Our Pumpkin Empanadas are copycat recipe of one of our favorite taco chains, Taco Time. Taco Time is a Pacific Northwest Taco chain. Our copycat pumpkin empanadas are made with a flour tortilla and are extremely easy kid-friendly dessert for the fall. We highly recommend dipping these empanadas in whipped cream!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
- Cream Cheese
- Sugar
- Pumpkin Puree
- Vanilla
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Flour Tortillas
- Cinnamon
Equipment Needed
- Mixing Bowls – these bowls come in 3 sizes and are used for mixing and serving.
- Stock Pot – a great pot for making soup or deep frying your empanadas.
- Tongs – these tongs are great for pulling your empanadas out of the hot oil.
How to Make Pumpkin Empanadas
- Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add in pumpkin, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Place ⅓ of mixture into the center of each tortilla. Spread around the whole tortilla getting ½ inch from the edge of the tortilla.
- Place ⅓ of mixture into the center of each tortilla. Spread around the whole tortilla getting ½ inch from the edge of the tortilla.
- Roll up carefully and secure with a toothpick.
- Place each empanada into a pan full of vegetable or canola oil that is heated to 325 -350℉.
- Fry until golden brown, turning so both sides cook.
- Place on a paper towel to drain grease.
- Remove toothpick after frying.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a plate with sides.
- Roll the hot empanada in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated on all sides.
- Top the empanada with whipped cream, or you can dip it in the whipped cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
An empanada is a Latin American pastry turnover that can be filled with a variety of ingredients. They are either baked or fried. Empanadas are usually shaped into a half moon. They are filled with delicious filling and folded over with the edges pinched tight. The sizes vary from bite-sized to Calzone size. We made this
The authentic empanadas are made with a savory dough. The dough is softer using milk instead of water. It is the dough they use for traditional empanadas.Some people that don’t want to use a tortilla or make their own dough for empanadas will often use a puff pastry dough. There are many shortcuts you can take and still enjoy the delicious empanada taste.
The options are endless on what you can stuff into your empanada. Some of our favorite fillings for sweet empanadas are cherry pie, apple pie, jam (any flavor), and Nutella. For savory empanadas, we like cheese, meat, and seafood fillings.
You can bake the empanada instead of frying. Deep frying is the traditional way to prepare an empanada. But baking would be a healthier option. To bake an empanada, you will need to heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush the empanadas with oil before baking. Place them all on a parchment lined baking sheet. For meat and cheese empanadas, you can coat the dough with an egg wash before baking. Bake until golden brown and heated through.
Explore More Delicious Pumpkin-Flavored Snacks
We absolutely love pumpkin recipes, especially in the fall and winter. Check out our comprehensive collection of pumpkin recipes here.
- 4-Ingredient Pumpkin Dip
- Pumpkin Pie Truffles
- Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites
- Pumpkin Spice Muddy Buddies
- Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies
- Roasted Pumpkin Spice Almonds
Pumpkin Empanadas
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 package, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 8 large flour tortillas, ( 8 or 9 inch)
Sugar Coating
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅙ cup cinnamon
Equipment
Instructions
- Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add in pumpkin, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Place ⅓ of mixture into the center of each tortilla. Spread around the whole tortilla getting ½ inch from the edge of the tortilla.
- Place ⅓ of mixture into the center of each tortilla. Spread around the whole tortilla getting ½ inch from the edge of the tortilla.
- Roll up carefully and secure with a toothpick.
- Place each empanada into a pan full of vegetable or canola oil that is heated to 325 -350℉.
- Fry until golden brown, turning so both sides cook.
- Place on a paper towel to drain grease.
- Remove toothpick after frying.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a plate with sides.
- Roll the hot empanada in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated on all sides.
- Top the empanada with whipped cream, or you can dip it in the whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Video
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Wow, those looks extremely delicious! Have never used pumpkin in that Way befare. Thank you so much for the recipe, and have a beautiful day
I’ve never had Taco Time, but this looks delicious~
oh my gosh! got to try these! have a whole pumpkin to use up! sounds delish. found your site through eatcake for dinner who has the most delicious stuff and now i see you do too…ugh! my poor waistband :/ lol
I have never heard of that either, but these look super incredible! Pumpkin and frying…YUM!!!
Yes, I also haven’t heard of Taco Time but these look so delicious.
Sound delicious but now have to figure out how to bake them because I don’t deep fry anything.
Taco Time is a restaurant similar to Taco Bell.
oooo eeee! These look delicioso!
OMG I am sooooooooooo making these this weekend! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
You can bake them too! Place them in a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and moisten them with water on your fingertips. Just enough so that when you roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture it will stick to the tortilla.
Small can or large can of pumpkin?
OMG! These were delicious!
Mmm I love their Cherry empanadas. Now, I’d love to have that recipe…maybe just a can of cherry pie filling (maybe add some almond extract)?
The recipe calls for 1 cup so a small can will be plenty.
o.k. I have about 1 c leftover pumpkin from another recipe, but I can’t believe that if you roll them up like those in photo, the filling just doesn’t melt or leak or run out ? Have you folded them burrito/eggroll/or envelope style ? You know…sides in and then roll? Would that be better ? Or can you assure me it won’t leak ? I just don’t want to waste anything…effort or products.
These look soooo good. Gotta try them!
Sadly, I have never tried a pumpkin empanada from Taco Time. These look amazing! I think it’s about time I tried them! 🙂
Holy Moly these look good! I’m pinning the recipe to my sweets board. Thank you for sharing them.
Those look delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Glad I found your site, the recipe index is fantastic!
I just made these. They are delicious!!!
hi! Happy Thanksgiving! You are being featured today and Nap-Time Creations Thanksgiving features.
Hi! why are you calling this empanadas?… Cause empanadas are from my country (Argentina) and these are NOT empanadas at all!
My mom owned and operated a Taco Time for over 20 years. She has retired now and I live in Texas where we don’t have Taco Times. I miss it so much. This recipe sounds deliciouse. We just might have to try it.
I used to work at Taco Time when I lived in Montana and all we used to make these was a can of the pre-made pumpkin pie filling. We put a scoop of the filling in the tortilla, roll it up and then fry it. Serve with some whip cream and presto! They are so delicious!
Ive never heard of taco Time,but these look amazing!
I made these tonight and WOW they taste awesome! I just had 3/4 of the cream cheese block and didn’t have pumpkin spice. But they were still yummy! We dipped them into lite cool whip mmm mmm. I’ve tried a few dinners from this site and all have been a hit. This was a first dessert recipe I’ve baked. Thanks again sisters for helping me change up the house hold dinner menu!!
How long can you make these ahead of time? Can you make them a day ahead?
You can make them a day ahead. Just store them in a container in the fridge.
OH NO where near Taco Bell! Taco Time = Much better!! I worked there a long time ago! But I wonder if you can get a copy of their awesome tacos….
I loved TT!
Fold the sides in first then wrap them like a burrito. I also freeze them before frying so they wont ooze out before being done.
Do u have to serve these warm? Or do you let them cool?
We like them warm, but you can easily place them in the fridge and eat them when cooled. We have even reheated leftovers in the microwave and they are still delicious.
I was wondering how you would cook them in an air fryer. What temperature and how long?
Hi Haley. These empanadas are a favorite, but we have not yet tried them in the air fryer. So we don’t have details on what temp and how long to cook them.