Empanadas are not strictly Argentinian. The folded-dough form is over 1,000 years old, traced to Moorish and Middle Eastern pastry traditions, codified in medieval Spain (especially Galicia), then carried to Latin America after 1492 where Argentina perfected its regional versions, helped along by Lebanese and Syrian migration to northern Argentina in the late 19th century.
1,000+
Years of folded-dough history
1492
Empanadas reached Latin America
Galicia
Spanish region that codified them
5
Argentum flavours, Argentinian style
It is one of the most common questions we hear, and one of the most argued. Ask someone from Argentina and they will tell you empanadas are Argentinian. Ask someone from Uruguay and they might politely disagree. Bring it up in Colombia and you will get a whole different story. Everyone claims them. Everyone is right. And also, not quite.
To really understand where empanadas come from, we need to go much further back than Latin America.
The word "empanada" gives it away
Empanada comes from the Spanish verb empanar, which literally means to wrap or coat in bread or dough. So from an etymology point of view, the concept is very simple: something tasty, wrapped in dough. That word is undeniably Spanish. But the idea behind it is much older.
Before Latin America, before Spain
Long before empanadas were debated over football matches and family lunches in Buenos Aires, similar filled pastries already existed across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. During the period of Arab rule in the Iberian peninsula, especially in Andalusia, food culture changed dramatically. Spices, slow-cooked meats, dried fruits, nuts and, most importantly, filled doughs became common.
The Moorish and Arab culinary tradition included pastries designed to:
- protect food
- preserve moisture
- travel well
Sound familiar? This influence is what eventually shaped early Spanish empanadas.
Empanadas arrive in Spain
By the middle ages, empanadas were firmly part of Spanish cuisine. They were often large, baked pies filled with fish, meat or vegetables, cut into portions and eaten by hand. Galicia, in the north of Spain, became especially famous for them, particularly seafood empanadas. From there, the concept spread across the country and evolved into smaller, individual versions. Then came the ships.
From Spain to Latin America
When Spain colonised the Americas, it didn't just bring language and religion. It brought recipes. Empanadas crossed the Atlantic and adapted fast: local meats replaced European ones, new spices were introduced, cooking techniques changed.
Every region made them their own. Baked, fried, spicy, sweet, folded differently, sealed differently. This is why Colombian empanadas look nothing like Argentinian ones, and why both are absolutely valid. (If you want a Sydney-side comparison, see the full guide to Argentinian food in Sydney.)
The Middle Eastern influence you don't hear about enough
Here's where the story gets even more interesting. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants arrived in Latin America, particularly in Argentina. They brought with them Fatayer: folded pastries filled with meat, spinach or cheese. If you've ever looked at an empanada and thought "this feels familiar", you're not wrong.
Fatayer and empanadas share similar dough concepts, folded and sealed shapes, and fillings designed to be juicy but contained. Over time, these traditions blended. The empanada didn't just come from somewhere. It absorbed influences along the way. Our own Habibi Yalla open-top empanada is a direct nod to this Arab-Argentinian heritage.
So, where are empanadas really from?
The honest answer: empanadas are a culinary traveller. They likely originated from Middle Eastern filled pastries, evolved in Spain under Arab influence, crossed the ocean with colonisation, and were reshaped again by immigration, local ingredients and regional identity in Latin America. Argentina didn't invent the empanada. But Argentina perfected its empanada.
Why this matters to us
At Argentum Empanadas, we don't believe food belongs to one flag. We believe it belongs to stories, migrations, shared tables, and evolution over time. Our empanadas are Argentinian in soul, but they carry a long, beautiful history in every fold. They're made in Bondi Beach by Pedro, an Argentinian who grew up eating empanadas the right way. Five flavours covering beef, chicken, three-cheese, vegan, and the open-top Arab-Argentinian style. See the range or read Pedro's story.
Frequently asked questions
Where do empanadas come from?
Empanadas trace back to Moorish and Middle Eastern filled-pastry traditions that shaped medieval Spanish cuisine, especially in Andalusia and Galicia. Spain carried the form to Latin America after 1492, where regional versions evolved. Argentina is the country most associated with empanadas today, but the form is older than any single country.
Are empanadas Argentinian?
Empanadas are most closely associated with Argentina, but they are not exclusively Argentinian. Argentinian empanadas have a specific style (thin wheat dough, baked, sealed with a decorative repulgue, region-specific fillings) that differs from Colombian, Chilean, Spanish, or Mexican versions. Argentina perfected its regional empanadas. It did not invent the form.
What is the origin of the word empanada?
The word "empanada" comes from the Spanish verb "empanar", which means to wrap or coat in bread or dough. The word is Spanish, but the form (savoury filling enclosed in pastry) is much older, with roots in Middle Eastern, North African, and Mediterranean cuisine that predates Spanish naming by centuries.
How old are empanadas?
The folded-dough form is at least a thousand years old. Filled pastries existed across the Middle East and Mediterranean well before the word "empanada" was coined in medieval Spain. The modern Argentinian empanada was shaped by Spanish colonisation in the 16th century and Lebanese and Syrian migration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Are empanadas Spanish?
Empanadas are Spanish by name and were widely eaten across medieval Spain, especially in Galicia. The Spanish version was typically a large baked pie cut into portions. The smaller, individual half-moon empanada is the form that travelled to Latin America and evolved into the modern Argentinian, Chilean, Colombian and Mexican empanadas.
What is the difference between Argentinian and Spanish empanadas?
Spanish empanadas (especially Galician) are typically larger baked pies sliced and shared, often filled with seafood, peppers and onion. Argentinian empanadas are smaller individual half-moons with a thin wheat dough, sealed with a decorative repulgue fold, baked, and filled with region-specific recipes built around beef, chicken, cheese or vegetables.
Are empanadas Latin American?
Empanadas are widely eaten across Latin America, with distinct regional styles in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere. The form arrived with Spanish colonisation after 1492 and was reshaped by local ingredients, indigenous traditions and later migrations. It is fair to call empanadas part of Latin American food culture, even though the form predates Latin America itself.
Keep reading on Argentum
- The full guide to Argentinian food in Sydney
- Empanadas near me in Sydney: delivery, pickup and markets
- Empanadas delivery in Sydney: everything you need to know
- From Buenos Aires to Bondi: the Argentum story
- High-protein meal prep in Sydney with empanadas
- Catering for 50 people in Sydney
- The honest guide to the best empanadas in Sydney
- Order the Chef's Box (20 empanadas, $85)
- Order the Carnivore pack of 12
- Order the Athlete pack of 12
- Order the Patagonia vegan pack of 12
- See the full range
- See catering packs from 20 to 100+
History you can eat
Five flavours, made in Bondi Beach, delivered frozen across Sydney. Argentinian in soul, with a thousand years of folded-dough history in every fold.
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1 comment
I love empanadas from Rio de la Plata (Uruguayos y Argentinos) but Bolivian empanadas are also the bomb.
Shukran ππΌπ₯ fatayers