Healthy Pupusas

Perhaps the most traditional dish in El Salvador, pupusas have reached international popularity. They are usually filled with cheese, pork rinds or refried beans and served with tanned cabbage and tomato sauce. For this healthy version we use vegan cheese to reduce both the amount of calories and saturated fat, although they can also be filled with red or black “flipped” beans, which can be prepared without fat.


Yields8 ServingsPrep Time10 minsCook Time15 minsDifficultyBeginner

Ingredients

 4 cups semolina flour
 ¾ tbsp salt
 water for the pupusa dough (to be determined)

Instructions

1

Put the semolina in a big bowl and add salt.

2

Add water slowly until a soft, compact dough/paste is obtained.

3

Get a golf-ball sized ball of dough and form a disc in the form of a thick or chubby tortilla.

4

Add about one to two tablespoons of vegan melted cheese in the center of the dough circle and close it well as if it were a pie.

5

Form a ball and begin to squash it slowly giving it the form of pupusa without allowing the filling to leak through the dough.

6

Place the pupusas on a hot griddle and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until they’re lightly browned on both sides.

Nutrition Facts

8 servings

Serving size

2 pupusas


Amount per serving
Calories372
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g7%
Saturated Fat 0.9g5%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 1316mg58%
Total Carbohydrate 68.2g25%
Dietary Fiber 4.2g15%
Total Sugars 0.5g
Protein 13.1g

* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Ingredients

 4 cups semolina flour
 ¾ tbsp salt
 water for the pupusa dough (to be determined)

Directions

1

Put the semolina in a big bowl and add salt.

2

Add water slowly until a soft, compact dough/paste is obtained.

3

Get a golf-ball sized ball of dough and form a disc in the form of a thick or chubby tortilla.

4

Add about one to two tablespoons of vegan melted cheese in the center of the dough circle and close it well as if it were a pie.

5

Form a ball and begin to squash it slowly giving it the form of pupusa without allowing the filling to leak through the dough.

6

Place the pupusas on a hot griddle and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until they’re lightly browned on both sides.

Notes

Healthy Pupusas
Avatar photo
María Hummel

María José Hummel is a nutritionist, health educator, and a currently finishing a PhD in natural medicine with an emphasis on nutrition and natural remedies. María José has been certified by the American College for Lifestyle Medicine and has completed the plant-based nutrition certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University. She is also an international speaker and author, with nearly two decades of experience providing dynamic presentations and education on nutrition, health, prevention, and vegetarian cuisine. She has appeared numerous times as a guest expert on cooking and nutrition shows on 3ABN, 3ABN Latino, and several other television and radio networks in California. María José is the author of three vegetarian cookbooks, a book about reversing diabetes, and maintains websites in English and Spanish, where she provides free recipes and health information.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Newsletter Signup

Stay connected!

Please wait...

Thank you for the sign up!