I love breakfast foods, but unless it’s Sunday after church, I’m not making a nice sit down breakfast. But, these Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs. Oh my gosh. So good. And so easy.
I had extra homemade pie crust to use up, but you could use store-bought pie crust in this make ahead breakfast recipe too. Both work no problem.
Once you make these, you can keep them in the freezer until you’re ready for them. Don’t worry, we go through that whole process.
When you’re ready for breakfast, just heat these breakfast empanadas in the air fryer — from frozen — and you’re ready to run out the door and start your day.
They’re really clean, too. None of the filling falls out (if you’re paying attention when you’re eating, anyway). I’ve taken these in the car, while Pete drove to the airport, and it was a really great way to have a warm breakfast on the go.
This is one of our favorite easy breakfast ideas. For more, check out all of our Grab And Go Breakfast Ideas.
Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs
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Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs ingredients:
- 4 slices bacon
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 oz. cheddar cheese
- Pie crust
How To Make Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs:
Cook your bacon in a skillet until it’s crispy. Set it aside on a paper towel to drain. When the bacon has cooled, crumble it.
Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon grease.
In a bowl, scramble together your eggs, milk, onion powder, and salt.
Heat that reserved tablespoon of bacon grease in a pan, then cook your eggs in it.
Put the scrambled eggs in a bowl. Add the crumbed bacon to the scrambled eggs. Shred the cheese into the mixture. Set aside to cool.
Roll out your pie crust until it is between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. (It’s easier to roll out if it is at room temperature.)
Lay a 5.5-inch bowl on top of the pie crust.
Carefully cut out a circle.
Fill the center of the pie circle with one-sixth of the scrambled egg filling.
Dip your finger in water and outline the edge of the pie circle.
Fold the pie circle in half.
Gently push down the edges with the end of a fork, making sure that the pie crust closes.
If you want, you could use a dough press to make the empanadas and it would speed the process up a little. But I don’t want you to feel like you need some fancy tool. We have a dough press, but I did these with a fork.
Continue until you’ve made six breakfast empanadas.
Put them on a cutting board or small cookie sheet in the freezer until the pie dough is completely cold, about two hours.
Transfer them into a freezer safe bag where they can stay for up to six months.
When you’re ready to eat the breakfast empanada, heat it in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 380 F. Flip it after five minutes.
If you want, you can add a drizzle of olive oil on both sides of the breakfast empanada before heating it in the air fryer. This is optional, but it does add a nice color to the outside of the breakfast empanada.
Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas: Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a cheese grater, I suggest you use it to shred cheese in any recipe where you want the cheese to actually melt.
Pre-shredded and bagged shredded cheese has preservatives and a coating to keep the pieces from clumping together. Those also prevent the cheese from melting. Blocks of cheese don’t have this issue, so shredded block cheese melts better.
If all you have is a bagged, shredded cheese, that’s fine to use. But cheese your shred yourself tastes better.
Buying pie crust is a lot easier than making homemade pie crust. And they both taste delicious. So if you’re like me and have a tried and true pie crust recipe, use it. But if you’re in a pinch or just don’t feel like making pie crust, just buy it.
Either way, you’ll want to make sure the pie crust is at room temperature. It’s a lot easier to roll out that way. If you try rolling out refrigerated pie crust, it takes a lot of effort and doesn’t get as thin as you need it for this recipe.
If you’re making these in a traditional basket-type air fryer, you can air fryer two at a time. You don’t want to overcrowd the air fryer basket. Doing so results in uneven cooking.
We heat these up in the air fryer because it’s so convenient. And, when you use the air fryer, you don’t have to clean up an entire pan or Dutch oven filled with oil.
But, if you would rather fry these in oil, we suggest using peanut oil. Peanut oil has a high smoke point. You can fry at a high temperature, giving your food a great coating with little oil absorption.
Peanut oil is expensive, but it’s better than frying in extra virgin olive oil, which could result in a pretty smoky kitchen.
If you do fry these breakfast empanadas, you’ll want to fry them for about two to three minutes on each side until the outside is a beautiful golden brown color.
Baked empanadas are easier because you can bake a bunch at once. But fried empanadas have a crunchy exterior that you just don’t get from a baked empanada.
Air fried empanadas are the best compromise between the two. They taste like fried empanadas, because they’re air fried, but they’re just as easy as baking.
Can you make vegetarian breakfast empanadas?
You absolutely can make vegetarian breakfast empanadas. Just follow this recipe, but leave out the bacon. Instead of cooking the eggs in bacon grease, add a pat of butter instead.
If you don’t feel like the breakfast empanadas will be filling enough with just cheese and eggs, you can add vegetables in place of the bacon.
Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas Varieties:
We love this bacon and egg version of breakfast empanadas, but that’s not the only combination you can stuff these empanadas with.
Greek Omelet Breakfast Empanadas: Sauté spinach and sliced grape tomatoes, then stir that into the egg mixture. Instead of cheddar cheese, use Feta cheese.
Sausage and Egg Breakfast Empanadas: Follow this recipe, but instead of making bacon, make breakfast sausage. Cut it into small pieces, then stir that into the egg and cheese mixture.
Vegan Breakfast Empanadas: If you want a vegan version, stuff your empanadas with potatoes and tempeh. Be sure to skip the egg and cheese. And if you’re using store-bought pie crust for this recipe, make sure it’s a vegan-friendly pie crust.
Veggie Lovers Breakfast Empanadas: Skip the bacon. Sauté onions and sweet peppers until they’re really soft. Stir them into the egg and cheese mixture.
What to serve with Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas?
You can eat these all by themselves, but if you want to serve something with them, we suggest our homemade home fries.
A side of fresh fruit, either plain or like these yogurt-covered grapes, goes really well with these too.
Want more air fryer recipes?
We love using our air fryer to make snacks and side dishes. Some of our favorites are:
Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs
Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas with bacon and eggs are an easy make ahead breakfast idea. Make them, freeze them, then heat when you're ready.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 oz. cheddar cheese
- Pie crust
Instructions
- Cook your bacon in a skillet until it’s crispy. Set it aside on a paper towel to drain. When the bacon has cooled, crumble it. Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon grease.
- In a bowl, scramble together your eggs, milk, onion powder, and salt. Heat that reserved tablespoon of bacon grease in a pan, then cook your eggs in it.
- Put the scrambled eggs in a bowl. Add the crumbed bacon to the scrambled eggs. Shred the cheese into the mixture. Set aside to cool.
- Roll out your pie crust until it is between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. (It’s easier to roll out if it is at room temperature.)
- Lay a 5.5-inch bowl on top of the pie crust. Carefully cut out a circle.
- Fill the center of the pie circle with one-sixth of the scrambled egg filling.
- Dip your finger in water and outline the edge of the pie circle. Fold the pie circle in half. Gently push down the edges with the end of a fork, making sure that the pie crust closes. Continue until you’ve made six breakfast empanadas.
- Put them on a cutting board or small cookie sheet in the freezer until the pie dough is completely cold, about two hours. Transfer them into a freezer safe bag where they can stay for up to six months.
- When you’re ready to eat the breakfast empanada, heat it in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 380 F. Flip it after five minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 245Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 111mgSodium 438mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 10g
Have you tried this Air Fryer Breakfast Empanadas recipe? Let us know in the comments.