Pupusas

Food

Pupusas – health foods diets

admin

July 13, 2023

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Pupusas are stuffed tortillas made with corn masa, cheese and beans served with curtido. They’re easy to customize with any filling you would like.

I really like pupusas and love to maintain a stash in my freezer to whip up for lunch anytime. Should you like homemade tortillas, you’ll love these cheesy, stuffed corn pupusas. The filled dough is flattened right into a circle, then cooked on a griddle. The result’s a warm, satisfying dish that may be a staple of Salvadoran cuisine. The cold, tangy, spicy curtido is made with shredded cabbage, carrots, pickled jalapeño, and vinegar, which contrasts beautifully with the wealthy, warm flavors of the black bean pupusas. They’re naturally gluten-free and may be made with dairy-free cheese to maintain them vegan.

Pupusas with Curtido and avocado

What’s a pupusa?

A pupusa is a standard dish originating from El Salvador and Central America. It’s a thick, handmade tortilla consisting of cornmeal dough (“masa de maíz”) full of various ingredients. Common fillings include:

Cheese (“queso”)
Refried beans (“frijoles refritos”)
Vegetables like loroco (an edible flower bud native to Central America) and ayote (a form of squash)

In my health foods diets Meal Prep cookbook, I actually have a zucchini and cheese pupusa, but these black bean pupusas are also delicious.

Pupusa Ingredients

Pupusa Dough: Corn flour (masa), salt, warm water, vegetable or canola oil
Black Bean Pupusa Filling: Minced poblano peppers, onion, and garlic, black beans, salt, shredded part-skim mozzarella. Note: Don’t drain the black beans – you wish the liquid.
Curtido Ingredients: Shredded green cabbage, shredded carrots, jarred pickled jalapeño and the brine, white vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano, salt
Avocado for topping the pupusas

Learn how to Make Curtido

Ferment the Cabbage: Rinse the cabbage in a mesh strainer and slowly pour boiling water over the cabbage. Rinse it with cold water, drain well, and dry.
Add the Other Ingredients: Put the cabbages in a big bowl with the carrots, jalapeños, two tablespoons of jalapeño brine, vinegar, oregano, and salt. Toss well and refrigerate until able to eat.

Learn how to Make Pupusas

Make the Pupusa Dough: Whisk the flour and salt in a big bowl. Add the water and oil and blend with a spatula until the dough forms. Cover with a humid towel whilst you make the filling.
Cook the Black Bean Filling: Heat a medium skillet over medium heat, and pour within the oil once hot. Add the poblano, onion, cilantro, and garlic, and cook until soft. Add the beans and salt, and cook for just a few minutes until the liquid evaporates and the beans thicken. Transfer to a medium bowl, let cool for five minutes, after which add the cheese.
Form the Pupusas: Knead the dough in a bowl with a spatula for 20 seconds. Turn the dough on a evenly floured surface and form right into a barely flattened dough ball. If the dough seems dry and cracks, add just a little more water, one tablespoon at a time. Cut the dough into eight equal pieces and canopy with a humid towel.
Flatten the Pupusas: Fill a small bowl with ¾ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of oil – wetting your hands will help prevent the dough from sticking to them. With barely damp hands, roll every bit right into a ball and flatten it right into a ¼-inch disk, using your fingers pressed onto your palm.
Fill the Pupusas: Scoop three tablespoons of the black beans into the center of the disc. Bring all the perimeters to the middle to cover the filling completely. Dampen your hands again and flatten them to form a 5 to five ½- inch disc. Watch out to not squish out the filling. Repeat the method with the remaining dough and filling.
Cook the Pupusas: Heat a big skillet over medium-low heat and spray with oil. Cook for seven to 10 minutes, turning halfway. They’re ready once they are browned and crisp on the surface.
Serve: Top each black bean pupusa with avocado and curtido.

Variations

Filling: You’ll be able to make pupusas with any filling. Swap the black beans for refried beans, leftover slow cooker shredded chicken, barbacoa, carnitas, chorizo, zucchini, or all cheese.
Poblanos: Substitute bell pepper or jalapeño for poblano.
Don’t like cilantro? Omit it.
Black Beans: Use pinto, refried, or pink beans.
Cheese: Swap mozzarella for cheddar, Monterrey jack, or dairy-free cheese for vegan pupusas.
Vinegar: Sub apple cider vinegar.
Time Saver: Buy a bag of coleslaw mix in the event you don’t have time to shred the cabbage and carrots.

What are pupusas served with?

Pupusas are traditionally served with curtido, evenly fermented cabbage slaw with chili peppers and carrots, and a gentle, tomato-based salsa. I also wish to top mine with avocado.

Learn how to Freeze Pupusas

Refrigerate leftover pupusas for as much as 4 days and reheat them in a skillet until warm. You may also freeze cooked pupusas for up to a few months. If you ought to freeze them uncooked, here’s what you do:

Stack the uncooked pupusas with a bit of parchment between them and place them in an airtight container or bag. Freeze them for as much as six months.
To cook the frozen pupusas, cook them on medium-low in a skillet for about seven minutes. When the bottoms are browned, flip them over and cook for five more minutes.

More Latin Recipes You’ll Love

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Total: 40 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 1 pupusa

Curtido:

Rinse cabbage in a mesh strainer then slowly pour boiling water over the cabbage. Rinse with cold water. Drain well, and dry.
Add cabbage to a big bowl with the carrots, jalapeno, 2 tablespoons jalapeno brine, vinegar, oregano, and salt and toss well to mix.
Put aside within the fridge until able to eat.

Pupusas:

For the dough: In a big bowl, mix flour and salt. Whisk to mix. Add the water and oil and blend with a spatula until combined and dough forms. Cover with a humid towel whilst you make the filling.
For the bean filling: Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, when hot add the poblano pepper, onion, cilantro and garlic and cook until soft, 2 to three minutes.
Add the beans and season with salt, cook over medium heat stirring until all of the liquid has evaporated and beans have thickened, 2 to three minutes.
Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool 5 minutes. Once cool add the mozzarella cheese.
To make pupusas: Knead dough within the bowl for 20 seconds with the spatula. Turn the dough out onto a evenly floured surface, form right into a barely flattened dough ball. If dough seems dry and cracks, add just a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Covering with a humid towel.
Place a small bowl with 3/4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon oil, it will assist you to work the dough and forestall it from sticking. With barely damp hands, working one by one roll every bit right into a ball then flatten right into a 1/4 inch disk using your fingers pressed onto your palm of your hand.
Scoop 3 level tablespoons of the filling into the center of the disc. Bring all the perimeters to the middle to cover the filling completely. Dampen your hands once more and begin flattening to form a 5 to 5-1/2 inch disc, careful to not squish out the filling.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Discard the water with oil.
When able to cook, heat a big skillet over medium-low heat and spray with oil. Cook 7 to 10 minutes turning halfway, or until browned and crisp on the surface. To maintain cooked pupusas warm, place them on a sheet pan in a 200 degree F oven whilst you make the remainder.
Serve the pupusas with sliced avocado and curtido on top.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know the way you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and proceed providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

Refrigerate cooked pupusas as much as 4 days. Reheat on the skillet to warm.
Cook from Frozen: Form the pupusas and freeze, uncooked stacked with parchment in between every one. Transfer to a freezer protected bag or air-tight container and freeze as much as 6 months. To cook from frozen, heat a skillet over medium-low heat and cook until the underside is browned, about 7 minutes then flip with a spatula cooking 5 more minutes, or until browned and crisp.

Serving: 1 pupusa, Calories: 220 kcal, Carbohydrates: 32 g, Protein: 8 g, Fat: 8 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 5.5 mg, Sodium: 489 mg, Fiber: 6.5 g, Sugar: 2 g