Cheese-Stuffed Colombian-style Arepas Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What kind of cheese is best for arepas? ›

Colombian-style queso fresco is ideal. If you can't find it, substitute cotija, ricotta salata, or feta. Arepas can also be cooked on a greased panini press or a grill over low heat.

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.

The arepas are super simple to make. The dough is just masarepa, water, milk, salt, cheese, and butter. It's mixed together and left to rest to let the dough firm up a little. Then, a handful of dough is formed into a ball and then flattened into a patty.

Arepas tend to be more savory, with a corn-forward flavor that is enhanced by the fillings. Pupusas, on the other hand, have a more complex flavor profile, with the tanginess of the curtido and the richness of the cheese and pork filling balancing out the corn flavor of the dough.

Colombian arepas

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. Colombian arepas are made without the addition of salt and oil, so the texture tends toward the dry side.

Quesito Colombiano can be compared to Mexican Queso Fresco, and is made by simply processing the curds of cow's milk. The result is a creamy, soft and white cheese. We Colombians love our Quesito and it is widely used in Colombian cuisine.

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.

Masarepa is the flour of choice for making arepas. Masa harina, on the other hand, is made from corn treated with lye in a process called nixtamalization in order to remove the germ and outer lining before it is ground.

a Columbian or Venezuelan cornmeal cake, sometimes stuffed with savory fillings.

place the other half of the still-warm arepa over the toppings and gently press down. You want the cheese, sauces and sour cream to melt into each other and create a warm-cool dynamic. Let it sit a minute or so. Eat your sandwich as Venezuelans do – with your hands!

Is the arepa Venezuelan or Colombian? ›

The arepa is a pre-Columbian dish from the area that is now Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. Instruments used to make flour for the arepas, and the clay slabs on which they were cooked, were often found at archaeological sites in the area.

The history of corn cakes, or arepas, dates back to the Spanish conquest in the pre-Columbian era when the different indigenous groups harvested corn and made several preparations out of it as they considered it a gift from the gods. Although there are over 40 types of corn cakes in 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.

The arepa means resistance for the indigenous peoples against the arrival of bread with the Spanish to America, and we have plenty of arepas in Colombia, some of them with African influence so latent in our gastronomy. There are around 75 types of arepas and they differ in the kneading, type of corn and cooking method.

A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to celebrate it.

Queso de mano ("cheese of the hand") is a type of soft, white cheese (queso fresco) most commonly associated with Venezuelan cuisine. It is most often used as a filling for arepas and cachapa. The taste and consistency of the cheese most closely resembles that of mozzarella but is built up in layers.

Queso bianco is a native Venezuelan cheese and is con- sidered to be the most popular in the country. It is made from whole or partially skimmed cow's milk, which may or may not be pasteurized.

Queso Llanero, a very typical Venezuelan cheese, is an aged, hard and dry white cheese. It is used shredded to top eggs or of course in arepas with black beans. Nata, great on everything, with arepas, eggs and madocas.

Arepas – fried cornmeal pockets stuffed with all the fillings you could ever want, like carnitas, spicy chicken, sweet potatoes, black beans, sauces, and more. THESE ARE SO GOOD! On the menu today and forever: arepas arepas arepas.