care, BAM
dianeskitchentable says
How do you continue to come up with such creative recipes - ALL THE TIME? Now this is something I'll have to make with & for my daughter. I know she'll love this one. And I do remember your beef empanadas. I'm wondering if you think they would freeze well. I'd love to have something like these & the beef made ahead & just whip out as if I spent all morning in the kitchen.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank You Diane. Your kind words made my day! I tested the concept of freezing these little spiced pumpkin and date empanadas and it works well. You can do it 2 different ways 1) Assemble the emapanadas but do not bake and put in freezer and then bake when you want them- much like the concept of the pre-made pies in the frozen food section. 2) Bake your empanadas in advance, let them completely cool and then freeze and reheat in the oven. I think option 1 works the best. Give it a try. Take care, BAM
dianeskitchentable says
I think I like the sounds of option 1 also, seems like it would taste fresher. Thanks.
Korena in the Kitchen says
I would gladly be a test guinea pig at your house if you fed me one of these! They look great, and such a nice treat without all the extra refined sugar. Good luck with your planning and preparation. Are you one of those people who starts their holiday shopping in August as well?!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Korena, you are welcome any time. Healthy World Cuisine is always open...
Oh Korena, I think you have set your expectations of me way too high... Holiday shopping on the night before usually is my style. If my family back at home wonders where their gifts are, I can always blame that slow moving" HK post tug boat" going from China to the States...as the reason behind the delay. Take care, BAM
cravesadventure says
These look sweet and savory - yumminess in a pocket:) Happy Tuesday!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Happy Tuesday or maybe it is now happy Wednesday where you live to you too. I must admit that I had to test just a few to make sure they met my specifications.
nancyc says
Those sound so good! What a unique recipe!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Nancy
Clare Cooks! says
What a great combination for the filling. Sounds delicious.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hello Clare, maybe we can brain storm together and find a way to make this recipe a gluten free option? any ideas for gluten free pie crusts? Take care, BAM
glitzgirlzglamourguide says
OMG these look and sound delicious! I love pumpkin in my food 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Fall is the perfect seasonal time to enjoy pumpkins. I was even able to find a pumpkin to carve here in Hong Kong so we were quite happy. Take care, BAM