Vegan Salvadoran Pupusas
These cheesy, savory handmade flatbreads made with a corn masa dough and then stuffed with soyrizo, beans, and vegan cheese are oh so good! This traditional recipe for Vegan Salvadoran Pupusas uses just 5 ingredients. Served with curtido, an easy to make cabbage slaw that completes the dish.
Servings: 18
Ingredients
Dough:
- 4 cups masa harina
- 3 ½ to 4 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoon of salt
Filling:
- 1 15oz can refried pinto or black beans (1 cup needed)
- 6oz soyrizo (1 cup needed)
- 1 package vegan cheese, that melts (I used TJ's vegan mozzarella )
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
To serve:
- Curtido (recipe here)
Instructions
- Prepare the dough by mixing the masa harina and salt together in a large bowl. Then slowly add the warm water in a little at a time. You may not need all of the water. You want the dough to be the consistency of clay. Not mushy, but wet enough that if you form a disc in your hand that won’t break apart. If the dough is cracking you need to add more water. If you add too much water just add more masa harina. Cover the prepared dough with a damp towel to keep it from drying out. If the dough does dry out just add more water to fix as needed and return to a moldable clay like texture.
- To make the pupusas, start by forming a ¼ cup size portion of the masa dough into a ball. Then flatten the ball out into a disc that is about 4” in diameter. You may want to wet your fingers to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
- Top the center of the disc of dough with about 1 teaspoon of refried beans, 1 teaspoon of vegan cheese, and ½ tablespoon of soyrizo. You can vary the amounts if you like, but don’t use more than a little over a tablespoon of filling in total. There are 3 teaspoon to a Tbsp. If you overfill them they will not seal properly.
- Next, bring the edges of the dough up and over to encase the filling. Pinch the edges together to form a seal. Now pat the sealed dough ball out until it forms a flat disc again. The disc should be about ⅓ inch thick. Don't worry if a hole or crack forms in the pupusa. Just use a little bit of the dough to patch it. With the clay like texture of the dough it is easy to add more and then smooth it out with a bit of water. Lay the discs on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat as you prepare them.
- To cook, heat a cast iron or non-stick pan to medium heat. Brush the pan with a little bit of oil using a pastry brush. Place 2-3 pupusas in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and warmed through. Repeat with the remaining pupusas.
- Serve with curtido. Enjoy! For a variation to the soyrizo try stuffing the pupusas with my tasty Jackfruit Carnitas!
Notes
*If you don't want to make your own dough, you find already prepared masa in almost any hispanic grocery store.
Nutrition
Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.7g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 3.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 0.5g | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention me on Instagram @dances_with_knives and add the hashtag #danceswithknives! Would love to see your yummy creations!