Halloween Guava Empanadas: Easy Puerto Rican-Inspired Treat

By Hedman Soto · Recipes · 8 min read

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Halloween was not really a thing in my house.

My mom was very religious, and Halloween was one of those celebrations she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. That did not mean my cousins and I ignored the fact that every other kid seemed to be having a very good time. We found our own ways to make the night interesting.

As an adult, Halloween has become something completely different for me. I love the costumes, the excuse to host, the slightly dramatic tables, and — obviously — the food.

But I have never been particularly interested in making food look like severed fingers or covering everything in green frosting. If I am going to make something for Halloween, I still want it to taste like something I actually want to eat.

That is how these guava empanadas happened. Guava is one of those flavors that immediately feels familiar if you grew up around a Puerto Rican or Latin kitchen. Put it inside flaky pastry, shape the dough into little pumpkins, and suddenly you have a Halloween dessert that feels festive without losing the part that matters most: it is actually good.

Why guava makes such a good Halloween filling

Guava paste is almost unfairly easy to bake with.

Unlike jam or preserves, guava paste is firm enough to cut into pieces, so it stays where you put it while you assemble the empanadas. Once it hits the oven, it softens into a thick, intensely fruity filling without immediately turning into liquid and running everywhere.

That matters with a shaped empanada because you need the filling to stay away from the edges long enough to get a proper seal.

The flavor also works particularly well with pastry. Guava is sweet, but it has enough acidity and tropical fruit character that the finished empanada does not just taste like sugar wrapped in dough. And if you grew up eating guava with cheese, you already know where this is going: a little cream cheese added to the center makes an excellent variation.

Empanada, pastelillo, pastelito — what are we actually calling these?

Before somebody from Puerto Rico sends me a message about the word empanada, let's address it.

Puerto Rican food vocabulary changes depending on the family, the town, and sometimes just who you are arguing with. You will hear empanadilla, pastelillo, pastelito, and empanada used for filled pastry across Puerto Rico and the larger Latin world. The exact distinctions are not always consistent, particularly once you move between the island, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and other Puerto Rican communities in the States.

For this recipe I use guava empanadas because that is the clearest description for someone searching for the recipe. Call them pastelillos in your house if that is what you grew up saying. I'm not coming over to correct your mother.

The easiest way to make them

You could absolutely make pastry dough from scratch. I am not doing that here.

Halloween food should be fun, and a package of frozen empanada discs gets you most of the way there without turning a 35-minute recipe into an afternoon project. The important part is letting the discs thaw enough to become flexible without letting them become warm and sticky. Once they are pliable, a very light roll gives you enough surface area to cut the shapes.

For the pumpkins, use a cookie cutter if you have one. If you do not, a small paring knife works perfectly well. They do not need to look factory-made. In fact, mine definitely do not.

Pick the right guava paste

For this recipe, use guava paste, not guava jelly.

Guava paste is dense enough to slice into cubes and concentrated enough that a small piece gives you plenty of flavor. Guava jelly or preserves contain much more free moisture and are far more likely to leak through the seams while the empanadas bake.

Cut the paste into small pieces before you begin assembling. You want enough guava to get some in every bite, but not so much that the pastry is fighting to stay closed. This is one of those recipes where restraint actually makes the finished product better.

Family Recipe

Halloween Guava Empanadas

Sweet guava paste baked inside flaky empanada dough and shaped into little pumpkins for Halloween.

Prep

15 min

Cook

20 min

Total

35 min

Makes

10–12

Level

Easy

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen empanada discs, thawed
• ½ cup guava paste, cut into small cubes
• Cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces for the stems
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk
• All-purpose flour, as needed for rolling
• Optional: pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter or small paring knife

Equipment

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Pumpkin cookie cutter or small paring knife
• Fork
• Pastry brush
• Small bowl for the egg wash

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Roll the dough. Place the thawed empanada discs on a lightly floured surface. Gently roll each disc just enough to make it slightly larger.
3. Cut the pumpkin shapes. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter or a small paring knife to cut the dough. You will need two matching pieces for each empanada.

4. Add the guava. Place a small cube of guava paste in the center of half of the pumpkin cutouts. Leave a generous clean border around the filling.

5. Close the empanadas. Place a second piece of dough over the guava and gently press around the filling to remove any large air pockets.
6. Seal the edges. Press the two pieces together firmly around the perimeter, then crimp all the way around with a fork.

7. Add the stem. Insert a small piece of cinnamon stick into the top of each empanada.

8. Make the egg wash. Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon milk. Brush a thin, even layer over the tops of the empanadas.
9. Bake. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deeply golden.
10. Cool before eating. Let the empanadas sit for several minutes before serving. The guava inside gets extremely hot in the oven.

Makes 10–12 empanadas. Best served warm, but good at room temperature too.

Why the cinnamon stick stem works

The cinnamon stick is mostly there because it makes the shape read as a pumpkin immediately, but it also does something subtle while the empanadas bake.

The heat wakes up the cinnamon aroma just enough that you smell it when the tray comes out of the oven. It is not strong enough to turn the filling into cinnamon guava; it simply makes the whole thing smell more like fall.

Break the sticks into short pieces — you only need enough to create the visual stem. And yes: remove the cinnamon stick before eating the empanada.

Guava and cheese — the version I would make second

If you grew up with guayaba con queso, you already know why this works.

Add a small piece of cream cheese alongside the guava before sealing the pastry. The cheese softens the intensity of the guava and gives the center a richer, almost cheesecake-like texture. Do not add much — a thin piece is enough.

Because this version contains dairy, refrigerate any leftovers once the empanadas have cooled.

Other Halloween shapes that actually work

You do not have to commit to pumpkins.

• Ghosts. Probably the easiest shape after pumpkins — no narrow points that can burn.
• Bats. Fun, but keep the wings fairly thick or the tips can overbake.
• Moons. Very forgiving and still Halloween-adjacent without becoming novelty food.
• Traditional half-moons. If you are feeding a crowd, forget the cutters entirely and make regular empanadas. Put them on a dramatic platter and call it a day.

How to make them ahead for a Halloween party

These are useful party food because most of the work can happen before anyone arrives.

Assemble and seal the empanadas, arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover the tray, and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. Wait to add the egg wash until just before they go into the oven.

If you are serving them later in the evening, bake them shortly before guests arrive and let them sit at room temperature. They are good warm, but they do not need to be served straight from the oven.

What to serve with Halloween guava empanadas

If these are part of a larger Halloween table, keep the rest of the food in the same lane: familiar Latin flavors, fall ingredients, and just enough visual drama to make it feel intentional.

• Puerto Rican coffee. The obvious pairing. Guava and strong coffee balance each other beautifully.
• Guava and cheese bites. Use the same guava paste and serve cubes with cheese as a second easy sweet-and-savory bite.
• Dark chocolate. Particularly good if your coffee has chocolate or caramel notes.
• Fresh orange or blood orange. The acidity cuts through the pastry and gives the table a natural Halloween color without food dye.
• Spiced nuts. Easy to make ahead and useful if you want something savory on the same table.

I am less interested in plastic spiders and bright orange plates and much more interested in a darker, grown-up table: candles, deep red or oxblood, black, aged wood, tropical greenery, guava, blood orange, coffee, and food that still looks like food. Put these empanadas on a dark platter with cinnamon sticks scattered loosely around them. Let the food provide most of the color.

Halloween Guava Empanadas FAQs