Gluten Free Honey Baked Ham and Potato Empanadas. Healthy Honey Baked Ham and sweet potatoes stuffed and baked in gluten free dough with tasty spices! A great appetizer, snack, and comfort food made easy!
Bring on the HONEY Baked HAM SEASON!
Wait, let me back things up first. Did I ever tell you about the first time I tried an empanada? I was 12 and spending the summer in Brazil. It was pork and potato empanada (I don’t think honey ham exists in Brazil). And actually, Brazilians actually call empanadas, Empadas or Pastels. Either way, it’s a Spanish/Portuguese/Latin dish! But if you asked my kiwi husband, he’d call these MEAT PIES or HAND PIES. Back to my point here.
Ever since my first abroad trip, I’ve been a travel-a-holic and love remaking cultural dishes. In fact, it’s probably why I married a foreigner.
So today, I give you a new cultural creation! Honey Baked Ham and Potato Empanadas. Yes, ones that are stuffed with sweet ham and potato. You get my point here. And the truth is, I haven’t be able to enjoy these little stuffed pies (empanadas) for gosh… YEARS! Unless they were in my dreams, kidding..kinda. But alas, all that has changed. Oh yes, thank goodness!
Empanada – a savory stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried. Most empanadas contain meat/cheese/vegetable of some sort.
Thank goodness for new gluten free flours with a 1:1 ratio to that of wheat flour. Which means I can use them in place of favorite wheat flour recipes. Even ones that rise with yeast and create magical dough! Ahem… like EMPANADAS!
And thank goodness for healthier ingredients that can fill these little gluten free honey baked ham empanadas with more flavor and texture. I’ve caught your attention now, didn’t I?
Yep. the key to making one tasty gluten free empanada is to find the right filling. You need it to be sweet but savory. Not too messy, and just the right about of chewiness, never sticky.
I used Nektar Honey Crystals in place of sugar when making the gluten free dough for the empanadas and as you can see, I also used it as a dry sugar “rub” to make the honey baked ham part of the empanadas.
It’s easy, I promise! Just mix the dough, cover and let it rise (only took a few hours), roll it out, cut into 4 inch circles. Fill with a small sliced of ham rubbed in honey (or honey nektars), add some garlic, potato, and cheese if desired. Then fold dough in half, press the edges down, coat with a little butter or oil and more honey nektar/other seasonings, and bake!
I realize those instructions were really one big run on sentence, but hey, don’t judge my grammar, just look at the delicious pictures instead. 😉 ohhh…ahhh… honey baked ham empanadas!
Gluten Free Honey Baked Ham and Potato Empanadas
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
Description
Gluten Free Honey Baked Ham and Potato Empanadas. Healthy Honey Baked Ham and sweet potatoes stuffed and baked in gluten free dough with tasty spices! A great appetizer, snack, and comfort food made easy!
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups warmed almond milk (can use dairy milk)
- 1-2 tablespoon active dry yeast powder (gluten free)
- 1 tsp sugar (I use honey nektar crystals)
- 5 cups gluten free flour mix
- 1 tsp of kosher salt
- Olive oil
FILLING
- Minced garlic or garlic powder
- date sugar of raw sugar
- 4-6 oz of sliced honey ham
- ½ – ⅔ cup cooked mashed potato or sweet potato
- Olive oil or butter
- Optional cheddar or tomato sauce
- Optional additional seasonings such as black pepper, BBQ seasoning, etc.
- See instructions for how much to put in each empanada
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large bowl, combine your yeast, milk, and sugar. Mix gently and set aside for a few minutes to let it get active.
- Next combine your 4 cups of your flour with the milk/yeast mixture and add in your salt. It will be sticky at first but keep mixing. Add in a 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the other 1 cup of your dough and knead until it’s no longer sticky.
- Transfer dough into another bowl that’s lightly coated in olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let is rise for 1 to 2 hrs or until dough is doubled in size.
- Once dough is ready, prep another space for rolling. YOu can use a counter with flour or parchment paper on it.
- take a portion of the down and roll it out flat. Then cut into 4in by ¼ inch thick circles. I used the lid of a small container to measure size.
- add ¼ slice of ham, 1 small spoon of mashed potato, 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar or honey nektar, a pinch of garlic, and any other fillings you’d like to add, such as cheese or tomato. Make sure not to overfill.
- Then fold the dough over in half and press the ends closed.
- It should easily close. If it doesn’t or the dough breaks, you’d filled it too much.
- Do this for 14-15 more empanadas.
- Coat each empanada with a little butter or olive oil. Place on baking tray.
- Sprinkle with more sugar and a dash of any other seasonings such as pepper/garlic/sea salt.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until dough is lightly browned and edges are a tad crisp.
Notes
To make it paleo use cassava flour in place of gluten free flour.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Latin/American
Alright you cultural flare and holiday food loving folks. I know you have leftover mashed potato or sweet potato from Thanksgiving. I know you’re gonna go crazy for all things Christmas, and Holiday Honey Ham, and Holiday parties. I know you’re still wanting to eat healthy, but also wanting to enjoy good food. Because… tis the season for giving.. giving in a little perhaps? Haha.
And I know that you’re gonna wanna make these, because who can resist sweet and savory stuffed pies. I mean empanadas. I mean Pastels. Regardless what you call these, they are darn good!
Check out more ways you can use Nektar Honey Crystals on their site! Plus they are now available at Walmart, which I know everyone has near them, right? YAY!
Favorite way to use Honey baked ham?
Ever had an empanada? What kind? do tell!
It’s so cool how different regions have different versions of “pies” 🙂 Vietnamese cuisine has puff pasty stuffed with ground pork 🙂 one of my favorite little snacks.
Your photography is seriously one of a kind! So beautiful! And this looks delicious!
You are too good to me. Thanks friend
This is the first time I’ve heard of crystallized honey. It’s so convenient and no mess! I am a huge fan of empanatas and yours looks amazing!
oh elle! I think you’d love it! you should reach out to Nektar naturals!
You’ve been making the most incredible baked goodies lately Lindsay! I need these in my life now.
Thanks Alisa! Dairy free for the win!
I adore empanadas!! I haven’t had them in ages and these look amazing!! I think that I need to be your neighbor so I can help you taste test hehe
I think so too!
‘Comfort food made easy’- you won me over right at the beginning!
These look so adorable and delicious! I think they would make a great party app!
My thoughts exactly!! Party time
These look AMAZING! They’d be perfect to make ahead for Christmas breakfast. We always seem to be rushing that morning.
What a great idea!! Yes
Wow, these look amazing… and so creative! It’s making me miss living in NYC- we used to get empanadas at a little restaurant around the corner all the time. I don’t have any leftover ham but I still have plenty of leftover turkey and sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving. I think that would work too, right? Those honey crystals are very cool, by the way!
Oh I bet those nyc corner restaurant empanadas were legit!!
I’ve never had an empanada, but that needs to change! Those look amazing!
Come over and I will feed you!! No dairy
I’ve never made empanadas before, but these look easy enough and more importantly, totally delicious! What a great idea!
Super easy!! Keep me posted
OMG, this is such a beautiful pastry! It’s so interesting to know that you can make empanadas with gluten free ingredients so easily. And LOVE the honey ham!
This is so your style Maggie!! Maybe with beef or pork?
I’ve never ever had an empanada (I need to get out more eh?) but, in Sri Lanka (where the Portuguese settled too) we had “patties” which looked like empanadas and were fried with a meat and potato stuffing.
Lindsay – I’d rather eat your empanadas than any at a restaurant so I’m hoping a plane over! You are making me drool with these! They look delicious!
I’d rather you come to my house any day too!!! And I want to try patties
I am a HUGE empanada fan. I took a cooking class in Chile and learned the traditional way… then started adding stuff to the middle and the instructor was making odd faces. Whatever…
I think the Chileans would beat me for this
What a delicious idea! I actually have some left-over honey baked ham in my refrigerator from Thanksgiving. This is a great way to use it up!
Perfect!! You’re the best mom ever
GASP…I do not think I have ever had one…shame on me! Come to Nantucket and we can make them together with some DELISH wine of course! XOXO
Kinda like meatballs… So comforting
I’ve been using gluten free flour recently, and as I’ve some left, these delightful little MEAT PIES (I agree with your husband there hee hee 😉 ) would seem like a perfect option to use it up!
Hehe yes!! Meat pies are so much more real!
I love eating different cultural dishes but I actually don’t try making them that often- need to change that asap! PS So Jealous of you traveling to Brazil at 12!!!!
Yes! I traveled from 12-22! Crazy
I love empanadas, they are like Mexican pierogis! I swear you have some magic powers because I never thought it was possible to make a healthier and GF version of empanadas! You continue to amaze me 🙂
You always amaze me!
Oooh, yum!! I spent several weeks in Argentina one summer and had some great empanadas there. And ham is one of the few proteins my picky 5 year old will eat- she would love these!
Oh I bet those were magical!!
I first tried empanadas 3 years ago when I went to Puerto Rico for the first time. They are sooooo so good and this version sounds perfect for this time of year.
Will Miguel make me some real ones? Haha
This reminds me of the idea behind my enchiladas: the entirety of holiday dinner flavors in one bite! Alex and I are still getting over a bad empanada experience. Let’s just say that we found something that shouldn’t have been in there!
What??? I wanna know
To say these look and sound amazing would not be giving them the credit they deserve! I’d say I need these in my life, very soon 🙂
yes! do it! and they work well with cassava! i tried it that way too. p.s feel better. xxoo
Wow Brazil! I lived in Spain and worked in Mexico for awhile. You now just inspired a whole whirlwind of meals in me lady!
OMG yes! so make those dishes! can’t wait to see them when you do. YUM!