How To Make Easy Breakfast Empanadas With Store-Bought Dough

If you're a fan of easy-to-make breakfast items like sandwiches and breakfast burritos, why not bake up a batch of empanadas to change up your quick morning meal? Using convenient store-bought dough makes it so much easier, whether you buy the dough disks packaged specially for empanadas or a prepared pie dough. You can fill your empanadas with all of your favorite breakfast flavors, both sweet and savory. Your imagination and pantry are the only constraints.

Store-bought empanada dough is very easy to use. Each circle is separated by a thin plastic sheet to prevent the dough from sticking. That sheet can also be used to hold the dough in your hand as you pinch the stuffed empanada closed, making quick work of sealing up the pockets. If empanada discs aren't available where you normally shop, you can substitute ready-to-use pie dough for a slightly different texture or even puff pastry instead. You'll need to cut circles from the dough yourself, or to make things easier, just cut the dough in squares. You can round off the pointy triangle when you fold the dough, or just have triangle-shaped empanadas.

The hardest part about making your breakfast empanadas might be deciding on the filling. Of course, there's no need to pick just one, because the dough packages contain a generous amount of discs. You might put scrambled eggs with a little cheese and chopped bacon together in an empanada, and don't forget to add seasoning like your favorite hot sauce or salsa. Another savory possibility is crumbled maple breakfast sausage with shredded zucchini and onions. Smoked salmon with capers and onions sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning could be a big hit, too. Or, take your tater tots out of the waffle iron and fold them up into an empanada for fun! Anything on your morning plate would be great wrapped in dough.

For sweet ideas, try a small scoop of frozen berries or cherries with a dollop of cream cheese. Mashed banana and walnuts, or diced apples with a bit of maple syrup would be delicious choices. You could sprinkle sweet empanadas with a bit of cinnamon sugar for extra crunch, too. After folding and sealing your empanada fillings, simply cook them according to the package instructions, and you have a great breakfast treat for a special occasion — or for taking on the road.