Guava pastelitos (guava pastry) made with puff pastry and guava paste. These sweet guava puffs look so fancy but are so easy! Enjoy these heavenly, flaky bites for breakfast, snack or dessert.
Guava Pastelitos
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Puerto Rican dessert, so I thought I’d share this quick recipe for pastelitos de guayaba (guava pastry). Only two ingredients (if you don’t count the dusting sugar) and they’re so delicious!
All you need is a box of frozen puff pastry and guava paste. The puff pastry you can get in the grocery’s freezer aisle. It’s usually by the frozen pie crusts and desserts.
This stuff is heaven. As in layers upon layers of buttery, flaky dough that puffs up when baking.
You can find guava paste in the Hispanic aisle or at a Hispanic market. It comes wrapped in plastic or in a tin. To those who have never tried guava paste, the taste reminds me of raspberry or strawberry jam, but deeper.
Guava paste is a thick, chewy, sticky concentration of guava fruit, similar to quince if you’re familiar with that. You can definitely eat it plain, but it’s pretty sweet, so it’s usually paired with cheese or another ingredient to cut the sugar.
You can whip these up for an easy breakfast pastry or serve them for dessert. I recommend them after a meal like Pernil (juicy roasted pork) and Puerto Rican Beans or a comforting dish of Puerto Rican Chicken Stew (pollo guisado). But you don’t have to limit yourself to Puerto Rican cuisine – they’re tasty anytime!
If you’ve never worked with puff pastry before, you’ll need to let it thaw first. On one sheet of pastry you’ll lay pieces of guava paste.
Then top with the other sheet of puff pastry. To make it easy, use a little pastry wheel or pizza cutter instead of a knife.
If you cut them into thirds, you’ll get nine perfectly square guava pastelitos that are a pretty decent size. I like my food dainty, so I like to cut them by fours – twelve pieces total.
They’ll be rectangular in shape, but I think they’re the perfect size. Finish with powdered sugar for a festive look!
Guava pastelitos (guava pastry) made with puff pastry and guava paste. These sweet guava puffs look so fancy but are so easy! Enjoy these heavenly, flaky bites for breakfast, snack or dessert. Pastelitos de guayaba can be made in any size. If cutting into 12 pieces, use about a teaspoon of guava paste for each puff.
Guava Pastelitos
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Deanie Moorel says
Can they be frozen and then warmed and served
Rebekah says
Hi Deanie, I’ve never tried freezing them so I can’t say. If you try, please let us know the results!
Martha says
Thank you for the recipe. I am Puerto Rican and remember a corner store in Chicago selling these. I would beg my mom tho buy these everytime we went to the store, until she decided to just buy them for me by the box. I think she figured I’d get tired of them. WRONG! 😀 I love them with cream cheese and without, with powdered sugar and without. Buen Provecho.
Yamilia says
Been doing these for some time now…actually since I moved out of Miami and can’t go to a Cuban Bakery!! Hahaha!!! Love love my pastelitos!! Also, you can add a slice of cream cheese or you can make them with picadillo (ground beef). Mmmmmmmmmm….so freaking good!! TGhanks for posting this and sharing the knowledge!!! Cuban/Puerto Rican…we’re brothers and sisters regardless.
Suzanne says
I’m making these Easter Sunday. Yummy! I lived in WPB, FL for many years. I miss my Guava pastries, ham croquettes, I think think they were called, Cafe Con Leche and soooooo many other foods. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Ivellisse says
I’m a New York Rican and cant wait to try this recipe. (Like today) lol! Who cares where the recipe originated from. Thanks for sharing.
Nicole says
Can you use Gauva Jelly?
Rebekah says
Yes, just take care since the jelly is runnier.
Vevette says
Thank you for this recipe! So simple, yet, so tasty.
Rebekah says
Yay so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Michelle says
My boyfriend is PR and has mentioned eating these as a kid on the island.
If you wish to add cream cheese to cut the sweetness from the guava, aproximately how much should be added to each pastelito?
Thanks
Rebekah says
I would do a thin slice…so about a tablespoon. Hope he likes them!
Debra Sanchez says
Correction, I meant to write guava jelly not pasta jelly. Hahaha
Debra Sanchez says
I made these pastelillo and they were amazing. Although The first time I made them as per directions, I found the guava got hard and I didn’t like biting into a big chunk of guava after it sat for a lil while. Second time I placed guava in a pot to heat up and crushed guava to break it up. I also added pasta jelly. Second time around it came out soo much better. Thanks for the recipe.
Rebekah says
Ooo that sounds so yummy with the crushed guava and jelly!
Sam says
I made it following the instructions to the letter and it turned out DELISH! I couldn’t believe how good it tasted! Everyone thought they were store bought lol I will continue making them until the day I die 🙂 thank you Rebekah 😋👍🏻🙏🏻
Rebekah says
Woo! So awesome to hear this!
Eileen Marti says
I have left over Guama the Goya can can I freeze that and if so how long
Rebekah says
Hi Eileen, I’ve never frozen leftover paste…I wrap it in plastic wrap, then put it in a ziplock bag in the fridge and it lasts for several months. Hopefully someone else can comment on this if they’ve frozen it before!
Maggie says
Can these be reheated?
Rebekah says
Yes, they just won’t be as crisp
S. says
Mmm! I’ve been honing for one of these delicious pastelitos for a long time.
Claudia says
You can add cream cheese too! Yummy
Margarita Gonzalez says
Pastelitos de guayaba are a Cuban pastry. Puerto Rican pastries are usually made with a pie like dough and deep fried, like empanadas, but they do not use the masa de ojaldre that Cubans use to bake their pastelitos. Please understand that many Cubans went to Puerto Rico and shared many things with Puerto Ricans in the 1960s on.
Rebekah says
That’s true – there are many shared and similar foods in the Caribbean and oh-so-tasty! Thanks for sharing the history on this one. It’s fascinating how the politics in Cuba at that time affected the cuisine in Puerto Rico!
Alexandra Santiago says
I’m Puerto Rican and I use masa de hojaldre to make the pastelitos.
Linda Mercado says
Interesting. I am also Puerto Rican and have never heard of these being fried in PR. I also use masa de
Hojaldre.
Lizz says
It’s not matter if they are cuban or Puerto Rican recipes.
thank you REBEKAH for post it.
Rebekah says
Gracias 🙂
Makala says
What about mexicans we love that type stuff too!!
Rebekah says
I’m half Mexican so yes we do! 😀
wileidy says
Not true. We have pastelillos which are with a flaky dough and need to be deep fried, and we have this Pastelillos de guayaba which are puff pastry or mil hojas, and we get them at the bakery. Different things, and these are normally stuffed with Guayaba or ground beef, and we used to eat them at birthday parties or activities.
Cruz Calderon says
This is great.
Thanks for the recipe
Rebekah says
You’re welcome and thank you for visiting my site. Hope you enjoy!
Ladyrose Caceres says
Thank you
Rebekah says
Hope you enjoy!