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Bolivian

Salteñas

Non-vegetarian

Bolivia's mid-morning treat: slightly sweet, golden pastry parcels filled with a juicy, gently spicy beef, potato and pea stew that's set with gelatine so it stays inside until baked.

Salteñas is a Bolivian pastry, ready in about 6 hours 15 minutes and made with beef sirloin steak, gelatine and all-purpose flour. It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
1 h 15 min
Cook
1 h
Rest
4 h
Total
6 h 15 min
Serves
8
Level
Advanced
Calories
646

The filling is usually chilled overnight.

Ingredients

8 servings (16 salteñas)

Filling (jigote)

Dough

Glaze

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Fry the onions (opens in a new tab) in the oil until soft, then add the beef, spring onion (opens in a new tab), paprika (opens in a new tab), cayenne, cumin (opens in a new tab), oregano (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), 1½ tsp salt and pepper (opens in a new tab). Cook 5 minutes, add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Sprinkle the gelatine (opens in a new tab) over 4 tbsp cold water, let it swell, then stir into the hot stew with the potatoes (opens in a new tab), peas (opens in a new tab) and parsley (opens in a new tab). Cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) until set.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    For the dough, mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab) and remaining salt. Add the melted butter (opens in a new tab) (warmed with achiote (opens in a new tab), if using), the egg (opens in a new tab) and enough warm water to make a smooth, firm dough. Rest 20 minutes.

    • 15 min

  4. Step 4

    Divide into 16 balls and roll each to a 14 cm round. Spoon on a heaped tablespoon of the cold, jellied filling with a raisin (opens in a new tab), an olive and some egg (opens in a new tab), fold over and seal, then crimp the edge into a rope along the top so the salteña stands upright.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 230 °C. Stand the salteñas on a lined tray, brush with the egg yolk (opens in a new tab) mixed with milk (opens in a new tab) and bake 15–20 minutes until deep golden.

About this dish

Origin
Bolivia · Well documentedNamed after an Argentine woman from Salta said to have popularised them in Bolivia in the 19th century; the story is popular rather than documented.More food from Bolivia
Dish
Breakfast · Brunch · Snack · Pastries · Street food
Cooking method
Stewed, Oven-baked
Taste
savoury, sweet & savoury, spicy (chilli heat), rich
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Portable / lunchbox · Street food
Cook more with
Beef sirloin steak · Gelatine · All-purpose flour · Onion · Spring onion · Paprika
Techniques
Baking · Simmering · Stewing · Gelification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg, egg yolk
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • May contain: Celeryfrom beef stock
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

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

646 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 379 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 18%
  • Carbohydrate 51%
  • Fat 31%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy646 kcal170 kcal
Protein28.4 g7.5 g
Carbohydrate82.6 g21.8 g
Net carbohydrate77.4 g20.4 g
Sugars12.5 g3.3 g
Added sugars9.1 g2.4 g
Fibre5.2 g1.4 g
Fat22.4 g5.9 g
Saturated fat9.7 g2.6 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol116 mg31 mg
Sodium879 mg232 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
785 mg
Calcium
82 mg
Iron
6.3 mg
Magnesium
63 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
190 µg
Vitamin C
17 mg
Vitamin D
0.4 µg
Vitamin B12
0.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
263 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: raisins, green olives, egg, annatto (achiote) seeds / ground.
  • “—” 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

Tips

  • Keep the filling cold while shaping — it is what keeps the salteñas juicy.

Common mistakes

  • Overfilling: the seams burst in the oven and the juice runs out.

Serve with

  • Eat upright, biting off a corner and sipping the juice first — a Bolivian art.

Food safety

  • Cool the cooked filling quickly and keep it refrigerated until shaping.
  • The diced beef is simmered through in the stew; bake until the pastry is deep golden so the filling is piping hot.

Storage

  • Freeze unbaked salteñas for up to 2 months; bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes. Baked ones keep 2 days in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The spice and seasoning backbone

Spices, masalas & pastes

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 1 h 30 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 4 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 20 min at 230 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 5 h 50 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

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