Pepito Valenciano Recipe: Golden Stuffed Bread Rolls 2026

The pepito valenciano is a beloved snack from the Valencian Community: a bread roll hollowed out and packed with a rich sofrito of tomato, roasted red pepper, hard-boiled egg, tuna and pine nuts. The filled rolls are dipped in milk and beaten egg, then fried until the crust turns crisp and golden. Few people can resist one.

It is also a brilliant way to use up bread that has gone a little dry from the day before, paired with a filling that is both inexpensive and very easy to put together. Serve them warm or at room temperature as an afternoon merienda, a mid-morning almuerzo, or a casual appetizer before lunch.

This batch makes eight generous rolls, so there is plenty to share. The filling comes together in one pan while the rolls cool, and the whole thing is ready in under an hour.

Ingredients for Pepito Valenciano

Makes 8 rolls

• 1 small onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 40 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 150 g roasted red pepper
• 500 g crushed natural tomato
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 180 g drained tuna in water
• 20 g pine nuts
• 8 day-old bread rolls
• 400 ml milk
• 2 beaten eggs
• Oil for frying

How to Make Pepito Valenciano Step by Step

1. Chop the onion

To prepare the pepitos, start with the filling. Finely chop 1 small onion and set it aside.

2. Chop the garlic

Peel and finely chop 1 garlic clove, keeping it ready to go into the pan with the onion.

3. Sauté the onion and garlic

Heat 40 ml of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat, add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until softened.

4. Chop the roasted red pepper

Chop the roasted red pepper into small pieces so it blends evenly into the sofrito.

5. Sauté the pepper

When the onion and garlic are lightly golden, add the chopped red pepper to the sofrito and cook for a couple of minutes.

6. Add the tomato and salt and reduce

Next, add 500 grams of crushed natural tomato and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until it reduces, about 15 minutes.

7. Let the sofrito cool

Once the sofrito is ready, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool at room temperature.

8. Chop the eggs

While the tomato cools, peel and chop 2 hard-boiled eggs.

9. Add the egg, tuna and pine nuts

Add the chopped eggs, the drained tuna in water and 20 grams of pine nuts to the tomato mixture.

10. Chill the filling

Mix everything very well until you have a homogeneous mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to chill completely.

11. Cut the tip off the rolls

When the tomato filling is cold, start preparing the bread rolls. Cut the tip, about a couple of centimeters, off 8 day-old bread rolls.

12. Hollow out the rolls

Remove all the crumb with the help of a small spoon, leaving a wall about 5 mm thick.

13. Fill the rolls

Using a small spoon, fill the rolls, packing the filling well into every gap. If needed, tap the bread lightly on the work surface so the filling settles down.

14. Close with the cut tip and pin

Place the bread tip you cut off upside down in the opening, pressing lightly so it goes in a little, and insert two toothpicks so it stays in place.

15. Soak the rolls in milk

Soak the pepitos in 400 ml of whole milk, without letting them get too soggy or they will be difficult to handle.

16. Coat in beaten egg

Dip the soaked rolls in the 2 beaten eggs, turning them so they are coated all over.

17. Fry the pepitos

Heat the frying oil and fry the pepitos on both sides until they are golden to your liking.

18. Drain off the excess oil

Remove the pepitos from the frying oil and place them on absorbent kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

19. Serve

Serve the pepitos valencianos warm or at room temperature.

Tips for the Best Pepito Valenciano

Customize the filling

To make these pepitos your own, you can add green pepper or zucchini, or swap the tuna in water for tonyina de sorra, which is also very typical in these little rolls. You could even make a quick sofrito by using already fried tomato instead of natural tomato to save a little cooking time. Either way, this is a delicious recipe that works just as well as a lunch or merienda, or as an appetizer before the main meal.

Make the most of day-old bread

This is a perfect recipe for using things up, ideal for giving a second life to rolls that have gone a little dry from the day before. The filling is very economical and very simple to prepare, so nothing goes to waste.

Chill the filling before stuffing

Let the sofrito cool at room temperature and then chill the finished filling completely in the fridge before filling the rolls. A cold filling is easier to pack in tightly and keeps the bread from turning soggy too quickly.

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