The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Salvadoran Foods. If you manage to be in an Salvadoran restaurant or you are visiting El Salvador, I recommend the following:
1. Yuca Frita
Whether fried or boiled, yuca is part of the typical meals of El Salvador, a tuber that Salvadorans eat as a snack, snack or snack. Yuca is accompanied by pork rinds, pork chunks or “pescadas”, small fish typical of the country that are prepared fried. Fried yuca can also be accompanied with tomato sauce, pickles, tomatoes and cucumbers.
2. Tres Leches Cake
Tres Leches literally means “three milks”. It has this name because it uses three types of milk: natural, evaporated and condensed. They are mixed with sugar, eggs, butter, cream, flour, baking powder and vanilla. The cake is baked and left to rest. It is then refrigerated for several hours and served cold. It has a very sweet flavour and a very soft and spongy texture.
3. Panes Rellenos
Typical food from El Salvador also known as “panes migueleños”, because it is traditionally eaten in the eastern part of the country where the Department of San Miguel is located. They are prepared from a long flour bread that is filled with lettuce, watercress, tomato and cucumber. Although it is not part of the main ingredients, it can also include pickled vegetables. Portions of hen meat are placed on top of the vegetables and at the moment of eating, they are bathed with natural tomato sauce.
4. Quesadilla Salvadorena
Quesadillas are a dessert eaten throughout El Salvador, a baked bread with cheese, cream and milk, accompanied with a cup of coffee. They can be eaten hot or cold, according to the consumer’s taste.
5. Sopa de Pescado
This fish soup is prepared with a variety of ingredients, such as butter, tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. It can also be seasoned with achiote. Achiote, or annatto, is a reddish spice derived from the achiote tree, native to Latin America. Although you can find fish soup in many Latin American countries with access to the coast, the ingredients and spices used in this Salvadoran soup make it unique.
6. Tamales
The dough is prepared with corn and various spices that give it its delicious flavour. Individual portions are made and filled with pork, duck or chicken and natural tomato sauce. Before cooking in boiling water, they are wrapped in banana leaves. Salvadoran tamales are: Tamales pisques (filled with beans and cheese, no meat is used), Tamales de chipilín (chipilín is added, when served tomato sauce is poured with a touch of spice) and Tamal de elote (cream, milk, butter and sometimes sugar instead of salt is added to the dough).
7. Sopa de Pata
Soup whose basic ingredient is the limbs of the cow, to which vegetables such as plantain, cabbage, yuca, pipianes, green beans and güisquil are added. When served, jalapeño peppers in small pieces, onion and cilantro are added. A few drops of lime will give it a more exotic flavour.
8. Pupusa
Pupusas are the most representative dish of Salvadoran cuisine. They are made with either corn or rice, ingredients with which the dough is prepared. Once cooked, they are opened and filled with beans, ground pork rinds, cheese, shrimp or any other available ingredient. The most popular pupusas are the “vueltas” filled with chicharrón, cheese and beans. All are accompanied with natural tomato sauce and pickles prepared with cabbage, carrots, grated onion and chilli; all soaked in vinegar.
9. Ensalada
Ensalada is a very refreshing Salvadoran drink. It is mainly a mixture of fruits, such as pineapples, apples, cashews and mamey, which is a tropical fruit with an apricot-like flavour. Everything is chopped into very small pieces and mixed with water, salt and sugar.
10. Empanadas De Leche
Empanadas are one of the most delicious Salvadorian desserts. With their soft texture and sweet flavour, they are perfect for breakfast or dinner. Empanadas are made with a fried plantain base, which is filled with fried beans or milk custard. Some Salvadorans like to coat the empanadas in sugar. The flavour is truly heavenly.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Central American Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.