Arepas are a traditional food in some Latin American countries, where corn is a primary ingredient in the staple diet. This dough, made from corn flour, is usually cooked on a wide griddle and is usually prepared to cook batches of more than one arepa.
Venezuelan arepas stand out from other varieties because their dough is thicker, which allows them to be filled with a wide variety of fillings. Although they are usually eaten for breakfast and their preparation is very simple, do not underestimate them: arepas can be eaten at any time of the day and, with a sufficiently powerful filling, they can also serve as lunch. All this has made arepas the most famous food in Venezuela, so if you like to try new things, go ahead and discover how to make Venezuelan arepas with this quick and easy recipe.
Ingredients to make Venezuelan Arepas:
- 800 grams of corn flour
- 500 milliliters of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of oil
- Sliced cheese
How to make Venezuelan Arepas:
Pour the water into a bowl, add the teaspoon of salt and dissolve it. Go adding the precooked corn flour little by little. Once you have added it all, knead until you form a homogeneous dough. Keep kneading until it is completely integrated. Let it rest for about 5 minutes and resume kneading. If, after letting it rest, the dough is too runny or too dry, add more flour or water respectively. Form medium balls with the dough, with this recipe you will get about 8 arepas. Start flattening them with the palms of your hands to make the traditional arepa shape. They should be at least 1 cm thick.
Place a teaspoon of oil on a griddle and spread it over the entire surface with the help of kitchen paper. Heat and take the arepas to the grill. Cook over low heat until you see that they have hardened on one side. Then flip them over and let them brown on the other side.
Trick: There are those who prefer them thicker or thinner, prepare them to your liking!
Make a cut on one of the sides of the arepas and cut along the entire circumference. Open them and fill them with cheese and butter. This step is optional, but you can put them all in the oven for 10 minutes at 170ºC so that the cheese melts and the arepas brown a little more.
Trick: To prevent the filling from coming out, do not open the whole arepa, only the upper part where you will put the filling.
Serve your Venezuelan arepas for breakfast or dinner and enjoy them. You do not need to accompany them with anything other than a delicious fruit juice. Bon Appetite!
Arepas – Fillings, suggestions and other recipes
There are few limits when it comes to stuffing arepas. Perhaps the only thing is to fill them with something sweet, since all the ingredients that accompany them are usually salty. You can make vegetarian arepas or arepas with meat, you can make arepas with salad or arepas with sausages: whatever comes to mind! In addition, you can also vary the type of cheese you use. If you can find Venezuelan cheese or white Latin cheese, we assure you that they will be great! Here we leave you other ideas for your arepas recipes:
- Arepa pavilion (with pavilion criollo filling )
- Arepas stuffed with black beans
- Reina pepiada (avocado and chicken arepas)
- Arepas stuffed with ripe plantain and cheese
In addition to making them roasted, it is very common to enjoy fried Venezuelan arepas. These are fried in abundant oil and their crispy crust is delicious. To try them, you just have to follow our recipe for Venezuelan fried arepas.
In addition to preparing them as a main dish, many Venezuelans enjoy arepas as a side dish for dishes such as sancochos de carne, pisca Andina, etc. They are perfect for dipping in sauces and broths!
Whatever type of arepa you want to prepare, you can make them with white or yellow cornmeal. Since they have become more and more popular, it is very possible that you will find precooked cornmeal in any supermarket. If you can’t find it precooked, you can also make them with regular cornmeal.
