Baked Mushroom ala King Empanadas (Vegan)

Empanadas are one of those baked good that I grew up enjoying. My favourite growing up were ham and cheese or chicken empanadas my mom would always get for me at a local empanada store. I’d enjoy them after she’d pick me up from school as an afternoon snack or merienda. These vegan ones are filled with a mushroom ala king filling, basically a mushroom version of chicken ala king with a creamy base and veggies. This recipe really takes me back to my childhood and the best part is that they’re baked and vegan!One of my other childhood favourites was a baked chicken ala king dish over some steamed rice so I made more filling with the intention of having it with rice! So yes, you can also use the filling as a rice topping for a super hearty meal!

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup room temp. soy milk or other milk ((230g))
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ((35g))
• 1 tbsp oil or vegan butter
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 cans sliced button mushrooms (, total of 400g drained weight*)
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1 small carrot ((80g), makes 1/2 cup diced)
• 1 bell pepper or pimiento (diced)
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or more (to thin out mixture)
• 1/2 cup warm soy milk ((116g), or other milk)
• 3 tbsp olive or neutral oil
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour ((190g))
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder for colour (optional)
• 1.5 tbsp soy milk
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp olive or neutral oil

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Mushroom ala King ---
2. 2Mix the flour and milk in a bowl until the flour has dissolved. Set aside.
3. 3Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add in the vegan butter or oil. Once hot, sauté the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add in the mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes over high heat to get rid of excess liquid. Add in the peas, bell pepper, and carrots. Cook over medium high heat and then season with salt.
4. 4Mix the flour and milk mixture again to make sure the flour didn’t clump together. Pour in the flour and milk mixture to the mushrooms while constantly stirring over medium heat. Leave the mixture to thicken. Cook down the carrots while adding more vegetable broth to thin out the mixture and cook down the carrots.
5. 5Leave to cook for 4-5 minutes, mixing every minute or so, or until the carrots are tender. Turn off the heat and leave to mixture to cool if you’re using this as empanada filling. You can also prepare the filling the day before and refrigerate it until ready to use. This way the mixture will also thicken!
6. 6Alternatively, you can enjoy this over rice or even some cooked pasta for a hearty meal. Enjoy!
7. 7--- Preparing the Dough and Empanadas ---
8. 8Mix the milk and oil together. In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients together. Create a well in the center and then pour in the warm milk and oil while mixing. Keep mixing and kneading until you have a smooth ball of dough.
9. 9Shape the dough into a ball, then cover to prevent it from drying out if you won’t be working on the wrappers immediately.
10. 10Preheat your oven to 380F/200C.
11. 11Flour your work surface. Prepare a large round cylindrical cover or cookie cutter to create around 3.5” wrappers. Place the ball of dough on the surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. Cut the circles and then remove the excess dough. Shape the excess dough into a ball and roll out to create more wrappers.
12. 12Alternatively, you can also divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll them out individually into 3.5” wrappers.
13. 13Place 3/4 to 1 tbsp filling* in the centre of each wrapper. Be careful not to get any of the cream sauce into the edges, since this will make it hard to seal the edges.
14. 14Fold the wraps in half and pinch down to seal. Create small pleats (see video) if you’d like, or press down with a form to create a lined texture. Repeat this for the rest of the wrappers. Place the empanadas on al lined baking tray. I used parchment paper to line my tray.
15. 15--- Cooking the Empanadas ---
16. 16Mix the oil and cornstarch mixture together. Generously brush each empanada with the oil mixture.
17. 17Place the empanadas in the oven and cook 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the empanadas halfway through cooking to brush with more of the oil mixture, as needed.
18. 18Leave the empanadas to cool for a few minutes. Best enjoyed while hot! See storage tips in the notes below.