Fried and grilled
Pupusa
El Salvador's thick corn tortilla stuffed with quesillo cheese and loroco or beans, griddled and served with curtido.
A pupusa is a thick tortilla of corn or rice dough stuffed with a filling and cooked on a griddle. The most common fillings are quesillo, a soft melting cheese, alone or with loroco flower buds, refried beans or chicharrón. Pupusas are served with curtido, a lightly fermented cabbage slaw, and a thin tomato sauce. They are the national dish of El Salvador.
What goes in
- Quesillo526%, Soft melting cheese.
- Corn masa737%, Or rice dough.
- Loroco or beans211%, Optional.
- Curtido316%, Cabbage slaw.
- Tomato sauce211%, Thin salsa roja.
Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.
Made step by step
Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.
Step 1: Knead Mix masa harina or fresh masa with water to a soft dough. Step 2: Grate Mix the cheese with chopped loroco or other fillings. Step 3: Fill Make a cup of dough in the palm, fill it, close it and pat into a thick disc. Step 4: Fry Cook on a hot griddle until browned in spots on both sides. Step 5: Serve Serve hot with curtido and tomato sauce. Finished Pupusa, by share.
National dish
Pupusas are believed to have roots among the Pipil people of what is now El Salvador, long before the Spanish conquest. Honduras also has a strong pupusa tradition. El Salvador celebrates National Pupusa Day on the second Sunday of November. The town of Olocuilta is known for pupusas made from rice flour, and pupuserías line the roads of the country.
Quesillo and loroco
Quesillo in El Salvador is a soft, stretchy, mild cheese, similar to mozzarella. It is often mixed with loroco, the edible flower buds of a local vine, which give a green, slightly herbal flavour. A pupusa revuelta mixes cheese, beans and pork. The pupusas are patted by hand into thick discs, cooked until browned in spots, and eaten with the fingers.
Where it is used
The cheeses in it
Also part of it, and being written: Quesillo (The Salvadoran melting cheese in the filling.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.