We love making Pupusas from home with a simple bean and cheese filling and served with curtido and salsa roja.
One of our favorite ways to “travel” as a family is cooking International Inspired recipes for dinner at home, like Chicken Shawarma Bowls, Gallo Pinto, or this Bánh Mì Sandwich.
Pupusas are King of Salvadoran street food
Pupusas are King of Salvadoran street foodI always ask my kids to help me in the kitchen but when Pupusas are on the menu, they all volunteer! I can’t say this recipe is 100% authentic but it’s one of those fun, hands-on foods that provide an opportunity to teach them about other cultures, through food. And you absolutely have to make curtido and salsa roja to serve with pupusas!
How to make Pupusas:
Make Dough: Add masa harina (corn flour) and salt to a large mixing bowl then add the warm water, little by little, while mixing the dough with your hand until you get the consistency of a soft play dough. Add butter and chicken bouillon if you’d like, for extra flavor. Scoop dough into golf-ball-size portions, dipping your hands in an oil and water mixture as needed if the masa is sticking to your hands.
Assemble: Pat the dough into a pancake in your hand, about 4 inches in diameter. Add a Tablespoon of refried beans in the center and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Fold the edges up and pinch to close into a ball. Gently pat/slap the dough back and forth between your palms to form it back into a thin pancake.
Cook and Serve: Place pupusas on a hot, dry griddle or skillet and cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, until golden. Serve immediately, topped with curtido and salsa roja.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
Store leftover masa dough can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight bag or container for 1-2 days. Add a little more warm water to it, as needed, to make it soft before using. Store leftover cooked pupusas in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat on a hot griddle or skillet.
To Freeze uncooked pupusas, “flash freeze” them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes, then store in an air-tight container, separated by parchment, for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the fridge before cooking and serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Filling: Feel free to try different filling combinations. It is popular to include beans, meat, and cheese.
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Recipe
Pupusas
Equipment
- Griddle optional
Ingredients
Pupusas:
- 4 cups masa harina
- 3 ½ – 4 cups warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons softened butter , optional
- 1 teaspoon Better then Bouillon Chicken Base , or 1 bouillon cube
Filling:
- 15 oz can refried beans , or homemade
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , or Oaxaca cheese
Topping:
- 1 recipe salsa roja
- 1 recipe curtido
Instructions
- Make Dough: Add masa harina (corn flour) and salt to a large mixing bowl then add the warm water, little by little, while mixing the dough with your hand until you get the consistency of a soft play dough. Stir in butter and chicken bouillon.
- Scoop dough into golf-ball-size portions, dipping your hands in an oil and water mixture as needed if the masa is sticking to your hands. Keep dough balls covered with a damp cloth as you work, to keep from drying out.
- Form Pupusas: Pat the dough into a pancake in your hand, about 4 inches in diameter. Add a Tablespoon of refried beans in the center and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Fold the edges up and pinch to close into a ball. Gently pat the dough back and forth between your palms to form it back into a thin pancake.
- Cook: Heat a large un-greased skillet or pan over medium heat. Place pupusas on the hot pan and cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side. You will know the pupusas are ready to flip when the edges are set and the bottom is lightly golden.
- Serve immediately, topped with Curtido and Salsa Roja.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe May 2019. Updated August 2022 and May 2024.
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Hello Lauren, I follow you in social media and I love your recipes.
I’m from el Salvador and I cook pupusas for my family and friends all the time. Unfortunately this recipe is not accurate at all to the right way to cook it.
This is a really delicious and the most popular dish from El Salvador. You need it do it right 😊
Hi Erika, I’m not an expert by any means as I’m not from el Salvador. I’d welcome any tips you have to make the recipe better.
I’m Salvadorian and grew up eating these and love to make them from scratch. I was so surprised to see them on your website because most people I know don’t know about them. The recipe looks good, but the dry look very dry. I would recommend adding a little more water teaspoon by teaspoon until the dough is smooth and doesn’t crack. Also if it’s cracking, drying out, or sticking to the pan, then the pan is probably not hot enough. One thing that scared my German husband was seeing the “burn marks” on the pupusas while they were cooking on the hot pan, haha. But authentic pupusas get a little toasty on the outside and some of the cheese oozes out and get toasted on the outside of the dough for extra flavor!
Thanks Laura for sharing this recipe!
Worst pupusa recipe ever, pupusas flour does not have butter of flavoring in the dough and are made with chicharon and/or salvadorian beans or cheese.
Never had these but sounded good, so I cut the recipe into 1/4 and tried. Pretty tasty, but no idea what it’s supposed to taste like, lol. Will try them w my granddaughter next. Ty
Gave these a try tonight. I made your empanada recipe a few weeks ago, better than the ones in Argentina and as good as Uruguay. I’ve had your Curdito in my fridge since then, constantly snacking on it! So today, these. While it’s been awhile since I felt soft play-doh, I got the masa dough down. Filled with carnitas and cheese..and they brought back memories of a little place we had them at in Belize. Thank you for your recipes! I’ll be trying more!
While this recipe worked fine, I found it nearly impossible to use because of all the ads that kept popping up on the mobile site! I couldn’t even close out of your prompt to sign up for emails because it kept redirecting me to buy some vodka. Once I finally got the recipe it worked okay, my only change was I oiled the skillet because the first two were sticking to it.
I’ve been eating Pupusas for 29 years, but this was my first attempt at making them at home. I was intimidated by them until I read your recipe. It worked perfectly as written. Next time I plan to make the cabbage and salsa sides for the full experience, and a stewed chicken filling instead of beans (although beans were yummy and budget friendly!).
Te felicito, lo haces muy bien, yo soy salvadoreña y amo las pupusas, te doy un consejo, no pongas condimento y mantequilla en la harina, ponlo en los frijoles o chicharrón si quieres, pon las pupuas en tu sarten pero antes rocía un poco de aceite no mucho par qjw no se peguen, y también ponle un poco más de agua a la masa para que te queden más suaves.
Years ago, I had a wonderful neighbor who heralded from El Salvador. I visited her in her kitchen often and my most vivid memory is of watching her make these. The way she rounded out the dough, stuffed, then rounded and flattened was mesmerizing and she made it look so easy. Soon after, I gave it a whirl- and I don’t know if it was because I will still such a novice in the kitchen, or because she had been making them for so long, but mine were rather sad looking.
That was about a decade ago, and I have never attempted them since, but now I think I will. Thanks for the recipe!
Loved this recipe and easy to make!!
I love all your recipes, and with any cook no one recipe will ever be the same. Its your own art. Keep up the great tastes.
recipe is not even perfect, this is not the way to prepare pupusas. Pls don’t insult an original salvadorian dish.
I’m not trying to insult anyone and I’m sorry you feel that way. As I say in the post, I love cooking international cuisine and I state upfront that this is simply my basic recipe for pupusas I make my family in our home kitchen. You’re welcome to write your own post online with your own, more authentic recipe.
Hey critic, sharing recipes has been a tradition among peoples and cultures forever. Get real and stop being so offensive. If you don’t like the recipe simply don’t make it. If you want to share your version you can do that too. Just keep the snide comments off the boards. It’s totally inappropriate in a recipe exchange environment.
your comment is more insulting….there is nothing disrespectful in this blog…just fyi as a salvadoran this is exactly how you make them….its sad that people always want to make everything about race or culture….YOUR RECIPE IS PERFECT!!!!
Thx for this easy recipe! We usually get our pupusa fix at El Rematito flea market along with elote so I was happy to give this recipe a shot! Mine came out a bit chubby…but I’ll improve. I did use the bouillon & a bit of onion powder…filled with pepper jack & minced leftover shredded pork. 🌶🌿 Served with salsa, sour cream & cilantro…Nice, easy & friends asked for your recipe!
I’ve never had any of this before but I had all the ingredients and a rotisserie chicken that needed eating. It was great. I had an issue with the masa cooking all the way through so had to return the papusas to the griddle for a bit longer. 100% due to my lack of technique and making them a bit bulky! The salsa roja and curtido were excellent as well. Thanks for a fun new recipe/dinner!
That looks really delicious!!💚
This recipe is perfect and easy to make. I first had them in McAllen, TX after hearing Jack from Titanic talk about them in an article. I am having them now for my Christmas dinner and had every ingredient in my cabinet already.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I added a bit if chorizo. Sooo yummy. Salsa and a dab of sour cream. OMG.
I have not tried this recipe yet but I might make it for dinner tonight. I have tried Pupusas before and I love them. So excited to try the recipe! 🙂
I made these tonight for my Salvadorian husband and he loved them. I’ve attempted pupusas before but they were just ok. We loved these ones and I also made the curtidos and salsa roja. All delicious. One minor tweak I made is added sour cream to the cheese and also minced green peppers. I also added butter to the grill to make them extra crispy. SO SO good!
Tried pupusas for the first time yesterday, I loved it. Wish I knew how to make them
They are very easy to make if you follow this recipe :-).
Very simple and turned out great! The only thing I did differently was add additional beans. Numm!
Thanks for the recipe! We also had some kalua pork on hand so added that to the mix. I’m not sure if I made them right, they were on the dryer side and I wish I had put a little more cheese in. But they were still amazing.
The pictures also really helped.
I am looking forward to trying this recipe soon, but I was wondering if anyone had tried any other fillings, I am planning on making most with beans and cheese, but I love being creative with flavors, so if anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them!
This was my first time trying making pupusas and I’m Salvadorean! I followed your recipe, I admit I added spinach to mines. Yummy!!
It was easy to follow your instructions. Thank you!
Best ever. Thank u for sharing. The first time I had these were with pork so I made them that way , but cant wait to try them with beans. I always have left over pulled pork and i just add some different seasonings and mince it up. And this time I didnt have any raw cabbage, so I winged it and added franks hot sauce and oregano to my already made coleslaw. It worked for that crunchy texture you def need .. Thank you again. I will be making these often.
Should the refried beans be cooked already? Do we put them in hot?
Yes, and you can add them when they are warm, or room temperature (they will cook and heat up when the pupusas cook)
We are new to pupusas but trust every recipe on your blog so decided to give them a try. I have made these a few times now and they are soo good! Thanks for helping us mix things up at our house!
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you!
Tried these for my family last night. I was a little nervous having never made them before. Thanks for the easy recipe and step-by-step instructions. My family (including my 4-year old) loved these!
It makes me so happy to hear your family loved them! Thanks Amy!
Hello! I had fun looking around your website/blog. Your recipe for Home Made Pupusas caught my eye. For starters, I didn’t know what a pupusa was!!! So I checked and found it was “small round corncakes”. And … I sure didn’t know what masa harina was. We have a Mexican Farmers’ Market just a couple blocks away and they were able to fix me right up! I had fun making these and they were a big hit!! Thanks for sharing!
Counting these as my new favorite thing to make. My entire family loved them and I was the hero! Thanks for the great recipe.
That’s wonderful! Thank your for sharing, and I’m so happy you liked them.
I’ve always wanted to make these and saw your tutorial on Youtube and felt like I could really do it, so I made them this weekend. They were so awesome. It took a little practice to get mine to look good. I served them with regular salsa and sour cream.
Thank you so much, and way to go! I’m so happy you made them and enjoyed them.
Can you use regular flour?
No, sorry, corn flour is a must!
I’ve used regular flour and it works great. Just a different flavor. Its how they make them here and its all I had.
That isn’t a papusa then, its just a flat bread. Closer to a smushed bun or even a pita / naan than a papusa.