How Many Empanadas per Person? A Party Guide

Empanadas are close to the perfect party food: no cutlery, no plates if you don't want them, and everybody has a favourite filling. The only real question is how many to order.

The quick answer

• Cocktail empanadas alongside other food: about 3 per person.
• Cocktail empanadas as the main finger food: about 5 per person.
• Full-size empanadas for lunch: 2 per adult, or 1 for a light lunch or for kids.

By headcount (cocktail size)

Guests	With other food (~3 each)	Main finger food (~5 each)
10	30	50
20	60	100
30	90	150
50	150	250

Hungry crowd, long afternoon or mostly adults? Round up. Kids' party with cake coming? Round down.

Mixing the fillings

For a mixed group, a split that works well is roughly half beef, a quarter chicken and a quarter vegetarian. Our beef empanadas use halal topside mince with spices, a Spanish olive, sultanas and a sliver of boiled egg; the chicken is chicken and mushroom in béchamel; and the cheese and spinach & ricotta are both meat-free, in pure butter puff pastry.

Ordering for the day

Order online any time and pick your date and time at checkout; the earliest pickup is the next day we're open, so order at least a day ahead. Cocktail empanadas are ordered by filling, from 10 of a filling. Collect them fresh from Delahey or from Dulce Chico in Essendon.

They're best warm. If they've cooled by the time the party starts, a few minutes in a hot oven brings the pastry back.