El Salvador: Menu of Typical Dishes
A list of typical Salvadoran dishes and foods. Use it to help you plan a Salvadoran-style meal, party or festival.
Typical Salvadoran Dishes
Soups and Stews
- Caldo de Pescado (Fish stew)
- Caldo de Pollo (Chicken stew)
- Caldo de Res (Beef stew)
- Sopa de Pata (Cow's foot soup)
Salads
- Curtido (Cabbage salad)
Poultry
- Pavo Salvadoreño (Roast turkey with sauce)
- Pollo Encebollado (Chicken simmered with onions)
- Pollo Guisado con Hongos (Chicken with mushrooms)
Meats
- Carne Asada (Grilled steak)
- Lomo Entomatado (Beef with tomatoes)
- Pastel de Carne (Meat pies)
- Salpicón de Res (Shredded beef with tomatoes, chiles and cilantro)
Fish and Seafood
- Ceviche de Camarones (Lime-cooked shrimp)
- Pescado Empanizado (Breaded, fried fish filets)
Vegetables and Beans
- Casamiento (Black beans and rice)
- Chiles Rellenos (Stuffed chile peppers)
- Frijoles Refritos (Refried beans)
- Pacalla (Batter-fried palm flowers with tomato sauce)
- Plátanos Fritos (Fried ripe plantains)
- Yuca Frita con Chicharrón (Fried yuca with pork cracklings)
Breads and Grains
- Casamiento (Black beans and rice)
- Pupusas (Stuffed masa flatbread)
- Tamales de Elote (Fresh corncakes)
- Tamales Pisques (Tamales stuffed with black beans)
- Tamales Salvadoreños (Tamales stuffed with chicken and potatoes)
- Ticucos ("Travelers" tamales)
- Tortillas (Corn flatbread)
Sauces and Condiments
- Salsa Roja (Tomato sauce)
- Vinagre de Piña (Pineapple vinegar)
Desserts
- Arroz con Leche (Rice pudding)
- Atol de Elote (Corn pudding)
- Flan de Leche (Caramel custard)
- Maria Luisa (Jam-filled layer cake)
- Pastel de Tres Leches (Cake of three milks)
- Pastelitos (Filled turnovers)
- Quesadilla Salvadoreña (Sweet cheese poundcake)
- Semita (Jam-filled coffee cake)
Beverages
- Atol de Elote (Corn beverage)
- Atole de Piña (Pineapple beverage)
- Atol de Shuco (Purple corn beverage)
- Batido (Fruit milkshake)
- Café de Maíz (Toasted corn "coffee")
- Cerveza (Beer)
- Chicha (Fermented corn beverage)
- Horchata (Sweet rice beverage; see recipe notes)
- Kolashanpan (Salvadoran cola)
