Beef and Potato
The Antioquian classic: slow-cooked shredded beef, yellow criolla potato and hogao (a sauce of tomato, onion and cumin). It is the filling to choose when you only choose one.
Menus & Cuisines
Empanada Catering in Medellín
Medellin Elite Catering has been frying empanadas for Medellín parties, office meetings and late-night wedding snacks since 2019. Our kitchen makes the dough, the fillings and the ají from scratch every morning, so nothing arrives frozen or reheated from a factory batch.
We cater for hosts who want the most Colombian finger food there is, and for visitors who want to try it properly. Expect golden corn empanadas antioqueñas with a thin, crackling shell, alongside baked wheat empanadas for guests who prefer them softer.
Since 2019, empanadas have been on more of our menus than any other item we cook. All those frying sessions taught us the details that matter: dough that stays crisp for an hour, fillings that never leak and ají sharp enough to wake up the room.
- Itemized quotes available
- Bilingual English and Spanish coordinators
Plan your event
Our Empanada Catering
We serve empanadas three ways: as passed party food, as packed snack boxes, and from a live frying station at your venue. Most hosts choose them because they are easy to eat standing up, they please every age, and they are a genuinely local dish that visitors remember.
Party trays work for birthdays, open houses and office celebrations, with cocktail-size empanadas of about 40 g each. Snack boxes suit meetings and school events, and they pair well with our corporate lunch catering when a team wants something lighter than a full meal.
For weddings and big birthdays, a frying station turns a snack into a moment. Guests line up for empanadas that left the oil less than a minute earlier.
Colombian vs Argentine Empanadas
Colombian empanadas are made with corn dough and fried, while Argentine empanadas use wheat pastry and are baked. Both are on our menu, and many hosts order a mix so every guest finds a favorite.
| Colombian (antioqueña) | Argentine-style | |
|---|---|---|
| Dough | Yellow corn masa (masarepa) | Wheat pastry with butter |
| Cooking | Fried at 175 °C | Baked at 200 °C |
| Texture | Thin, crackling shell | Flaky, soft and golden |
| Size we serve | 40 g cocktail or 80 g full | 70 g |
| Classic filling | Beef and potato with hogao | Beef with olive and egg |
| Gluten | No wheat in the dough | Contains wheat |
In Medellín, the corn version is the one people grew up with at every bus terminal, school fair and family party. The baked version travels better on long drop-off routes, so we suggest it for deliveries to fincas outside the city.
Fillings
Every filling is cooked and cooled before we close the empanadas, which keeps the shell from going soggy. We offer four standard fillings, and you can choose up to three for one event.
Chicken
Pulled chicken with hogao, a little peas and carrot, and a touch of achiote for color. It is milder than the beef, which children and cautious guests appreciate.
Cheese
Fresh campesino cheese, sometimes mixed with sweet plantain for a sweet and salty bite. The cheese softens without leaking out, as long as the oil stays at the right temperature.
Vegetarian
Black beans, rice and sweet corn, or mushroom with spinach. Both are made in a separate batch, so they suit vegetarian guests and our vegetarian catering menus.
Ají and Dipping Sauces
Every order comes with fresh Colombian ají, a bright sauce of chopped onion, cilantro, lime and a little hot pepper. It is made the same morning, because ají loses its snap after a day in the fridge.
We also offer guacamole, a hotter ají with habanero for brave guests, and suero costeño, a tangy fermented cream from the Caribbean coast. One small cup of sauce per three empanadas is the ratio that keeps the trays from running dry.
Live Frying Station
A live frying station means a cook fries empanadas at your event, so every guest gets one hot and crisp. It is our most requested add-on for weddings, quinceañeras and year-end parties.
We bring a stainless steel countertop fryer, prepared empanadas kept below 5 °C in a cooler, a draining rack and a fire extinguisher. The station needs a flat 2 m table, one standard power outlet and an outdoor or well-ventilated spot, which most fincas and terraces have.
For safety, the fryer sits behind the table and away from guest traffic, and children are kept on the serving side. One cook handles up to 150 guests; larger crowds get a second fryer so the line keeps moving.
Where We Deliver Empanadas
We deliver empanada trays across Medellín and the southern Aburrá Valley, from offices on the Milla de Oro to family homes in Belén. Orders for catering in El Poblado and catering in Laureles arrive within 15 to 35 minutes of leaving the kitchen, so the corn shells stay crisp.
For longer routes to fincas in Sabaneta or Llanogrande, we pack the fried empanadas in vented boxes rather than sealed containers, which keeps the steam from softening the shells. If you need a whole spread of snacks, combine empanadas with our finger food catering menu in a single order.
Questions and answers
Empanada FAQs
How many empanadas per guest?
Plan on 3 to 4 cocktail-size empanadas per guest when they are one of several snacks, and 6 to 8 when they are the main food. At a late-night wedding snack, 2 per guest is usually enough because dinner was a few hours earlier.
Are your empanadas gluten-free?
Our Colombian empanadas are made with yellow corn dough and contain no wheat, so they suit most gluten-free guests. For guests with celiac disease we fry them in a separate pot of fresh oil that never touches the wheat empanadas, and we label that tray clearly.
Reserve your date
Order Empanadas for Your Next Event
Tell us your date, guest count and whether you want a live frying station or delivered trays, and we will send an itemized quote within 24 hours. You can also write to info@medellincatering.com.
- Itemized quotes available
- Menus, staff, tableware, setup and cleanup in one quote
- Food-handler certified team and labeled allergens on every tray
- Monday to Saturday
- 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday
- Closed (events still run)