Cast Iron, Steel or Electric: The Best Comal for Pupusas

Pupusas come from El Salvador, not Mexico. They are thick corn cakes, patted by hand around a filling of beans, cheese or chicharrón, and King Arthur Baking calls them “the national dish of El Salvador”. They share the comal with Mexican cooking, though: a flat, heavy griddle that cooks masa slowly and evenly until the outside is speckled brown and the cheese inside has melted.

That last part is what makes a pupusa comal different from a tortilla comal. A pupusa is thicker and needs several minutes a side over medium heat, not seconds over high, and most recipes make a dozen or more at once. So the comal that suits pupusas is a wide one that holds steady, moderate heat across its whole surface. This guide names the ones worth buying and explains which suits your stove.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a working kitchen looks for in a comal, the makers’ own specifications and published recipes and equipment guidance, which we cite.

Quick verdict: which comal to buy for pupusas

The rest of this page explains why, and which of the eight suits the way you cook.

Five pupusa comals compared

Our five standout picks side by side, one for each kind of kitchen, with the specifications each maker or listing states. All eight comals are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Heat sources are as stated by each maker or its Amazon listing; check the listing for your stove before you buy.

Our picks for the best comal for pupusas

These eight comals cover the ways people cook pupusas at home: a long cast iron griddle across two burners, round cast iron and carbon steel comales in the traditional shape, nonstick pans that need no seasoning, and an electric griddle for the biggest batches. A home pupusa is usually about 4 to 4½ inches across, so each review gives a rough count of how many fit at once, worked out from the maker’s stated size.

What makes a good pupusa comal

Five things decide whether a comal suits pupusas. They overlap with what makes a good tortilla comal, but the thicker, filled masa shifts the priorities toward size and steady, moderate heat.

1. Surface size, counted in pupusas

A home pupusa is usually 4 to 4½ inches across: King Arthur Baking’s recipe pats them to that size and makes 14. America’s Test Kitchen cooks four at a time in a 12-inch pan. Use that as your yardstick. A 12-inch round comal means four per round, a 15-inch one five or six, and a two-burner griddle six or more. If you make pupusas for more than four people, a bigger surface saves a lot of standing at the stove.

2. Steady, moderate heat rather than high heat

Tortillas want a hot comal and seconds per side. Pupusas want medium heat and several minutes per side, long enough for the filling to heat through before the masa scorches. King Arthur gives four to six minutes a side; America’s Test Kitchen gives two to four in a hot skillet. Heavy cast iron and thick carbon steel hold a moderate temperature best, and an electric griddle holds it by thermostat.

3. Your stovetop

On gas, every stovetop comal here works. On induction, choose cast iron or carbon steel rated by the maker for it, or the HexClad; the aluminum Nordic Ware does not work on induction, and IMUSA does not state compatibility. On glass tops, lift heavy iron rather than sliding it. Our guide to the best comal for an electric stove covers coil, glass and induction cooktops in detail.

4. Round or rectangular

A round comal is the traditional shape and suits a single large burner. A rectangular griddle across two burners gives more surface for the same stove, and a long shape is easier to fill with neat rows. Lodge’s advice for double-burner griddles is to pick two burners close together and close to the griddle’s size, set them to the same level and give the pan time to preheat.

5. Bare metal or a coating

Bare cast iron and carbon steel give the darker, speckled crust and last for decades, but need seasoning and drying after every wash. Nonstick pans release leaking cheese more easily and need no seasoning, at the cost of a gentler crust and a coating that wears. Check what the coating is: Presto states that its ceramic is PFAS-free, while IMUSA’s listing for the 13.5-inch comal does not name its coating. For a closer look at coated pans, see the best nonstick comal.

How we chose these eight pupusa comals

We started from what pupusas ask of a comal: a surface wide enough for a batch, heat that stays steady at a moderate setting, and a material that releases filled masa cleanly. We then narrowed the field to comals and griddles sold on Amazon in the United States and in stock when we checked, whose specifications we could confirm on the maker’s own website or, where the maker publishes less, on the brand’s own Amazon listing. Each review says which. We chose eight to cover cast iron, carbon steel, nonstick and electric, round and rectangular, rather than listing near-identical pans. We left out pans whose stovetop use we could not confirm (including a cast iron pizza pan whose listing does not confirm stovetop use), sellers with no identifiable maker, and models that were out of stock or nearly so. Cooking times and pan sizes come from published pupusa recipes by King Arthur Baking and America’s Test Kitchen. We have not cooked on every pan listed here; where we describe how a material behaves, we say whose information that is.

Cooking pupusas on a comal

A comal does most of the work once the masa is right. If you are still choosing a flour, our guide to the best masa harina for pupusas covers that first step.

1. Preheat over medium heat for several minutes, longer for cast iron, until the whole surface is evenly warm. On an electric griddle, King Arthur’s setting is 350°F.
2. Oil the comal lightly, or not at all. King Arthur dry-fries pupusas in a nonstick pan; on bare iron or carbon steel, a thin film of oil wiped on with a paper towel helps them release.
3. Lay the pupusas on with space between them, so you can slide a spatula under each one and turn it without breaking it.
4. Cook until browned and speckled, then turn: about four to six minutes per side in King Arthur’s recipe. If the outside darkens before the filling is hot, turn the heat down a little.
5. Keep the cooked ones warm on a cooler part of the griddle or under a cloth while the next batch cooks, and serve with curtido and a thin tomato salsa, the traditional pairing.

Cheese that leaks onto the comal will scorch. Scrape it off between batches so it does not stick to the next round.

Pupusa comal questions, answered

Are pupusas Mexican?

No. Pupusas are Salvadoran, and King Arthur Baking calls them the national dish of El Salvador; Honduras has its own tradition of them too. They share masa and the comal with Mexican antojitos such as gorditas and sopes, which our guide to masa antojitos explains.

What size comal do you need for pupusas?

For a family, at least 12 inches round, which holds about four, or a two-burner griddle, which holds six or more. A 10-inch comal works but means many rounds.

Can you use a tortilla comal for pupusas?

Yes. Any flat comal that cooks tortillas will cook pupusas; just use medium heat and longer cooking. See the best comal for tortillas if you want one pan for both.

Is cast iron or nonstick better for pupusas?

Cast iron holds steady heat and gives a darker crust; nonstick releases leaking cheese more easily and needs no seasoning. Both work. Choose cast iron if you also make tortillas and want a pan that lasts, nonstick if easy cleaning matters most.

Do you oil the comal for pupusas?

Lightly, if at all. A nonstick surface needs none, and King Arthur’s recipe uses no oil in the pan. On bare cast iron or carbon steel, a thin wipe of oil helps the first batch release.

The comal we would choose for pupusa night

Buy the Lodge Pro-Grid if you want one pan that cooks a steady batch across two burners on any stove, and the Lodge BOLD 12-inch if you prefer a round comal over one burner. For a crowd, the Presto electric griddle holds 350°F for a dozen at a time; for a backyard grill, the Made In round griddle is the widest traditional shape here. Whichever you choose, preheat it fully and keep the heat at medium. For more on coated pans, the next step is our guide to nonstick comales.

And if you would rather someone else did the cooking tonight, see the menu or call to order.