Seeing a towering stack of these cheese oozing discs, you might think they were difficult to make at home. Not so! With this simple recipe for pupusas (and step by step how-to video), you’ll be serving them in minutes!
What is a Pupusa?
Pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador, where they were created centuries ago, for good reason – they are delicious, cheese filled masa cakes (also stuffed with meat and/or beans) that are grilled and typically served with a vinegary, spicy slaw called Curtido.
I clipped a recipe for Pupusas from Saveur magazine years ago, intrigued by the idea of cheese stuffed corn-masa cakes. They reminded me of tamales, one of my favorite foods, but looked easier to make. And this recipe from The New York Times looked interesting too. The problem was that I’d never actually eaten a pupusa, so if I made them at home, how could I know that my pupusas tasted how pupusas should taste?
Fortunately, we had a couple of good resources for authentic pupusas in our little town of Bend, Oregon: here and here. So we set out to eat pupusas, in the name of research you understand. The delicate crunch of the grilled masa cake, the molten cheese spilling out – I was smitten from my first bite!
How to Make Pupusas
Step 1: Make pupusa dough with a simple mixture of masa harina (corn flour), kosher salt and warm water. Dip your hands in a mixture of warm water and a little oil then scoop out a portion of dough a little larger than a golf ball.
Step 2: Shape the masa dough into a ball, then into a disc that is 3 to 4-inches wide.
Step 3: Add a generous pinch of cheese to the center of the masa disc and gently fold the edges up all the way around until the cheese is sealed inside. (Note that you can also stuff them with beans, meat, vegetables or a combination of ingredients.)
Step 4: Gently pat the cheese filled masa dough ball back into a disc. Repeat with remaining dough.
Step 5: Cook pupusas on a hot non-stick skillet or griddle until masa cakes are cooked through and lightly brown on both sides. You can do this in a dry pan or with a little oil (my preference).
Serve with Curtido – optional but recommended! I also like them with extra hot sauce and sour cream or crema.
Pupusas Recipe Video
Pupusas Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 cups masa harina 232g
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water up to 1 3/4 cups, until you have a moist pliable dough
- 5 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese shredded
Optional Pupusa Toppings
- Curtido
- sour cream or crema
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 cup warm water in a small bowl. (You’ll dip your hands in this mixture to keep the pupusa dough from sticking to your hands as you form the cakes.)
- Line a medium tray with parchment paper.
- Whisk together masa harina and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add warm water, stirring constantly, until all of the water is incorporated and dough is moist and pliable. (Start with 1 1/2 cups warm water and add more as needed to reach your desired consistency.)
- Dip your hands in oil and warm water mixture to moisten your fingers and palms. Scoop out about 1/8 of the dough, a little larger than a golf ball. With your hands, roll into a ball then gently press back and forth between your palms, shaping the dough into a disc, 3 to 4-inches wide. Add a large pinch of shredded cheese to the center of the disc and gently press the sides up all the way around to seal. Use your palms to press the ball back into a disc about 1/2-inch thick and place on prepared tray. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Heat remaining oil in a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Cook pupusas until cooked through and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Serve hot with Curtido and desired toppings.
I haven’t made these yet but they look delicious. Can you freeze them and, if so, before or after they’re fried?
Hi Jo-ann! Yes, they freeze beautifully. Freeze them uncooked and then thaw in the refrigerator – they’ll fry up like you just made them!
First attempt tasted ok, but I did something wrong? Second time nailed it. These are easy to make and delicious. Today being May 5th, my Wife requested that I make a batch. This time I made a mango, pineapple salsa to go with them, will see how that works. Thank you so much for this very simple and flavorful recipe. I will make these often in the future, not waiting for a special occasion.
I’m so glad that you and your wife are enjoying these, Doug! And kudos to you for giving them a second shot after you weren’t 100% happy with the first batch. Your mango pineapple salsa sounds amazing!
Oh wow these look fun. And yummy! I’ve never been to El Salvador, but i was in Guatemala and I think I did eat something similar. I tried to eat everything, of course. They might have been a different shape. I’d have to look in my photos to see. Anyway, I love this recipe, and the cole slaw. What a wonderful combination!
I cooked up a batch this morning! OMG–great. I put in cheese for some and a small amount of sausage in to others. Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Scott! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
I love them but never made them until today 8/25/19 using your recipe and they came out perfect . I love cooking and have cooked in hotels so it is easy to know the cooking Lingo.
Thank you .
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, German! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
The serving says it’s for 4 people, but how many pupusas is the serving per person?
Hi, Megan! This recipe makes about 8 pupusas, so 2 for each person. Enjoy!
Was looking for a pupusa recipe for a potluck i’m attending and found your blog- I’m from Bend, too 🙂 small world. Thanks for the step by step instructions!
Hey neighbor! 🙂 That’s awesome. Hope you love the pupusas!
I am from El Salvador I know how to make Pupusas the point of my comment is that is awesome watch how people like this kind of food and try their best to make them real good Thank you for share this information have a bless life!!!
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Ana!
My grocery store has Harina Pan 100% White Corn Meal, and Instant Yellow Corn Masa Flour. Nothing specifically called Masa Harina. Which of these two would be better for making papusas?
Hi Jimmy! Go with the Instant Yellow Corn Masa Flour…
Hi! Im Salvadoran-American with a Colombian husband so we have both Maseca and Harina Pan (and regular flour haha). You can use Harina pan (the one with the white flour) just follow the directions to ensure you made the flour correctly and continue to wet it as you are making it. It tends to dry out quicker to make sure that as you are making it throw them on the griddle. If you leave the uncooked flour out for too long then it starts to dry out like clay.
Thank you so much for your insight on this, JeyLis!
My first pupusas was very hard. Couldn’t eat it. But when I add too much water couldn’t mold it. Maybe I mold it too thick.
Hi Kesinee…hmmm…not sure what to advise. I recommend measuring the ingredients carefully – ideally, weighing the masa harina so that it’s in the correct proportion to the water.
Hi Marissa,
Does regular corn meal work with this recipe?
Hi there…I’m sorry to say no, cornmeal is too coarse and won’t work well for pupusas. Masa Harina is very finely ground which allows them to hold together.
Thanks for recipe. I’m from Thailand. But I love pupusas. Now I can cook to show my friends
My pleasure, Kesinee! Hope you and your friends love them! 🙂
First time I used this recipe I made six batches. Gone in three days in this family of five adults and two children. These were consumed for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacking in between meals. Making “second” batch for a birthday get together and hopefully Thanksgiving(Yeah right. Like that’s going to happen). Pupusas cooked, cooled, refrigerated in zip bags and heated in toaster oven for that good as fresh taste, Love, love, love this awesome recipe.
Wow, Ruth! This is one of my favorite comments EVER. Thank you so much! 🙂
I live in DC where there’s a large Salvadoran population – LOVE getting the pupusas at restaurants around here! I haven’t ventured into making them yet, but I think I will. These would be great for people doing gluten free!
Thanks, Phillip! I hope you’ll give these a try…you’ll be surprised how easy they are to make! 🙂
Marissa,
These look fabulous and I happen to be planning a dinner for Dom Salvadoran friends. The BIG question, can these be made in advance of a party? If yes, how would I reheat them? Oven perhaps?
Hi Cindy,
Your party sounds like fun! You can definitely make these in advance up to the point of pan frying them – they even freeze well. I haven’t reheated them in the oven once cooked, so I’m not sure how the texture would be? They’re so good when they’re fresh and hot that I recommend that you pan fry them just before your guests arrive, and transfer to a warm oven until you’re ready to serve.
I made these and they were so good thank you!!!
I’m so glad, Karma! Thank you for coming back to let me know!! 🙂
I’ve never eaten, let alone made, a pupusa but I’m down for anything stuffed with cheese. These look AMAZING! Thank you for the step-by-step; I think I’m going to have to make these when I’m home at Christmas so I don’t eat them all myself :). Have a great weekend, Marissa!
I hear you, Kelsie. Stuffed with cheese is about all I need to know.
Never heard of these Marissa! Thanks so much for sharing. They look delicious!
Thanks, Mary Ann!
These look wonderful! I can see why you saved this recipe! And it was totally worth the wait, I’m sure!
Definitely worth the wait – and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to make. To be honest, I don’t get how just water and masa harina make such a pliable dough, but it works, so that’s enough for me!
I love the foodie research mission…I would have gladly signed on to help with that project! Recreating dishes at home is one of my favorite hobbies. I find it’s like a puzzle, and it’s really fun! Looks like you nailed it with these pupusas. I’m not familiar with pupusas, but they sound quite delicious. I also happen to have a bag of masina harina in the pantry right now, so I might need to whip up a batch!
I love foodie research missions. 🙂 I hope you give these a go!
Mmmmm I am so there for anything with melting cheese on it! I had one of these in LA and it was really good! I might give these a go-thanks for the super clear instructions Marissa!
You’re welcome! I wanted to prove how easy they are to make. 🙂
Mmmm! I’ve never heard/tried of Pupusas, but I’m already a huge fan of these gooey deliciousness. No wonder – corn flour and cheese. I’ll definitely need to make these after the holidays. And I’m going to use smoked mozzarella. Thanks for the recipe, Marissa!
I don’t care what you call ’em, I call ’em DELICIOUS!! Thanks for sharing this. Love trying new things! Extra hot sauce for me please 😉