Don Pablo’s Kitchen & Bakeshop started as a ghost kitchen and then opened in a small counter-service spot in Uptown early this year. The menu focuses on Chilean empanadas with a buttery crust used in eight savory varieties such as the Poeta filled with shrimp, basil, oregano, and a mix of mozzarella and gouda, and the Greek Tragedy packed with artichoke hearts, cremini mushrooms, kalamata olives, and feta. For dessert, grab an apple-stuffed empanada sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Cafe Tola’s empanadas are a favorite at Chicago festivals; the chain also has four BYOB cafes spread across Avondale, Lakeview, and Logan Square. Mexican, Cuban, and American flavors inspire the 25 sweet and savory varieties including ropa vieja, birria, and apple pie. If the choices seem overwhelming, order online and play “empanada roulette” by letting an employee choose three meat or vegetarian varieties for a $2 discount.

Argentine and Italian fare combine at La Nonna, which serves golden flaky empanadas stuffed with vegetables, beef, chicken or ham and cheese along with the namesake pizza topped with ham, roasted red pepper, and green olives. The Avondale restaurant has a patio that’s a nice place to relax while sipping a glass of wine or an iced latte.

Named for the international dialing code for Buenos Aires, Argentina, 5411 Empanadas started as a food truck before opening its first permanent location in Lakeview in 2012. They’ve kept growing since, adding restaurants in Wicker Park, Lakeview, and Evanston and shipping frozen empanadas around the country. The chain offers 16 varieties including an Impossible plant-based version of the traditional Argentine empanada made with ground beef, diced potatoes, sauteed onions, scallions, and green olives, and pork chorizo sauteed with red peppers combined with black beans and scrambled eggs. They are served with chimichurri or roasted jalapeno hot sauce.

English miners brought Cornish pasties to Central Mexico in the 19th century, where they evolved into pastes: firm pastry dough stuffed with traditional Mexican fare like red or green chicken mole, chorizo with beans, and poblano peppers with cheese. Golden Tuzo provides a perfect place to try them alongside sweet empanadas with equally traditional fillings such as arroz con leche and guava with cheese.

Venezuelan empanadas have deep-fried corn dough, making them sweeter and bigger than other versions. Rica Arepa makes nearly 25 of them to order until 3 p.m, with varieties including ham and cheese, sweet plantains, shrimp, and pabellon, a traditional mix of shredded beef, black beans, cheese, and sweet plantains. Their newest flavor is rompe-colchon, stuffed with an octopus and shrimp ceviche that’s meant to be an aphrodisiac. They’re served along with hot sauce and a creamy garlic sauce. The restaurant also has a location in Lakeview.

Any meal at this Bucktown BYOB stable should begin with an order of fried empanadas stuffed with beef and potatoes, spinach and cheese, or the sweeter plantain and cheese combination. Cover them with plenty of the Costa Rican restaurant’s creamy empanada sauce and a squeeze of the hot sauce stationed on every table. Bring a bottle of rum to spike the fresh pina colada mix that helps tame the heat.

Siblings Juan and Nathalie Betancourt bring Colombian food to Humboldt Park, serving chicken, beef, cheese, and sweet plantain empanadas along with spicy or mild version of aji, a green sauce made with onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice also commonly used on arepas. Empanadas serve as the starter for a three-course meal deal for two that also includes arroz con pollo, fried cassava, and flan.

Get a taste of Peru in River North with brisket, raisin, and onion empanadas served with herbaceous huacatay sauce, stewed chicken empanadas filled with sweet yellow peppers and rocoto pepper cream, and a vegetarian version featuring sweet corn, cilantro, queso fresco, and huancaina, a mild cheese sauce. Order two pieces as a snack or a tasting trio that offers one of each. The restaurant also features a rotating empanada of the day as part of its happy hour menu from 5-7 p.m. on weekdays.

Peruvian street food inspired the menu at this Loop rooftop bar, which offers chicken empanadas spiced with panca peppers and served with a side of aji amarillo, a spicy and creamy green sauce. A vegetarian version combines kale, provolone, and cremini mushrooms and comes with romesco sauce.

This Hyde Park institution serves Italian fare with a splash of Spanish tapas including empanadas stuffed with spinach and bechamel, or chicken, onions, red peppers, green olives and hard boiled eggs. Piccolo Mondo also features an Argentinean bakery in front serving traditional pastries including croissant-like medialunas and cañoncito, a cannon-shaped pastry stuffed with dulce de leche.