With Saturday being National Empanadas Day, we felt it was our duty to give you some of the best empanadas options in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

NJ.com writer Pete Genovese comes up with another great list, listing the 37 best empanadas in the state with five great options here at the jersey shore.

Lets take a look at the five places he came up with and get you there.

Get our free mobile app

First up let's start in West Cape May at a place called Empanada Mama.

Brooke Dodds is the Empanada Mama. Her West Cape May storefront is no more, but you can find her empanadas at local farmers markets, or have them delivered via her Facebook page. These aren’t your mama’s empanadas: Varieties include carrot, ginger and dill, sweet potato and apple, pork and provolone, and pineapple and guava.

This food truck can be found at various local festivals and farmer’s markets or you can have them delivered to your home.

Next up let's head up to the boardwalk in North Wildwood, home of Giovanna’s Hispanic Restaurant.

Another of those boardwalk food stands you could easily walk past, Giovanna’s offers a full range of Hispanic dishes — grilled chicken and rice, stewed chicken, oven roasted pork, steak, tostones and more. The empanadas, $3.50 each, boast crisp, firm shells with perkily seasoned meat inside. Giovanna’s made my best Jersey boardwalk eats list.

Located at 2416 Boardwalk, North Wildwood this stop on the empanadas tour has more to offer than just some of the tastiest empanadas in the state, but on this day give one a try.

Heading out to Cumberland county in Vineland you'll find Julio's on Main, which also was featured on the list of the best tacos in New Jersey. The writer notes that the empanadas might be better than the tacos.

Julio’s on Main made our N.J.’s best tacos list, and their empanadas may be better than the tacos. The guacamole empanada will have you green with envy, and the vegetable empanada, with peppers, onions and corn, proves you don’t need meat to make a great empanada. Birria tacos may be all the rage, but Julio’s offers the first birria empanada I’ve seen on a menu. The beef and chicken birria empanadas are both highly recommended.

Located at 1370 S Main Rd, Vineland, this has also been ranked as one of the top restaurants in the state, a true hidden gem in Vineland.

Down in Atlantic county, in Egg Harbor City, we have Pepe’s.

Pepe’s, in a big white house in Egg Harbor City, may offer the state’s biggest empanadas. They’re not just huge, they’re mighty good. The beef empanada is spry and spicy, the chicken and cheese empanada make for a great combo, and the pizza empanada really does taste like pizza. Egg Harbor City, not to be confused with Egg Harbor Township or Little Egg Harbor, is also home to Hammerbacher, which made my N.J.’s best bakeries list.

Located at 201 Cincinnati Ave A, Egg Harbor City, its a great spot that serves authentic Puerto Rican, Mexican and American dishes.

Finally closer to the shore in Pleasantville is Mambo Cafe.

Mambo Cafe is a spacious bakery/restaurant in the heart of Pleasantville with a nice range of breakfast, lunch and dinner choices (Mambo Tex-Mex fajitas, anyone?). But start with the empanadas. The beef and potato empanadas are standard-sized, while the beef empanadas and chicken empanadas are huge and boast superior crunchy shells. And the tomatoey hot sauce is terrific.

Located at 226 S Main St, Pleasantville, this place as a bit of everything on the menu with plenty of Colombian and Mexican dishes to choose from and a tremendous breakfast.

If you don't make it to one of these places today, make sure to try and get there this spring or summer to get one of the best empanadas in the state!

South Jersey's Best 'Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover' Restaurants

These South Jersey restaurants are hidden gems, you might just drive right past them and never know how amazing they are.

More From SoJO 104.9 FM