Guava Cheese Pastries (Cuban Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso)
Do you remember the first time you tried a pastelito? I don’t, but I’m sure I was a toddler since I was born into a Cuban family—and I bet I loved every bite.
To this day, guava and cream cheese pastries are the most iconic part of a Cuban breakfast.
I had never made pastelitos at home until I saw Marta Darby’s recipe. Living in Miami, I’m spoiled… there’s a Cuban bakery on practically every corner, each one serving up flaky Cuban pastries.
Anytime I’m on the road and need Cuban coffee, I’ll grab one with un masa real (because guava is my love language).
Other days, it’s two ham croquetas because you can’t just have one. Duh. 😉
But if you don’t have a Cuban bakery nearby, you can still make this authentic pastelitos de guayaba y queso recipe at home.
Let me show you how!
5-star review
“Thank you Jamie! Like you, I can’t remember when I first tasted pastelitos de guayaba. They’ve just always been a treat. Long story short, I live in Florida but it’s so hard these days to find a bakery that makes them fresh and without all the added sugar, glaze, toppings. So I thought let me look for a recipe rather than trying to find yet another bakery to try. Never in a million years would it have occurred to me that these were so simple to make. Hope to wow the family with this recipe and say goodbye to hunting for a bakery that does them justice. Thank you so much! So glad to have found your blog!”
—Gigi
Step-by-Step Instructions
The best part of this recipe? It only takes 4 ingredients. All you need for these homemade pastelitos is puff pastry, guava paste, cream cheese, and a whisked egg to seal the deal.
I usually grab Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets and Conchita guava paste (my go-to brand), but use whatever you can find.
👉🏼 By the way… the 2 puff pastry sheets get cut into 9 squares each, which gives you 18 total squares. Since each pastelito needs a top and bottom square, you’ll end up with 9 pastelitos total.
👀 Unpopular opinion: Cream cheese is technically optional in guava pastelitos. I usually go all-in on guava (the real star), BUT I’ll admit… adding cream cheese makes them extra rich and velvety (just like my pastelitos de queso). Either way, you can’t lose.
Recommended For This Recipe
Baking Sheets
Highly recommend these aluminum, nonstick baking sheets that provide high conductivity. Perfect for these pastelitos de guayaba y queso!
The first time I shared this recipe, my friends asked me for a care package. They know I LOVE making recipes with guava.
Funny, they can all get these guava queso pastelitos ANYWHERE here in Miami. Just goes to show, nothing beats “homemade”. 🫶🏼
I hope you make these and you LOVE them as much as I do!
Pastelitos de Guayaba Y Queso (Guava Cheese Pastries)
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry sheets, thawed (I used Pepperidge Farm)
- 14 oz guava paste, (I like the Conchita brand)
- 8 ounces cream cheese**, optional
- 1 large egg**, whisked
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice the guava paste into 9 slices. To keep the knife from sticking, lightly coat the blade with a little oil so it glides through more easily.
- Slice the cream cheese into 9 slices.
- Place one puff pastry sheet on the prepared baking sheet.
- Arrange the guava and cream cheese slices evenly in a 3×3 grid (you’ll have 9 spots total).
- Place the second puff pastry sheet on top to cover the filling.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the stacked pastry sheets into 9 even squares (a 3×3 grid). Each square will be one pastelito with a top and bottom puff pastry layer.
- Lightly score the tops for venting, but don’t pull the squares apart.
- Brush the puff pastry evenly with egg wash for a golden, flaky crust.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
I couldn’t believe how easy these were! My husband’s grandmother used to buy them at Publix in Tampa and freeze them, so she would always have some on hand for us when we visited. The challenge I’ve had with these is that they rise more along the edges than in the middle, I finally learned to separate them squares from each other so they rise evenly. But even when they’re lopsided, they are always delicious!
So easy and pretty close to perfectly authentic! I sprinkled some corse sanding sugar to the egg wash before baking for the Calle Ocho experience. Thanks for giving me a taste of home with a recipe even a gringa can’t mess up!
Haha! The Calle Ocho experience is chef’s kiss!
Loved how easy it was !! Publix has lost a client for pastelitos !!
HAHA! Best comment ever. Thank you, Ana!!
The sanding sugar on top sounds like a great idea! I’m going to do that when I make mine.
Used to live in Miami years ago. Miss some of the Cuban food and pastries. Love guava and cream cheese together. Went to Publix and got a guava and cream cheese pastry, boy it was so good but not enough guava and cream cheese. Found some Cuban crackers and guava paste as I had some cream cheese at home. Now I see this recipe and I can make my own pastry now.
Woohoo! Thanks for sharing, Robin! Glad you loved this recipe! :)
This recipe was super easy. It’s delicious. I substituted vegan cream cheese and it tasted great!
So happy you loved it, Phildia! Thank you for your comment.
Easy and delicious! Loved these. I sealed the edges with the egg wash and cut a slit in the top to make tiny turnovers. Def use the cream cheese! ❤️
These pastelitos are a hit in my family! I’ve been making them several times and we loved them! Thank you!
So happy to hear, Arianna! Thank you for your comment!
Hi Lorraine, it’s definitely not a proofreading issue, just a small misread. The recipe says to cut both pastry sheets into 9 squares, which gives you 18 total. That equals 9 pastries once sandwiched. The “6 per sheet” part in step 3 refers to the guava slices, not the pastry sheets. That’s why it says “Place 6 slices of guava.” It’s all there in the steps, promise. Hope that clears things up!
I’m not sure if I didn’t cook long enough or what. But I only used like 3/4th of the guava paste, and it still wasn’t melted fully in any of them. And I’m not a fan of the paste texture. Is it supposed to have melted into a jam texture like your photos?
Hi Kelley! It definitely should have melted into a jam-like texture. My guess is the guava paste you used was a bit too firm/dense, which can happen depending on the brand or how it’s stored. Next time, try cutting the paste into smaller cubes so it melts more evenly. Maybe that will help!
Easy to make and so delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Family favorite and to share with friends/neighbors.
Thank you for sharing, Janice! Happy you loved it!
Hi Jamie,
Can I make assemble the pastries the day before and refrigerate and bake the next day?
Never done that before but I think you can assemble it the day before and bake them the next day. Just make sure cover it up well in the fridge to prevent sogginess!
For Noche Buena we have quava and queso blanco. I wonder how that would taste instead of the cream cheese?
Ooo, try it out and report back! :)
5 stars!!!!! Made this recipe twice;first time a bit of trouble with the puff pastry – allowed it to defrost for too long a time but turned out perfectly as a surprise for my Cuban friends!
So happy to hear, Lorraine! Thank you for sharing! :)
My German sister in law made them!!
I’m Cuban born & they’re my Favorite!!
I can honestly say that I have never had better pastelitos than these.
I’ve had them all over Miami & even ordered them from a Cuban bakery in California & these Definitely are the BEST!!
So happy to hear, Martha! Thank you for your comment!
Could you use guava jam instead of paste? I bought some jam in Mexico and would love to try and recreate the Panadería Rosetta guava pastry.
Yes, you can! It may be a little runny (not a bad thing!) so keep that in mind when spooning it over the pastry sheets. Enjoy!
The guava pastalitos are so good! This is the first time I’ve made them and will definitely make them again. Thank you for the recipe.
So happy to hear, Joellen! Thank you for your comment!