Sausage & Potato Empanadas: 48 Make-Ahead Servings

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Make 48 sausage and potato empanadas in one batch and freeze for quick weeknight meals. Easy hand pies kids love. Freezer meals for daycare kids are my jam!

• Learn how to make 48 kid-friendly sausage and potato empanadas from scratch in 75 minutes, perfect for meal prep or freezer storage.
• Discover tips for adapting empanada fillings to satisfy picky eaters while keeping the recipe simple and budget-friendly.
• Get a step-by-step guide to preparing, filling, and baking empanadas so they turn out crispy and delicious every time.
• Find out how to freeze and reheat these handheld meals for quick weeknight dinners your family will actually eat.

Sausage Empanadas Recipe

One great way I avoid spending a ton of time in the kitchen every day is by making things ahead and freezing them. I make huge batches of muffins, pancakes, homemade bread, cookies, hot pockets, meatballs, sausage balls and other menu items and freeze them. I place enough of the item to feed us for one meal and store it in freezer bags.

Potato empanadas with sausage and cheese

Searching for some new kid-friendly delights that can be made ahead, I came across the idea of an empanada. Empanadas are like handheld fried pies. They have pie crust for the container and you fill them with savory items and bake them in the oven. They can be sweet as well, but for the purpose of a main dish for the childcare menu, I was looking for savory items.

I looked all over the internet and most empanada recipes used pie crust or a cornmeal crust, so I went with pie crust in order to make it as simple as possible with what I had on hand. I looked at all the fillings.

Most of them were ground beef with tomato of some sort. I really don’t care for cooked tomatoes, and they are messy, so I made up my own recipe with diced potatoes, sausage, and cheese. I made a bunch of them up, baked a tester batch, and froze the rest for baking later. These sausage empanadas were so good, we have been eating them ever since.

The kids LOVED them. At first they were like, say what? After I started eating mine, I told them they were sausage because I know how much they love sausage. Then one kid tried a bite and said yum, and in a few minutes, everyone was eating. That’s pretty unusual to have 100% participation on the first try, so I call that a giant victory.

I supplement many of my recipes with green powder. It’s a powder I made from taking any greens from the garden, such as arugula, Swiss chard, carrot tops, radish tops, leaves from broccoli, spinach, kale, or whatever we are growing that we didn’t get a chance to eat.

I dehydrate it and blend it into powder in the blender. I put it in jars and sprinkle it into food. About 2 tablespoons of green powder is a serving of greens. They have so much moisture, a lot of them shrinks down very small. No one can detect them. They look like herb flakes and you can’t taste them.  

I add them to scrambled eggs, casseroles, soups, sauces, spaghetti, and many other dishes. It adds nutrients without anyone knowing. For four batches of my empanada recipe, I added ½ cup or 4 servings of greens. Nutrients add up. 

I have wanted a Ninja for years and have been saving up for one. In fact, I didn’t even have a food processor before I got this. I am so excited to use it to save myself time. So, I used it for several steps of the recipe and it worked great.

First, I peeled the onions and cut the ends off and tossed them in the ninja food processor, I cut the end off the hot peppers and threw them in. I was able to throw the garlic in whole.

If you wanted to add some carrots or other veggies into the meat mixture for more nutrients, you could process those as well. I didn’t have to dice all of that up AND kids don’t like texture as a rule as much as adults, so it helped the onions and stuff disappear into the filling more. Sausage empanadas for kids are a great place to hide lots of veggies.

Freezer friendly empanadas

I made a quadruple batch for my freezer. For me, I figure if I’m going to get out the mess, I might as well make a lot. This saves so much time on clean up. If you’re getting everything out, get in it for the long haul. I am adding the recipe for one batch of empanadas and the recipe for 4 so you don’t have to figure up the ingredients if you want to fill the freezer with empanadas for your family.

For even more make-ahead freezer meals that you can prepare ahead, check out this post.

My empanadas did not turn out cute, I call them ugly empanadas, but they taste amazing. Taste is all that matters. If you make them 6 inches, the recipe makes about 10-12, but that’s a huge serving for a kid, so I made mine about 3-4 inches. I got about 20 per batch. 

When you make 20 of these sausage empanadas for kids, each one is a serving of meat, a serving of bread and half a serving of vegetables for the food program for a child age 3-4. For more breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas, click on the links and for whole grain and meat ideas, click on those links.

If you want the bread to meet the whole grain requirement, you can use 1/2 whole wheat flour in this recipe. I have not had great luck using whole wheat in pie crust though, so I haven’t used it.

Empanada filling ideas

I got up early and made all of the fillings before the kids got here. Then I rolled out one batch and baked them for lunch, and then rolled out and filled the rest at nap while they slept. I sat those in the freezer on a baking sheet. When they were frozen solid, after 2 hours, I put a dozen in each bag and put them back in the freezer.

I hope you enjoy these sausage empanadas for kids and make some for your family. You will love them. 

Pie Crust Empanadas

Flaky, tender pie crust for savory or sweet pies.

Servings: 12

• 2 ½ c. Flour
• ¼ tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 2 sticks 1 C Butter
• 5-6 T Ice Water

Instructions

1. Place flour, baking powder and salt in food processor
2. Pulse 3 times to mix
3. Add butter, cut into small pieces, and pulse until mixture is like coarse sand.
4. Add water 1 T. at a time until dough just begins to come together.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and work dough into a ball with as little kneading as possible.
6. Wrap tightly and chill for 30 minutes.
7. Continue with empanada instructions.

For more quick and easy freezer meals, check these out!

Blue and Gold Sausage Recipes

For more recipes with Blue and Gold Sausage, check these out:

• Rotel Dip with Real Cheese
• Sausage Tortellini Soup
• Sausage Balls without Bisquick
• Sausage Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Old Fashioned Sausage Gravy

For more potato recipes, check these out:

• Honey roasted root vegetables
• Zuppa Toscana
• Egg and potato casserole
• Air fryer smashed potatoes

For more empanada recipes, check these out.

Empanada Recipes: What You Need to Know

Empanadas are handheld pastries filled with savory or sweet ingredients. Although some empanada recipes use cornmeal dough or are fried, these sausage and potato empanadas are wrapped in homemade pie dough and baked until golden brown.

The filling combines cooked sausage, finely diced potatoes, onion, garlic, cheddar cheese, and seasonings. Let the cooked sausage and potato mixture cool before adding the cheese and filling the dough. A hot filling can soften the butter in the pastry and make the empanadas harder to shape.

Roll the dough as thinly as possible and cut it into approximately 4-inch circles or squares. Place about two tablespoons of filling in the center, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Avoid overfilling them, or the filling may escape while they bake.

This bulk recipe makes 48 servings, making it an excellent choice for meal prepping, feeding a group, or stocking the freezer.

Tips for Easy Freezer Meals for Picky Eaters

These sausage and potato empanadas contain familiar ingredients in a fun, handheld meal, making them one of our favorite easy freezer meals for picky eaters.

Finely dice the potatoes, onions, and other vegetables so the filling has a consistent texture. A food processor can make the onions, garlic, and peppers small enough to blend into the sausage mixture.

If your children are sensitive to spice, leave out the hot peppers or replace them with a mild vegetable. You can also begin with a simple sausage, potato, and cheese filling before introducing additional vegetables or seasonings.

To freeze the empanadas, arrange the unbaked pastries in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze them for approximately two hours or until solid. Transfer the frozen empanadas to freezer-safe containers or bags, separating layers with parchment paper when necessary.

Label the container with the name and baking instructions. Bake the frozen empanadas at 400°F for 30–40 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the center is thoroughly heated.

Tips, Variations, and Substitutions

• Keep the butter cold: Cold butter helps produce a tender, flaky crust. If the dough becomes warm or sticky, refrigerate it before rolling.
• Cool the filling: Allow the cooked sausage and potato mixture to cool before adding the cheese or placing it on the dough.
• Dice the potatoes finely: Pieces around ¼ inch cook more evenly and make the empanadas easier for children to eat.
• Do not overfill: Use approximately two tablespoons of filling and leave enough uncovered dough to create a secure seal.
• Seal the edges well: Fold the dough over the filling, press the edges together, and crimp or fold the border to keep the filling inside.
• Add an egg wash: Brush the empanadas with one egg whisked with one tablespoon of water for a shinier, more deeply browned crust.
• Change the cheese: Substitute Monterey Jack, Colby, mozzarella, or another good melting cheese for the cheddar.
• Try another meat: Ground beef, ground turkey, or cooked shredded chicken can replace the sausage.
• Add vegetables: Finely processed carrots, spinach, greens, mushrooms, or zucchini can be mixed into the filling.
• Make smaller servings: Cut smaller dough circles and use less filling to make child-sized empanadas. Watch them closely because smaller pastries may bake more quickly.
• Use prepared pie dough: Store-bought pie crust can save time when you do not want to make the dough from scratch.

Serving Suggestions

Serve sausage and potato empanadas warm as a handheld lunch, easy dinner, or filling snack. Pair them with fresh fruit and a simple vegetable for a balanced, kid-friendly meal.

For dipping, offer ranch dressing, mild cheese sauce, sour cream, or a simple homemade gravy. Older children and adults may enjoy them with salsa, hot sauce, or chimichurri.

Empanadas also pair well with:

• A green salad
• Steamed broccoli or green beans
• Corn
• Cucumber and tomato salad
• Applesauce or sliced fruit
• Roasted vegetables
• Vegetable soup

For daycare meals, allow the empanadas to cool slightly before serving and cut them into manageable pieces when needed. Because the filling can remain hot inside the crust, always check the center before giving them to young children.