For the perfect empanada, you need to have the right accompaniments. This means that you should not only serve your empanadas with salsa and guacamole but also with some delicious sides to round out your meal.
Here are some great side dishes for empanadas below
18 Best Side Dishes For Empanadas
1. Potato salad
This dish is especially good if you’re serving your empanadas at a picnic or BBQ. You can make it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge until you need it. Potato salad is also very easy to transport—just pack it into a container or plastic bag and go!
A potato salad is another traditional accompaniment for empanadas and other Latin American favorites like tacos and burritos. To make potato salad, boil potatoes until they’re tender but still firm enough to hold their shape when sliced into thick wedges; then toss them with chopped hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, or sour cream, minced onion, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
2. Pasta salad
Pasta salad is another great side for an outdoor party or picnic because it travels well and tastes great cold. It’s also easy to make, so you won’t have any trouble making enough for everyone!
3. Salsa Fresca
The perfect pairing for empanadas is salsa Fresca. It’s easy to make and takes just minutes to prepare. All you need is a few tomatoes (we recommend Roma or San Marzano), half an onion, garlic cloves, cilantro leaves, salt, and pepper. Chop up everything into small pieces then mix together in a bowl until combined. That’s it!
4. Rice
Empanadas are often served with rice as well as beans or plantains on the side—this gives your guests something to mop up all the delicious juices left behind after finishing their meal. You can prepare rice however you like—we recommend cooking it in chicken stock for extra flavor!
5. Fried Plantains
Plantains are another popular side dish in South American countries. They are great for soaking up the juices from meat and seafood empanadas, as well as for cutting through all that hearty cheese. Plantains are usually cooked in some sort of fat—we prefer lard or a mix of butter and oil.
6. Salsa Verde
This green sauce is made with tomatillos and herbs, making it a perfect pairing for empanadas. It can be served alongside the empanadas or used as a dipping sauce for those who like to eat their food with their hands!
It’s made from tomatillos and jalapeño peppers, which gives it a nice spicy kick to go along with the sweet flavor of the tomatillos. To make this recipe you’ll need about 8 medium-sized tomatillos, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves, and 2 small white onions, chopped. Add these ingredients to a blender or food processor along with 1-2 jalapeños depending on how spicy you want your salsa to be, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth then pour into a bowl and serve with your empanadas!
7. Mexican Street Corn Salad
A salad that’s full of fresh corn, tomatoes, and onions makes a delicious side dish to any meal — especially one that includes fried food! This recipe is sure to impress your family and friends with its unique combination of flavors and textures.
This salad is super easy to make and has tons of flavor thanks to its combination of sweet corn kernels and spicy coriander seeds (also known as cilantro seeds). Make sure not to confuse cilantro seeds with cilantro leaves; cilantro seeds look like tiny brown seeds while cilantro leaves are the non-spicy green part of the herb. To make this Mexican street corn salad you’ll need about 8 cups of fresh corn kernels, 1 cup of cilantro leaves, and 1 small onion, diced. Add your chopped vegetables to a large bowl along with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate large bowl mix 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons vinegar, and 2 teaspoons honey together then pour into the bowl with your vegetables.
8. Qdoba Queso
If you’ve ever eaten at Qdoba Mexican Grill, you know that the queso is one of their signature dishes. It’s a thick, gooey cheese dip that’s usually served in a small bowl with tortilla chips or baguette slices.
I love queso. If you’re like me, and you love queso, you need to try this stuff. It’s basically melted cheese and chiles, but it’s so much more than that. It’s creamy, spicy, and so good that I could eat it with a spoon.
9. Creamy Strawberry Salsa
This is a simple salsa made from strawberries and jalapeños. It has just enough heat to give it some kick, but not enough to burn your mouth off. I like it best when served with chips or on top of tacos or empanadas.
10. Corn on the Cob
Corn on the cob is one of those foods that go well with just about anything. It’s sweet and juicy, so it helps balance out the other elements in your meal. You can put it on your plate next to an empanada and watch as the sweetness from both sides perfectly complements one another.
11. Black Beans and Rice
Rice and beans are two staples in Latin American cuisine. They’re easy to make and they pair nicely with just about everything else you might be eating at dinner time, especially if you eat meatless meals more often than not (and who doesn’t?). Black beans are versatile enough to go along with almost any kind of meat or seafood dish, while rice is great for soaking up the sauce from chicken or beef empanadas.
12. Mexican Coleslaw
This coleslaw recipe is both tasty and easy to prepare. It goes well with almost any type of empanada, especially the ones filled with beef or chicken. It’s also a great dish for picnics, barbecues, and other outdoor events where it’s nice to have something light on the stomach.
13. Guacamole
If you love Mexican food as much as I do, then guacamole is another must-have side dish for your next party. Its creamy texture makes it an excellent accompaniment to any type of empanada filling, especially those made with chicken or beef. Guacamole goes well with tortilla chips too!
14. Avocado Tomato Salad
This is a great dish to serve as a side to any meal. It’s quick and easy to make, but it packs a lot of flavors. The salad is made with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro, which are mixed together with olive oil and lime juice for an amazing taste experience. The best part about this recipe is that it can be made in just 15 minutes!
15. Cilantro Lime Rice
Rice is a staple in most Latin American countries, so you will often see it served as a side dish with many meals. This particular rice recipe combines fresh tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice to create an amazing taste experience that will compliment any meal or dish perfectly!
16. Sweet Potato Fries
These sweet potato fries are something different from the traditional French fries you might be used to seeing at home or at restaurants. They’re baked instead of deep-fried, which means they’re healthier than most other types of fries out there! And they’re delicious too! Sweet potatoes are full of vitamins A and C (and many more nutrients), so you’ll want to give these sweet potatoes a try!
17. Refried Beans
Refried beans are a staple of Mexican cuisine, and they make the perfect side dish for empanadas. They are easy to make at home; all you need is a can of pinto beans and some lard or vegetable oil. The trick is to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. You can use a high-heat oil like sunflower or safflower, but lard makes them taste better. Add the beans to a large pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Add salt towards the end of cooking time if desired. Drain well before serving in your empanadas!
18. Sweet Corn Cakes
Sweet corn cakes are another Mexican staple that pairs well with empanadas. To make sweet corn cakes, pulse fresh kernels of sweet corn in a food processor until they form a paste, then stir in an egg and some all-purpose flour to form patties that can be fried or baked.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of side dishes for empanadas. We know that making empanadas is a process that takes time and attention, so we wanted to make sure you had plenty of ideas for tasty accompaniments to bring your meal to the next level!
