Taylor-LeighThe short answer…100% YES!
The long answer, tips, tricks, and specifics – read on!
In January, my partner and I went to El Salvador for a week to visit his family. We even got engaged there! It was my first time away from caring for my grandmother in 2 years. I’m SO thankful we got to go, and I loved getting to experience such a warm, compassionate culture, a true testament to the person my partner is today, awww.
About El Salvador
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. It is about the size of Maryland, and is located along the Pacific Ocean, kind of below and in between Guatemala and Honduras. Due to the end of the Civil War, and the election of the well-liked president in 2019, El Salvador is gaining a better reputation for being a safe and sought-after destination to travel to, for many different reasons!
I don’t want to discount the amount of poverty and corruption that is still present for its citizens. Learning more about El Salvador & traveling to the country will definitely provide perspective on your own experience within the world. I recommend supporting local as much as possible, as well as being an informed traveler (learn some Spanish, be respectful and eager to learn about the culture).
Reasons to visit El Salvador
- First, the crime rate has gone down drastically since the 2000’s, and areas for tourists (usually along the coast) are safe.
- Second, the people are extremely warm and kind, always making room for you at their table. They will gladly eat less if it means sharing with you.
- Third, the nature is abundant. There are so many things to do outdoors besides the beach – lakes, volcanos, indigenous ruins, to name a few!
- Fourth, because the country is not overrun with ex-patriots like Costa Rica, the prices are very affordable and can be cheap. Just be sure to tip well because 1) the peoples’ livelihoods depend on it, and 2) if you are traveling from a more privileged country, you CAN afford to travel & tip well!
- And finally, and what this piece is about….the FOOD!
Below I talk about typical food and ways to veganize it so we can live our best, thriving, plant-based lives in El Salvador!
**Please keep in mind that while I was there, my partner & I were staying with his family, eating and making 99% of our food in the house. This list will be similar, but not completely the same as travelers who choose to eat out the majority of the time.
Food in El Salvador
Tortillas
Tortillas are eaten with every meal. They are not thin, Mexican-style tortillas that we are used to in the United States. They are thick, made simply of water mixed with either corn flour (maseca), or rice flour, making it ideal for anyone (like myself) who is gluten free. My partner’s family liked to toast them the next day when they weren’t as fresh, but I prefer mine to be soft.
Veganize tortillas: already vegan!
Pupusas
The #1 food people associate with El Salvador is pupusas. It is like a thick tortilla stuffed with filling. The filling is usually some combination of queso (cheese), frijoles (fried beans), chicharrones (pork), and ayote (zucchini-like squash). Like the tortillas, they can be made with either corn or rice flour. I prefer corn!
Pupusas can be eaten any time of day, but I’ve noticed many families go out to buy them about once a week, if they don’t make them at the house. In the U.S. pupusas are around $2 a pop, but in the country of their origin, $0.25 is the price! Any more than that and they are considered to be too expensive.
I eat anywhere from 1-3 of them for a meal, depending on how hungry I am. They are eaten with a tomato sauce made simply of boiled and blended tomatoes, as well as with curtido. Curtido is a mixture of vinegar with shredded cabbage, often with carrots, onions, and jalapenos. And YES they are eaten with your hands. It can get messy, but if you want to avoid stares from locals, avoid utensils!
Veganize pupusas: In both the U.S. and in El Salvador, pupuserias typically make their food to order. Therefore, ordering a pupusa with only beans, or with beans & whatever veggies they have on hand -typically ayote (squash) can be done. Sometimes the employee may gasp and say “no queso?!,” but they move along within 0.8 seconds when you confirm, “si no queso,” with them. The best pupusas we had on our trip in January were made at my partner’s brother’s house, with beans and spinach!
What about vegan cheese?
When we make pupusas at home, we often will use vegan cheese. In fact, one time we swapped the cow cheese for vegan cheese when my partner’s Salvadorean family was over, and they didn’t even notice! We have also used jackfruit “pork.” The sky is the limit for fillings when you make your own. I have never seen a pupuseria with vegan cheese, but I have yet to visit tourist destinations in El Salvador where the food may not be as typical. Now that I think of it, it may be a good business venture to have a vegan pupuseria!
Tamales
Tamales are a typical Mesoamerican dish, made also of stuffed corn flour. The difference is that the dough is steamed in a banana leaf or a corn husk, making it mushy and wet as opposed to dry like a tortilla. As a mushy food lover, tamales are a dream for me! With the subtle sweetness of the corn, the salty bean filling, and the softness of it all….um YUM.
Tomales in El Salvador are typically eaten for special occasions. I actually didn’t eat any while we were there, but I have eaten them in the States. Therefore, I won’t go into as much detail as I did with the pupusas. Typically inside you will find a tomato sauce, cheese, beans, herbs, meat, or any combination. The leaf or husk wrapper can either be discarded or used as a plate.
Veganize tomales: see what is available on the menu. There is usually an option for just beans! If not, simply ask if you can order solo frijol, or solo vegetal!
*Be sure to also ask if it is cooked with manteca (lard), which is the more cost efficient alternative to cooking with oil.
Yucca
While I have a section for produce below, yucca, or casava root, deserves its own section. Yucca, like a potato but richer, is very versatile. Yucca fritas are simply fries made of yucca. I personally love yucca boiled for a long time so it gets mushy on the outside with a little firmness inside. (Be sure to discard the water as it can be toxic). Add some garlic, onions, or even coconut milk like a Cuban dish, and…..mouthgasm.
Veganize yucca: already vegan! If you are plant-based for your health &/or weight, avoid yucca fries when out and about. Instead, opt for steamed or boiled!
Plantains
Plantains also deserve their own section because they are so widely available and versatile! The most common way I ate them at my partner’s family’s house was microwaved! Yes, his mom would wrap a plantain in plastic wrap (like a potato), with the peel still intact, and microwave it for about 5 minutes. When you let it cool and open it up, it is like a sweet, caramelized potato! I loved it for breakfast with cinnamon.
Veganize plantains: already vegan! But similar to yucca, it’s common to see fried plantains laden with oil and sometimes breaded. I feel my best after eating plantains that were simply boiled, baked, or microwaved!
Produce
El Salvador is a tropical country. Avoiding some of the most delicious and abundant completely WHOLE plant foods would be a sin, in my opinion! Markets and stands are everywhere, take advantage of them! It is not uncommon to see little stores being run out of people’s houses, like right in front of the house we stayed in! This made it so convenient to just go across the road and pick something up.
Fruits (Frutas)
Most fruits can be eaten raw. Don’t skip out on the coconuts either. When my partner and I had just arrived on our trip, the first stop after the airport was a coconut stand on the side of the road to get a dozen! I had to pinch myself seeing all of the coconuts in the trunk.
Some of my favorite tropical fruits that we don’t have widely, locally, available in the States are papaya, passionfruit, 100 oranges for $5, apple bananas (not sure of the proper name for them, SO much tastier than the boring old Cavendish), sapote, cherimoya, mangoes, and more!
Vegetables (Verduras)
We ate LOTS of veggies with my partner’s family. We felt spoiled as every few hours (usually more frequently) we were called to the table for “comidaaaa!” They prepared them into fresh salad mixtures, sauteed them oil-free on our request, microwaved things like ooey gooey caramelized squash, and steamed them.
Caution: Use discretion on washing your produce with CLEAN water. My partner & I both returned home with a stomach bug that is most likely from contaminated water. Additionally, avoid ice cubes, smoothies with ice blended in, etc.
Starches
I’ve already mentioned a few starches: tortillas, plantains, yucca, squash. At the markets, you can also find dried beans, rice, and of course potatoes. My partner also LOVES chayote squash as his mom has always put it in soups!
Along with our fresh fruits and vegetables, we also ate lots of rice, beans, and of course tortillas.
Personally, I felt clean and energized all week long, fueling up on whole plant foods.
Coffee
I can’t talk about El Salvador without including their coffee. The coffee crop is a HUGE part of Salvadorean history. Funny enough, most Salvadoreans drink instant coffee! They love it with canela, or cinnamon, which is already roasted into many instant coffee products. Even many kids drink it, especially with…
pan dulce.
Pan dulce, or sweet bread, is an afternoon favorite for Salvadorans paired with a niiiice cup of coffee. While I was with my partner, one day his family waited and waited all afternoon for the lady to come around the neighborhood selling bread. When they spotted the giant basket on her head, they ran outside and picked out which goodies they wanted. My partner got a few vegan pieces too! He just asked for it “sin leche y huevos.”
Horchata
One last honorable mention I have is horchata, which is a rich beverage made of blended seeds, spices, and water to be enjoyed hot or cold. We had it for a special occasion, a birthday party.
I’m including horchata because I observed it being made right in front of me, quite an interesting process!
My partner’s family first toasted a big assortment of nuts, seeds, and spices like cinnamon in a pan, and then transferred it to a bowl. Later that day my partner told me to “come with us,” and I didn’t ask any questions. A few of us showed up at a small hole in the wall type of place. Inside was a man who owned a big conveyer belt looking thing attached to metal grinders. Before mass food processing, this is the traditional way corn flour was made – the dried kernels are sent through the grinder to turn into flour. We handed the bowl of nuts and seeds to the man, and he grinded it up to make the mixture for horchata! It was mixed with water and sifted out, kind of reminding me of how almond milk is made.
The beverage is served in little cups because it is very rich! I really enjoyed it, but my partner, not so much. From what I hear, you either love it or you hate it!
Veganize horchata: Horchata is traditionally made vegan, but be sure to ask as often it will be mixed with milk.
Cost of vegan food in El Salvador
I wanted to mention the affordability of avoiding animal products with a few stories. Firstly, and with much respect, when my partner and I met, I was vegan, and he wasn’t. He didn’t even know what it meant to be vegan! I love him for it now though. When I told him that I mainly eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, and starches, this resonated with him.
When he was a child, he grew up very poor in El Salvador. Besides local eggs, the only things his family could afford were mainly rice, beans, tortillas, and produce from the market. To this day, he will cook a huge pot of vegetable soup or rice, and have it last all week, simply reheating it on the stovetop each day to kill any bacteria. Meat was expensive and was only eaten once a week at the most, or on special occasions.
Although fast and processed food allows for animal products to be more accessible, meat is still more costly than eating plant based.
If you couldn’t already tell, my partner went vegan a few weeks after we met because the information regarding health and animals that I shared with him resonated. Once he learned more, he realized that he ate mostly vegetarian growing up without realizing it.
Cost and accessibility of eating vegan in El Salvador
Another story I have to share is from when we went for our visit in January. My partner’s more well-off family member took us out for a meal in another part of town. Of course, it was a steak house. The prices were similar to the cost of a meal in the United States (over $10 a plate) and there was nothing vegan on the menu to select. Instead, we made do with a few sides (rice, beans) and a salad. This didn’t fill us up, but we were more interested in enjoying the company.
Situations like these are what give veganism a bad reputation of being difficult and restrictive. I felt uncomfortable, but luckily my partner explained to them the benefits of eating plant based for our health and they understood. As you can see, the only experience where being vegan was somewhat more challenging was at a steakhouse, a place we wouldn’t have eaten at regardless. Later that evening, we went to this family member’s house and had the best spinach and bean pupusas ever to make up for it!
To conclude, eating plant based vegan is not only extremely easy in El Salvador, but also the most cost effective. Because we weren’t bogged down by the heavy animal products, we had more energy to enjoy things like playing on the beach and going on hikes!
