Recipe: How to Make Pastelillos de Camarones

For this special edition of The Dining Traveler Cooking Series, we’re taking a virtual trip to “la playa” to the beaches of Puerto Rico. We’re making frituras, the indulgent, crispy treats you can find throughout the island, especially at the beach. On this post, we share how to make pastelillos de camarones (shrimp empanadas). Seafood is big in Puerto Rico, especially on the southern coast of the island where I grew up. Pastelillos de camarones are one of my favorites. The shrimp is fragrant with sofrito and other spices. Biting into a shrimp pastelillo truly takes me back to my hometown of Guayama, Puerto Rico. My dad used to take us to Pozuelo, a fishing community known for its seafood restaurants. I always ordered shrimp pastelillos and an octopus salad!

Cooking Tips

Pastelillos de camarones (shrimp pastelillos) are probably one of the easiest frituras you’ll make! I buy my pre-made pastelillo disks, and there’s no shame in that! Many restaurants in Puerto Rico make their pastelillos and empanadillas with pre-made disks. It significantly cuts your prep time, and you get that same crunchy crust as a homemade pastry. You can find pastelillos disks at most supermarkets in the United States, look for the international section. Also, most Latin and Asian supermarkets carry pastelillo disks as well.

Preparing the Filling for the Pastelillos de Camarones 

I like to use baby shrimp for my filling. Since the pieces are smaller, they are much easier to cook. I also believe you can get more of the filling into the shrimp pastelillo. If you can’t find baby shrimp, you can use medium shrimp and cut them into small pieces. The seasoning is simple: onions, garlic, sofrito, tomato sauce, adobo, and sazón. The baby shrimp I used for the recipe was already cooked, so I kept the cooking time to 2 minutes, enough time for the flavors to come together but still keeping with shrimp tender. Check out the video for a visual description.

Items we used (or similar)

Cast Iron Frying Pan 

Badia Sazon Tropical 

Badia Adobo 

This post is brought to you by the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. Check out their website for more information.

Recipe: How to Make Pastelillos de Camarones

Print Recipe

Pastelillos de camarones are a Puerto Rican “fritura”, a fried pastry filled with savory shrimp.

• Author: DiningTraveler
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 5
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 10 1x
• Category: Appetizers
• Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 package of empanada disks (you can find them in the international frozen section of most supermarkets)

Filling

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/3 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup sofrito

1 tsp sazón

1 tsp adobo

1/2 lb of baby shrimp (around 2 cups. If you can’t find baby shrimp, chop regular-sized shrimp into small pieces)

Vegetable or canola oil for frying

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Instructions

Make Filling 

 

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add onions, and cook until translucent.
2. Add tomato sauce, sazon, sofrito. Stir well until all the condiments integrate.
3. Add the shrimp and stir well. The baby shrimp I used was already pre-cooked, so I let it cook for two minutes for the flavors to integrate.
4. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.

 

Make pastelillos de camarones

 

 

1. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan.
2. Lay out the pastelillo disk flat on your work surface. Add around two spoonfuls of filling. Seal the pastelillo with a fork (see video) on both sides.
3. Fry on both sides for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy. 
4. Let the pastelillos de camarones cool slightly on a plate with paper towels to absorb the extra oil.