Arepas

Warm, soft, and crispy, Arepas are perfect for any meal of the day. Made with only a few ingredients, you'll have these bread-like rounds ready in no time.

Course bread

Cuisine South America

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 215kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Baking Sheet
Wire rack
Cast-iron or large skillet

Ingredients

2½ cups lukewarm water (100°F-110°F)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups pre-cooked yellow cornmeal (285g)
¼ cup canola oil (60 mL)
Filling suggestions: shredded cheese, black beans, shredded pork

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine the water and salt. Using your fingers, gradually stir the cornmeal into the water until a soft and moist dough forms. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough evenly into 8 pieces and roll each piece into balls. Press each ball into a 1/2-inch patty between your palms.
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, place the patties in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side, occasionally moving the patties around in the skillet so they don’t stick. Transfer the patties to the wire rack.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely or until warm. With a serrated knife, carefully cut in half horizontally. Fill with shredded cheese, black beans, shredded pork, or however desired.

Video

Notes

If your arepas dough feels too dry and crumbles when shaped, add a tablespoon of water and mix until the dough is malleable. Careful not to add too much water as it’ll make the arepas dense.
The dough should feel sticky but not wet. If you find the dough to be wet, add a pinch of cornmeal at a time until the consistency is right.
If you’re unsure if you have cooked the arepas through, give them a tap. If they sound hollow, then they are done.
If the dough sticks to your hands, you can wet your hands a little before rolling the dough.
These will continue to cook once out of the oven. Let them cool. If you cut them still hot, they will be doughy in the middle.

Nutrition

Thank You! https://financepost.live/arepas/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-47952":{"type":"food","name":"Arepas","slug":"wprm-arepas","image_url":"https:\/\/preppykitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Arepas-Recipe-Card.jpg","rating":{"count":8,"total":40,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":7},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"cups","name":"lukewarm water","notes":"(100\u00b0F-110\u00b0F)","unit_id":12053,"id":797,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"salt","notes":"","unit_id":12051,"id":42,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"2","unit":"cups","name":"pre-cooked yellow cornmeal","notes":"(285g)","unit_id":12053,"id":12792,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"canola oil","notes":"(60 mL)","unit_id":12050,"id":3561,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Filling suggestions: shredded cheese, black beans, shredded pork","notes":"","id":12793,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"8","originalServingsParsed":8,"currentServings":"8","currentServingsParsed":8,"currentServingsFormatted":"8","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"servingsUnit":"servings","servingsUnitRaw":"servings","originalServings":"8","originalServingsParsed":8,"type":"recipe","recipeId":47952,"name":"Arepas","image":"https:\/\/preppykitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Arepas-Recipe-Card-330x330.jpg","servings":8,"parent_id":"47951","parent_url":"https:\/\/preppykitchen.com\/arepas\/","cachedAt":1776439933,"modifiedAt":1653741580}}}