Do you smell that warm apple pie filling?! You are going to want to reschedule your day to make the tastiest recipe for cinnamon apple empanadas in the air fryer! These delicious cinnamon apple fried pies with pie crust turn up a flaky crust and a warm apple filling – a happy marriage of homemade and store-bought!
Did you ever eat one of those super yummy caramel apple empanadas from Taco Bell? What about the fried apple pies at McDonalds? They are both really good, right? Well, these cinnamon apple empanadas in the air fryer is a blend of the two! There is no caramel, but the Turbinado sugar and the flaky crust combined with warm apples makes for a recipe worth repeating!
How to Make Apple Pie Empanadas the Easy Way
Truly, these apple pie empanadas are not only super easy, but they are super delicious! I’m going to show you how to make homemade cinnamon apple filling for pies that you will cook in the air fryer! Don’t have an air fryer? An oven will do you just fine! And what’s great is you will use Pillsbury pie dough to make these amazing air fryer apple fried pies.
In the recipe card below, you will see options for making apple pie empanadas in the air fryer and in the oven. Obviously, it’s not truly a fried apple pie if it is baked in the oven. But they are still amazing apple pie empanadas, regardless!
Previously, I did a taste test experiment for this recipe. Meaning, I made one batch in the air fryer and one batch in the oven. The cinnamon apple empanadas were better in the air fryer, in my opinion. They had more of a taste of a true fried apple pie. However, the oven baked “fried pies” are pretty darn good, too.
In the recipe card, the cook time seems like a lot (48 minutes). But that includes making the homemade cinnamon apple pie filling and then cooking the pies in three different batches in the air fryer.
The Best Apples for Cinnamon Apple Pie Filling
If you have the time and ability to use fresh apples for a homemade apple pie filling for your pies, I highly recommend it! It is really not difficult at all to make your own homemade apple filling.
While most any type of apple will work solo in this dessert, a mixture of apple varieties works very well.
- Granny Smith apples are a popular choice for apple crisp due to their tartness and firm texture, which hold up well during baking. They also pair well with the warm cinnamon.
- Honeycrisp apples are known for their crisp and juicy texture, as well as their natural sweetness. Known to be a bit sweeter than Granny Smith apples, they work great in combination with tart apples.
- You might also consider Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Gala apples which boast a firm texture and a good balance of sweetness and tartness.
However, time is a beast sometimes and canned pie fillings exist for a reason. If you need a shortcut, Libby apple pie filling might be your best friend!
Use Refrigerated Pie Crusts for Cinnamon Apple Empanadas
Dough for cinnamon apple empanadas is as easy as buying a package of Pillsbury pie dough. I use the refrigerated box with two roll-out pie crusts. Be sure to follow the directions of allowing the pie crusts to come to room temperature for about 15 minutes. If you attempt to work with the dough while it is still cold, it might be too brittle for handling.
We use an old plastic cup to cut out our dough circles. Sometimes when we lift them, they still get a bit out of shape, but it is perfectly fine as they are going to be folded up anyway.
Cinnamon Apple Empanadas in the Air Fryer (or Oven)
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
Cinnamon Apple Pie Filling
- 3 Apples chopped into small pieces; mixed variety of Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, etc.
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Pie Dough
- 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts thawed and at room temperature
- 1 container Cooking spray
Topping
- 1 Egg white Optional
- 1 tbsp Turbinado sugar Optional
Instructions
Homemade Apple Filling
- In a small saucepan, heat the apple pieces, brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves over low heat. Stir occasionally and continue to cook for approximately 15 minutes. Apples should be tender but not too soft. Allow to cool while you prepare the dough.
Pie Dough
- Allow two refrigerated or frozen store-bought pie crusts to come to room temperature as instructed on package.
- Once dough is at room temperature, roll out on clean surface.
- Using a four-inch round cookie cutter (or drinking cup), cut circles out of dough. (My two pie crusts usually yield 12 four-inch circles.)
Filling Apple Empanadas
- Using a small to medium sized cookie scoop, scoop one leveled scoop into the center of one circle of dough. Or you can add two measured tablespoons. (This is something you will have to judge for yourself depending on the size of cookie cutter/cup you used and the size of scoop you have.)
- Carefully fold over the top half of the dough circle to form a perfect half-moon shaped pie.
- With a fork, crimp the edges. (If filling starts to ooze out, you have too much filling. Remove some filling and proceed from there. Going forward, put a bit less filling in the other pies.)
- Continue to fill, fold over dough, and crimp the rest of the pies. Add 2-3 small slits into the top of the pies.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white over each empanada. Sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar, if desired.
If Using an Air Fryer
- Spray both sides of dough lightly with a cooking oil spray such as Pam.
- Carefully, place four pies into the basket of your air fryer. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you might be able to squeeze in fewer or more.) Do not allow the pies to touch or overlap.
- Cook in the air fryer for 6 minutes at 375°.
- Flip and cook for 6 minutes longer or until pies are nicely browned.
- Repeat with remaining pies.
If Using an Oven
- Spray two large cooking sheets with a spray oil such as Pam.
- Place 6 pies in each pan, ensuring pies to not touch.
- Bake each pan in 375° preheated oven for 6 minutes.
- Flip pies and cook for 6 minutes longer or until pies are nicely browned.
Topping Cinnamon Apple Empanadas
- Store leftover pies in an air-tight container. (I recommend storing them in the refrigerator for added freshness.)
Notes
Nutrition
More Great Recipes
I hope you love these air fryer fried pies as much as we do! Be sure to check out some of our other favorite pies! And if its more hand pies you are after, we highly recommend the blueberry mini pies below!
Coconut and Pineapple Cream Cheese Pie
Creamy Lemon Pie with Sour Cream
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