Leila's Empanadas — Restaurant in Phoenix

I'm absolutely thrilled to share about a fantastic new spot in town - Leila's Empanadas! These aren't just any empanadas; they're authentic Brazilian empanadas made fresh daily right here in our community. With a dazzling array of flavors and combinations, every palate is sure to find its match.

First off, let me tell you about Leila - if you haven’t met her yet, you’re truly missing out. She is one of the kindest and most genuine people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her culinary talents shine through every bite of her amazing creations. She's just opened her new location and, being swamped with work at home, I decided to give DoorDash a try for a taste of her magic.

I ordered a variety of empanadas: spinach, blueberry, pulled pork, and breakfast. Each one was a delightful journey into flavor and freshness. Although I didn't indulge in all of them myself (saving some for my husband and son!), the breakfast empanada was my morning treat. Just one fills you up nicely, but two? Pure bliss!

What I love most is knowing that the ingredients are locally sourced, with no preservatives or fillers. It's comforting to know I’m eating healthy, wholesome food. The prices? Incredibly reasonable for such top-notch fare.

I can't recommend Leila’s Empanadas enough. If you haven't tried them, you're in for a real treat. Trust me, one bite and you'll be ordering time...

This is a wonderful addition to Anthem. The owners are local, so friendly, and you know everything was made with care. We dropped in during their soft-opening and enjoyed visiting with them.

We bought a combination of warm ready to eat and frozen. The warm ready to eat empanadas that we had were: Breakfast, Beef, Chorizo, Artichoke, and Spinach. The crust in each was light and flavorful and the filling was delicious. Of these my wife enjoyed the spinach and beef best. I’m not sure I can decide on the “best” and just ate some of each. Don’t know that you can go wrong here!

We enjoyed the fresh ones so much, that we quickly warmed up two other varieties that were frozen. The Coxinha and Pulled Pork fully warmed up in our air fryer in just 6 minutes! Again, both were savory and good.

Really like that you can get both ready to eat and frozen varieties. The frozen ones keep in the freezer for months and are ready to eat so quickly.

Give this place a try, it’s going to be an Anthem hit! They have a great Super Bowl combo, which I included...

I wasn't sure what to expect, or if I even liked empanadas. Turns out, I LOVE them. I had the Maria, which was some sort of meaty heaven mixed with doughy softness and a crunchy outer layer. I also tried the Chicken (and another C word I can't remember) with the crunchy tear drop shape that was filled with delicious chicken and some sort of creamy cheese amazingness. I decided to try the cookie and brownie on the counter as well, super yummy, those are diet dangerous and so so good! What I liked most is that you can tell these were all made with fresh ingredients and not some sort of glorified fast food items that just get heated up for you after being prepped in some kitchen somewhere else. This is my new lunch spot...