empanada

American  

[em-puh-nah-duh, em-pah-nah-thah] / ˌɛm pəˈnɑ də, ˌɛm pɑˈnɑ ðɑ /

noun

Latin-American Cooking.

1. a turnover or mold of pastry filled with chopped or ground meat, vegetables, fruit, etc., and usually baked or fried.

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Etymology

Origin of empanada

First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin American Spanish, equivalent to em- em- ¹ + pan “bread” + -ada, feminine of -ado -ate ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

empanada

He wasn’t the only one who refused to trade his hot dog for an empanada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Last time I was there, it was the new-to-me Colombian spot, a Mexican empanada spot and a birria spot that sells it on top of pizza.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024

The show features some high-profile names in supporting roles, including Cyndi Lauper as a Broadway usher who moonlights as a private investigator and Marc Maron as the empanada shop’s landlord.

From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023

We discovered local speakers saying “meat” to refer specifically to “beef” – as in, “I’ll have one meat empanada and two chicken empanadas.”

From Scientific American ● Jun. 14, 2023

I point to the museum with my left hand while the empanada warms the fingers of my right hand.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi