While looking for the best empanadas in Medellin is almost impossible as you can find these greasy snacks basically on every street corner, we did our best to find empanadas vendors and shops that serve either exceptional quality empanadas or empanadas that are simply different from the rest.
During this research, we came to the conclusion that when you order empanadas at restaurants, you always get freshly deep-fried empanadas, while street food vendors and empanadas shops often deep-fry their empanadas in bulk and you might have the chance to get a lukewarm, less crispy empanada.
But no matter how many times we tried these South-American snacks, in the end, they are always satisfying. With that being said, let’s jump to what we believe are some of the most exciting and best empanadas in Medellin.
The best empanadas in Medellin are:
1. Empanadas (2,100 COP) – Empanadas Boomerang
Arguably the best empanadas in Medellin can be found at Empanadas Boomerang. This little diner is specialized in a handful of deep-fried Colombian snacks, which includes their hugely popular Empanadas (2,100 COP) and their seriously tasty Pastel de Pollo (3,300 COP).
What makes their empanadas so tasty is the fact that the empanadas are richly filled with shredded beef which is well-flavoured and the fact that the empanadas are not so greasy. We were lucky enough to receive empanadas that were still warm, as some reviews on the internet describe them otherwise.
As mentioned, make sure to try their Pastel de Pollo as well. Similar to the empanadas, these pastels are richly filled and not greasy on the outside.
What makes both the empanadas and the pastels even better is that they are served with plenty of sauces and most importantly: a spicy aji.
Adding a teaspoon of aji to every bite simply brings both the empanadas and the pastels flavour-wise to the next level.
Dishes such as the Palitos de Queso (2,000 COP) are served with sweet sauces.
Arguably the best empanadas in Medellin at Boomerang!
The Pastel de Pollo is also highly recommended!
Plenty of spicinesses to add to both the empanadas and pastels.
2. Empanada Carne (2,400 COP) – Empanadas El Machetico
One of my personal favourite empanadas in Medellin can be found at Empanadas El Machetico, which is a hugely popular empanadas specialist with several branches spread over the city. My favourite go-to is the one at El Poblado, close to the nightlife area (and perfect for an after-party snack).
Aside from their Empanada Carne, they do offer a handful of other typical Colombian deep-fried items, but the main attractions are the empanadas.
The filling of the empanada is well-flavoured with plenty of shredded meat, while the outside is crispy, and a bit greasy, but oh-so-satisfying.
The empanadas come with a slightly spicy aji, which you can make more sour and fresh with the complimentary slices of lime. The shop at El Poblado does not have a seating area, you simply devour these large empanadas at the counter or on the streets.
Empanada Carne (2,400 COP)
The rich filling of the empanada de carne.
3. Empanada (2,200 COP) – Empanadas Las Calidosas
Perhaps the biggest surprise when testing the best empanadas in Medellin is Empanadas Las Calidosas. Although recommended by other sites and platforms, it did not have the highest ratings.
But when visiting this shop that is located near Parque Belén, we immediately noticed the popularity of this empanadas shop.
The menu is, like all the other shops, limited and the main reason people stop by is to try either the Empanada (2,200 COP), Pastel de Pollo (3,200 COP) or their Papa Carne (2,100 COP). All of them are seriously tasty, but for the purpose of this article, we focus on the empanada.
The empanada is probably the smallest of all empanadas listed here but is completely stuffed with well-flavoured, shredded meat.
The dough-meat ratio is therefore ideal. The temperature of the empanadas was perfect: still warm but not too hot that you have to wait before you can eat.
And here comes the best part: the aji (spicy dipping sauce) was actually really spicy. As a spicy-lover myself, this was like the cherry on the cake.
There are other sauces available to cover the deep-fried snacks they serve here in, though. Is it as good as the legendary empanadas shops listed above? We believe that it’s most definitely a top-three-material.
Not the largest, but definitely some of the tastiest empanadas in Medellin!
Richly filled empanadas, for only 2,200 COP.
4. Empanadas (1,800 – 2,600 COP) – Empanadas La Catedral
This small empanada joint with two shops in the city is serving some of the most popular empanadas in Medellin. The concept is simple: there are four different types of empanadas available, namely Tradicional (1,800 COP), Desmechada (2,600 COP), Pollo (2,300 COP) and the Gaseosa (2,000 COP) and these empanadas are made in bulk, so you have them in your hands within a minute.
The empanadas at Empanadas La Catedral are huge and that’s what’s making it such a popular place.
You can choose between different sauces and a no-brainer is ordering these huge empanadas with both guacamole and a spicy aji.
While the majority of the customers order the empanadas to-go, you have the possibility to eat these giant, greasy, crispy half-moons in front of the shop, although there are limited seatings. From the limited options, my personal favourite is the Desmechada, which has plenty of meat, although all fillings were surprisingly satisfying.
The only downside is that you might end up with a lukewarm empanada because they make them in bulk as described in the introduction.
The empanadas at La Catedral are HUGE!
Richly filled empanadas. Desmechada-filling is my favourite!
Three different empanadas FLTR: Tradicional, Desmechada, Pollo
5. Empanada de Carne (2,400 COP) – Empanadas Krokantes
If you’re fed up with standard empanadas fillings, you always have the option to visit Empanadas Krokantes.
This popular empanadas specialist has several branches in Medellin and offers exciting fillings such as a typical “paisa” filling, Hawaii filling and the spicy Desmechada filling.
For the purpose of this test, we choose the classic Empanada de Carne, to make a good comparison with the other empanadas listed in this article. You can choose between a large variety of sauces, in fact, the most of all empanadas shops we’ve tested.
Especially the spicy mayonnaise goes really well with the empanadas. The empanadas are richly filled and taste well.
The only negative thing we could find out is that the crispy dough had hard bits where the empanada was folded. Other than that, Empanadas Krokantes is an excellent place to try out (different types of) empanadas.
Empanada Carne at Empanadas Krokantes.
All sorts of deep-fried deliciousness.
Do you want to know more about the Colombian gastronomy? Check out our article about what to eat in Colombia, which is an extensive article that covers the basics of the Colombian cuisine as well as many dishes you should try in each culinary region of Colombia. If you’re solely looking for food in Medellin, check our articles about what to eat in Medellin and best Colombian restaurants in Medelin. Ideal for those who are planning to travel around this beautiful country as well as update their basic knowledge about this diverse gastronomy.
This article will be updated in the upcoming weeks and many more of the best empanadas in Medellin will be added soon.