Curtido

Name: Curtido
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 2 h 17 min
Ingredients: 500 g cabbage, finely shredded; 1 carrot, coarsely grated; ½ onion, very thinly sliced; 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional); 180 ml white vinegar; 120 ml water; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar (optional)

Vegetarian

A tangy, lightly pickled slaw of cabbage, carrot and onion with vinegar and oregano — the essential crunchy partner to pupusas.

Curtido is a Salvadoran pickle from El Salvador, ready in about 2 hours 17 minutes and made with cabbage and white vinegar. It serves 8 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 15 min
Cook: 2 min
Rest: 2 h
Total: 2 h 17 min
Serves: 8
Level: Beginner
Calories: 26

Best after a night in the fridge.

Ingredients

8 servings

500 g Cabbage (opens in a new tab), finely shredded
1 (60 g) Carrot (opens in a new tab), coarsely grated
½ (55 g) Onion (opens in a new tab), very thinly sliced
1 (14 g) Jalapeño (opens in a new tab), thinly sliced (optional)
180 ml White vinegar (opens in a new tab)Swap: Apple cider vinegar
120 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (1 g) Dried oregano (opens in a new tab)Mexican or Salvadoran oregano.
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (4 g) Sugar (opens in a new tab) (optional)

Equipment

Saucepan (opens in a new tab)

Method

1
Step 1
Put the cabbage (opens in a new tab) in a large bowl, pour over boiling water to cover and drain after 1 minute. This softens it slightly.
- 3 min
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Toss the cabbage (opens in a new tab) with the carrot (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab) and jalapeño (opens in a new tab).
- 2 min
3
Step 3
Mix the vinegar, water, oregano (opens in a new tab), salt and sugar (opens in a new tab), pour over the vegetables and toss well. Pack into a jar and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- 3 min

About this dish

Origin: El Salvador · Well documentedAlso popular in Honduras, GuatemalaMore food from El Salvador
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Pickles & ferments · Condiments, chutneys & relishes · Side dishes
Cooking method: Marinated / cured, Blanched
Taste: sour, fresh, tangy
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, Paleo-style, No added sugarWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead · Budget-friendly · Meal-prep friendly
Cook more with: Cabbage · White vinegar · Carrot · Onion · Dried oregano
Techniques: Boiling · Blanching · Marinating · Curing

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

26 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 115 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

Protein 16%
Carbohydrate 81%
Fat 4%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	26 kcal	22 kcal
Protein	1 g	0.8 g
Carbohydrate	5.1 g	4.4 g
Net carbohydrate	3.1 g	2.7 g
Sugars	2.7 g	2.3 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	1.9 g	1.7 g
Fat	0.1 g	0.1 g
Saturated fat	0 g	0 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	309 mg	268 mg
Salt equivalent	0.8 g	0.7 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 142 mg
Calcium: 34 mg
Iron: 0.4 mg
Magnesium: 10 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 66 µg
Vitamin C: 24 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 30 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: jalapeño, sugar.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

Serve with pupusas and thin tomato salsa, or with yuca frita, tamales and grilled meats.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed jar up to 1 week.

Variations

Fermented curtido: Pack the salted vegetables tightly with a little water and leave at room temperature for 2–3 days to ferment before chilling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & DrizzleCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Cabbage, finely shredded500 g
Carrot, coarsely grated1 piece · 60 g
Jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional)1 piece · 14 g

Used in steps 1, 2

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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