Venezuelan-style Arepas (Arepas Rellenas) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 differences between Venezuelan arepas and Colombian arepas? ›

In Colombia, arepas are most commonly eaten with breakfast as a side dish, but of course can be eaten as an accompaniment to meals throughout the day. The ingredients tend to be a bit more sparse than in Venezuela. The corn cake is thinner and often sweeter. In most cases, the only filling is melted cheese.

The arepa rellena is stuffed (rellena means stuffed!) with a large variety of ingredients depending on the region and therefore has the least consistently used recipe of the arepas that we have covered.

Arepas are corn cakes traditionally made by dried corn pounded in a pilón—a large mortar and pestle—and formed into a pliable dough. While in Colombia you're far more likely to see wide, thin arepas made with toppings, in Venezuela, arepas tend to be thicker, with fillings sandwiched into them after splitting.

The most popular fillings include:

Reina Pepiada: shredded chicken with avocado and mayonnaise. Sifrina: Reina Pepiada with cheese. La Pelúa: Carne Mechada (shredded beef) and cheese. La Catira: shredded chicken and cheese.

I prefer the fine yellow cornmeal because that's what I grew up using, but you can definitely substitute white if you can't find it. And cornmeal is being used for these arepas, this is definitely a gluten-free dish, which is awesome for those of you who may need it.

So texturally satisfying, the outsides are crispy and crunchy, while the insides stay moist, soft, and a bit chewy. Arepas are also easy to make. Their secret ingredient is pre-cooked very-fine ground white cornmeal -- also called P.A.N. flour.

Gorditas Are a Mexican Specialty

Gorditas resemble arepas, but like pupusas, they are made with masa harina. These corn cakes are deep fried until they are golden and crispy (but they can also be cooked on a griddle or comal). Gorditas puff up when fried in oil, forming an air pocket somewhat like pita bread.

Take arepas, a corn-based cake popular in South American cuisine, primarily Venezuela and Colombia. They're healthier baked than fried, and stuffed with small portions of lean chicken, beef and vegetables. "Arepas have plenty of fiber that helps with keeping cholesterol levels down," Puche said.

Meaning of arepa in English

a type of South American flat bread made with cornmeal (= rough, yellow flour made from corn) and fried on both sides: We usually ate arepas for breakfast. I had a dinner of fried chicken and arepas.

In the 1950s, precooked arepa flour was invented by Luis Caballero Mejías, a Venezuelan engineer, and became an instant success. Arepa is commonly eaten in those countries and can be served with accompaniments, such as cheese, cuajada (fresh cheese), various types of meat, avocado, or diablito (deviled ham spread).

What is the most famous dish in Venezuela? ›

Pabellón Criollo is the iconic food of Venezuela, and for very good reasons. It features shredded beef, rice, black beans, and fried plantains as the main ingredients.

The fix is to simply swap out traditional corn with cassava flour. Cassava flour, when mixed with a little egg, mimics the texture of corn meal and holds together just as well. It also fries up nice and crispy while retaining the crumbly, moist texture inside that has made arepas a favorite for centuries.

These corn griddle cakes are common in both countries — but in very differing styles. Venezuelan arepas are usually savory and stuffed with meat, cheese, and beans. Colombian arepas can be sweet, and are usually topped only with butter and quesito colombiano.

A Venezuelan breakfast often includes baked corn flour bread called arepas, which are filled with cheese, fish, beef, or chicken, or eaten as a side with shredded beef, black beans, white cheese, avocados, and/or fresh fruit juices.

It's important to shop for precooked white cornmeal flour made specifically for arepas. Don't confuse it for nixtamalized corn masa flour which is used to make tortillas and will yield an entirely different result. Look for the beloved yellow package of P.A.N. or for packages labeled masarepa.

Venezuelan cuisine often features ingredients like plantains, yuca, and coconut milk, which add a unique tropical twist to dishes. On the other hand, Colombian cuisine utilizes ingredients like potatoes, corn, and aji peppers, giving their dishes a distinct flavor profile.

Empanadas in Colombia most commonly use a ground-beef picadillo-type filling with potatoes and onions. In Venezuela, fresh farmers' cheeses are often stuffed inside, which makes a great snack or appetizer, but hungrier people should look to the pabellón filling.

Pupusas are larger and flatter than arepas and are made with masa harina rather than masarepa. Masa harina is a type of cornmeal made from corn that has been treated with lye or other alkaline solution to remove the hull and germ.

AREPAS & GUASA SAUCE

Its origins date back to precolumbian times, when the “Caribs,” a native indian tribe from the northern section of Venezuela, prepared a dough made with granulated maize, called erepa, which they then baked into thin round shaped “breads.”