Curtido substitute

Best substitute

Sauerkraut With Mexican Oregano and Shredded Carrot

Use 1 cup drained sauerkraut plus ½ tsp Mexican oregano and 2 Tbsp grated carrot, for every cup of curtido

Best for pupusas

Close match

Drain the sauerkraut and rinse it briefly if it is very sharp, squeeze lightly, then toss with the oregano and raw grated carrot. Let it sit fifteen minutes before serving.

Other curtido substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Quick Curtido in 30 Minutes
Close match
4 cups shredded cabbage, 1 grated carrot, ½ sliced onion, 1 sliced jalapeno, 1 cup hot water, ½ cup white vinegar, 1 Tbsp salt, 1 tsp Mexican oregano
Pack the vegetables into a bowl or jar.
What changes
Stir the salt into the hot water, add the vinegar and oregano, pour over, press the cabbage down, and leave thirty minutes at room temperature.
Best for
pupusas, tacos, grilled meats, rice plates, beans, yuca frita
The real answer, since curtido is one of the easiest pickles there is and thirty minutes of resting is genuinely enough to make it good. It gets better for two or three days. Because this is a vinegar pickle rather than a several-day ferment, it tastes cleaner and sharper and lacks the faint fizzy complexity of the traditional version. Nobody at your table will mind, and it is much crunchier than anything from a jar.
3Bagged Coleslaw Mix Dressed With Vinegar and Salt
Different taste
3 cups slaw mix, 3 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp Mexican oregano, ½ tsp sugar
Toss the dry slaw mix with the salt first, wait ten minutes, then add the vinegar, sugar and oregano.
What changes
Use no mayonnaise of any kind.
Best for
pupusas, tacos, grilled meats, sandwiches, rice bowls
Fast, cheap and perfectly serviceable, and the shredded cabbage-and-carrot mix is exactly the right raw material. What it lacks is fermentation, so it tastes fresh and crisp rather than tangy and complex, and it needs noticeably more vinegar and salt than you would expect to hold its own next to a pupusa. Salt it and wait before dressing it, which draws out water and stops the bowl going watery on the table.
4Kimchi, Rinsed and Chopped
Different taste
Use the same amount rinsed briefly and chopped shorter
Napa cabbage kimchi, rinsed under cold water to remove some chilli paste, squeezed lightly and chopped into shorter pieces.
What changes
Best for
pupusas, tacos, rice bowls, grilled meats, sandwiches
Gets the three things that matter most exactly right: sour fermented tang, real salt, and cabbage crunch. What it adds is a whole other cuisine. Garlic, gochugaru and usually salted shrimp mean a pupusa topped with kimchi tastes Korean rather than Salvadoran, which is genuinely delicious but is a different plate of food. Rinsing tones the chilli down. If anyone at the table is vegetarian, check the label for shrimp or fish sauce.
5Escabeche or Pickled Jalapenos With Cabbage
Different taste
Use ½ cup drained escabeche plus 1 cup raw shredded cabbage, for every cup of curtido
Chop the pickled vegetables, toss them with raw shredded cabbage, and add a tablespoon of the brine so the cabbage picks up some acidity.
What changes
Best for
pupusas, tacos, grilled meats, rice plates, beans
A good improvisation because the pickled vegetables bring the acid and the raw cabbage brings the volume and crunch, which between them covers most of curtido's job. It will be hotter than curtido usually is, since escabeche is jalapeno-forward, and the carrot in the jar is cooked and soft rather than raw and sweet. Add a pinch of oregano to pull it toward the Salvadoran side.
6Red Cabbage Vinegar Slaw
Close match
Use the same amount made 30 minutes ahead
Shred red cabbage very finely, salt it for ten minutes, squeeze, then dress with white or cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar and dried oregano.
What changes
Best for
pupusas, tacos, grilled fish, sandwiches, rice bowls
The same construction as green cabbage curtido, so it does the job properly, and it looks striking on a plate. Red cabbage is a little tougher and slightly sweeter than green, so shred it thinner and give it the salting step or it will feel chewy. The colour bleeds, so it will tint a white pupusa pink, which bothers some people and delights others.
7Nothing, Plus a Squeeze of Lime
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 lime wedge for every serving
Serve the pupusas with salsa roja and a wedge of lime to squeeze over, and skip the slaw entirely.
What changes
Best for
pupusas, grilled meats, beans and rice
The honest least-bad answer, and worth stating clearly: a pupusa is masa and melted cheese, and without something sharp and crunchy beside it, three of them in a row taste heavy and monotonous. Lime restores the acidity, which is the more important half of curtido's job, and costs nothing. What is entirely missing is the crunch and the bulk, so the plate feels one-note in texture.

What is Curtido?

Curtido is the sharp shredded cabbage relish served alongside pupusas, also called repollo curtido or Salvadoran cabbage slaw, made with carrot, onion, oregano and often jalapeno and either lightly fermented in brine for a few days or quick-pickled in vinegar, and its job on the plate is acid and crunch cutting through something soft and rich.

Cooking tips

Curtido exists to cut through a pupusa, and understanding that decides everything else. A pupusa is a thick masa cake full of melted cheese and refried beans, and it is rich and soft all the way through. Curtido answers it with acid, salt and a loud crunch. When you substitute, get the sourness right first, the crunch second, and let the oregano and carrot be finishing touches.
Shred the cabbage as thinly as you can, then salt it and squeeze it if you want maximum crunch. Ten to fifteen minutes with a teaspoon of salt per four cups draws out a surprising amount of water, and cabbage that has given up its water stays crisp in brine for days instead of going limp. Squeeze it firmly with your hands before dressing.
Use Mexican oregano rather than Mediterranean if you can get it. It is a different plant, more citrusy and grassy where Mediterranean oregano is minty and piney, and it is the single aroma that makes curtido taste Salvadoran rather than generically pickled. This is why adding oregano to sauerkraut works so well as a shortcut.
Serve it cold and drained, with a slotted spoon or tongs. Curtido sitting in a puddle of brine on top of a pupusa will make the masa soggy within a minute, which ruins the crisp griddled crust that is half the point. Lift it out of its liquid and let it drain briefly before it hits the plate.
Make it a day ahead if you can. The vinegar version is good at thirty minutes and better at twenty-four hours, once the salt has fully penetrated and the onion has lost its raw edge. It keeps improving for about three days and then slowly softens.
If you want the traditional lightly fermented version rather than a vinegar pickle, follow a tested brine ratio, weigh the salt rather than guessing, keep the cabbage fully submerged under the brine with a weight, and move the jar to the refrigerator once it tastes pleasantly sour, usually one to three days at room temperature. For tested fermentation guidance, use the National Center for Home Food Preservation rather than adjusting the salt to taste.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the curtido off my pupusas?

Technically yes, and with a good salsa roja they are still worth eating, but be warned that pupusas without something sharp and crunchy get heavy fast. Masa and melted cheese are soft and rich, and curtido is the only thing on the plate providing acid and texture. At a minimum, dress some shredded cabbage with vinegar and salt for ten minutes, or squeeze a lime over the plate.

Is curtido fermented or just pickled?

Both versions are authentic and both are called curtido. The traditional one is a light lacto-ferment: cabbage in salt brine at room temperature for one to three days until it turns pleasantly sour, then refrigerated. The everyday home version is a quick vinegar pickle ready in half an hour. The ferment tastes deeper and slightly fizzy; the vinegar version tastes brighter and sharper. Either is correct beside a pupusa.

How long does curtido keep?

Two to three weeks in the refrigerator in a sealed jar with the cabbage under the brine, and it is at its best in the first week. It gradually softens and sours. Use a clean dry utensil each time. Discard it if the brine goes ropy or slimy, if you see fuzzy mould, or if it smells rotten and sulphurous rather than cleanly sour.

Is curtido spicy?

Usually mildly, and it varies by household. A sliced jalapeno or two in a large batch gives a gentle background warmth rather than real heat, and plenty of cooks leave the chile out altogether. If you want it hotter, add more jalapeno or a habanero, and remember that the heat will spread through the whole jar and intensify over the first few days.

Can I use red cabbage instead of green?

Yes, and it makes a good-looking curtido. Red cabbage is denser and a little sweeter, so shred it thinner and give it the salt-and-squeeze step so it does not stay chewy. The one thing to know is that the colour bleeds enthusiastically, so the brine turns magenta and anything the curtido touches on the plate will take on a pink tint.

Related substitutes

More fermented substitutes

Curtido substitute

Other curtido substitutes

2Quick Curtido in 30 Minutes

3Bagged Coleslaw Mix Dressed With Vinegar and Salt

4Kimchi, Rinsed and Chopped

5Escabeche or Pickled Jalapenos With Cabbage

6Red Cabbage Vinegar Slaw

7Nothing, Plus a Squeeze of Lime