How To Plate And Serve Pupusas

If you don't have El Salvador on your upcoming travel plans, the good news is that you can bring one of the most iconic dishes from the country to your kitchen: pupusas. After all, pupusas are a dish from El Salvador that everyone should try at least once. These masa-based rounds are like the lovechild of a tamale and a quesadilla; the corn or rice flour dough encases a filling of beans, meat, cheese, and more. While pupusas are arguably the it-girl of the plate, how (and what) you serve them matters. 

In order to get some expert insight, we talked to Kim Grimmett, chef and creator of Dances With Knives. "For plating, I like to keep it simple with two or three pupusas overlapping each other on a plate with a scoop of curtido on the side and a small dish of salsa roja," she says. The curtido, which she describes as a lightly fermented slaw, adds a complementary tang to the pupusas, while the salsa roja offers heat. It would be a mistake to think of either of these sides as just a garnish, though. "The acidity of the fermented cabbage rounds out the richness of the filling and the corn masa dough," she says. When you get all three of these components in the same bite, you'll get the perfect harmony of brightness, heat, acidity, and heartiness — which is what truly brings this iconic El Salvadorian dish alive.

Of course, we didn't just have to get chef Kim Grimmett's advice on how to serve pupusas; she also shared some insight and tips for making a batch at home. She named off a couple of mistakes that people make with this dish. "When it comes to preparing pupusas, one of the biggest mistakes is overstuffing them. This can cause the dough to tear and your filling to leak out," she says, recommending that folks use enough dough to encase their filling in its entirety. 

She also shares that there are mistakes often made around temperature. Not only do people cook them at extremely high heat (meaning the outside chars but the inside doesn't cook through), but they also don't serve them warm. "It's also important to note that pupusas are best served the moment they come off the griddle, when they are still crisp on the outside and warm on the inside," she says. To remedy this, she recommends using a cast-iron skillet and keeping them warm until serving — preferably with her recommended accompaniments.

There are many pupusa variations you can try, including our recipe for winter squash pupusas. As a vegan chef, Grimmett prefers adding soyrizo, vegan cheese, and refried beans to her recipe, but notes that meat, shrimp, and more are all viable options. As long as you serve them with salsa roja and curtido, you'll be well on your way to a tasty, colorful, and balanced El Salvadorian meal.