This post is also available in Spanish
Arepa de Huevo is a typical dish from the Caribbean region of Colombia where they are sold on street stalls. These arepas are served in Colombian homes for breakfast, but I remember my family making them for dinner so you can serve them at any time of the day.
This Arepa de Huevo or Colombian Arepa Filled with Egg recipe is absolutely delicious with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack.
Buen provecho!
Ingredients
(4 Arepas)
- 1 cup masarepa or pre-cooked corn meal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 4 eggs
Directions
- In a medium bowl, mix the masarepa, salt and sugar with a fork. Add the hot water and mix using your hands to form dough. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal size portions and form each portion into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands.
- Place a piece of parchment paper or plastic in the kitchen counter, place the ball of dough and cover with another piece of paper or plastic and with a flat pot cover or a cutting board flatten into rounds, about ¼ inch thick.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot to 350° F. Add the arepas in the heated oil one by one, fry for 3 minutes turning over once, about half way trough.
- Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the arepas from the oil and drain on paper towels.
- When the arepa is cold enough to handle, with a sharp knife make an opening about 1 ½ inches long on the side of the arepa, cutting to the middle of the arepa without slicing all the way through, just like making a pocket.
- Crack 1 egg into a small ramekin and carefully pour the egg into the arepa pocket. Take the small piece of the dough you had aside and close the arepa. Add the arepa filled with egg to the hot oil and fry one more time for about 4 minutes, to cook the egg.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the arepas from the oil and drain on paper towel and serve immediately.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
Oh, I was wondering where your updates where! Will subscribe to the new site right now. Arepas with eggs sound delicious!
Allison says
I love arepas. We ate them all the time in New York, but since moving to Berkeley they’re harder to find – all the more reason to cook them at home. The site looks great. My husband was looking through it as well and said it reminded him of home (Bogota)
alexandra says
oh my, this is soooooo my kind of recipe. I love eggs on everything. and can’t imagine how tasty they are when wrapped in dough and deep fried … yum!
we are never full says
holy shoot…this looks awesome. i’m imagining all the other great things i could add to this – tonno or veggies. so good.
Andrea says
Erica,
You have given me a piece of “la tierrita” with the recipes on your website. Thank you.
I wondered if you could write a dummy-proof “frying” piece. See, I’m terrified of frying but at the same time I miss empanadas, bunuelos, fried fish and fried yuca.
Back in Bogota Nanny made all the frying while I run for cover 🙂 I’d greatly appreciate your advice, starting with the type of frying pot and the right tools to fry.
Thank you,
Andrea
Billy says
I love arepas de huevos. I first encountered aprepas de huevos during my hike into Parque Tayrona. About halfway in the park, a costeño was frying ’em up for about un mil peso COP. ¡Que rico!
Lisita says
LAS MEJORES AREPAS SON ESTAS………..
THE BEST AREPAS IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Eric says
Viva Barranquilla, Santa Marta y Cartagena!! The coast of Colombia!!
Bianca says
Wepa!
Notorious MLE says
So that is the technique! My husband made a hot mess trying to crack eggs into the arepas before they were cooked. We didn’t think of double-frying.
Glo says
Oye,
Se les olvidó el hogao que se mete al mismo tiempo del huevo antes de freirla. Si no…no tiene el sabor de las de las calles de Cartagena….
Michelle says
hola, quisiera saber si despues de hacer las bolitas, las puedo refrigerar o congelar para hacerlo temprano en una mañana apresurada..?
Clara says
Las arepas te salieron estupendas, tu blog es una maravilla!!
losantojosdeclara.blogspot
Gianfranco says
I try cooking arepas like said in many recepie. However they made a thin crost that cracked and no place to open and put an egg without well, picking it up from the floor. It was cooked !!! too soft it would crack while handling and certainly the outside bubled skin was too thin and cracking. I am desperate as i do like them very much. What am i doing wrong ?
Thanks
gianfranco
Erica says
Hi Gianfranco,
I don’t know!
Jessica says
Made the arepas a little bit tiker in that way you can cut it in the middle
Tamara says
Its the masa my friend. You have to use the PAN brand
I too had the very same problem..but when I used the PAN brand it came out perfect. No more cracked arepas .. No more eggs leaking out.
Jeanne says
Did you ever find your answer? I would be interested in finding out if you found the solution.
If not, then I would guess that maybe they shouldn’t be rolled as thin, then make sure they are cooled enough that they soften up a bit. Or place a towel or paper towel over while cooling which will steam and soften them.
Mel says
Your oil must be too hot so its cookong too fast. Also if you search on YouTube there are videos with frying techniques. Like spooning the hot oil over the arepa as it cooks helps it puff up. Also, I’ve found it puffs up easier when they are perfectly flat, so don’t just smash it with your hands.
Tamara says
Me tooo. I am experiencing the same problem. The crust is too thin. It puffs up and everything but when it is cooled the crust is too thin to pour it in.
Tamara says
Hi.. so I had the same problem. Maybe its our pre cooked cornmeal isn’t the same. So here is what I did differently. I used 3/4 cup of the cornmeal. . 1/4 of flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. And it came out great.. a little brown becuaae maybe my oil was too hot but the issue of cracking wasn’t so bad though. The skin was still thin but good enough not to break like before, so i was still able cut and to pour in my egg without leakage. Hope it helps. So many laters..lol.. very tasty recipe!
rebecca says
wow looks amazing want one now
MSantos says
They are delicious. I tried one when in Colombia a couple months ago at the suggestion of a Colombia couple (strangers)! I watched them being made.
The cook took a handful of massa, patted it into a round shape and then
deep fried it for a few minutes. She then removed it with a slotted spoon,
sliced an opening on the side. She cracked an egg into a small dish, then
poured the egg into the opening. She then put the whole thing back into the
hot oil to deep fry it a bit more. She then took it out with a slotted spoon, wrapped
it in a napkin, gave it to me with a little container of Crema de Leche which I was to put on it when I ate it.! It was soooo hot so had to wait a bit before
I could bite into it! Heaven!!!! I haven’t tried to make them as I like them, but they are ‘fried’! 🙂
Clay says
I had these many times in Colombia back in 1981, my favorites were in a bus station in Doradal, Antioquia where we stopped for a break before heading to mi amigos property. I did not want to get back in mi amigos truck, I just wanted to stay and eat the Arepas, I have wanted the recipe since then. I will be trying this soon.
Sophia says
My mom puts grated queso caribe or queso cotija, preferably a salty type of cheese , to the mix. Thanks for the recipie, I thought the huevo would go on the outer most later of the arepa, I don’t know why I thought that, but the middle makes more sense! Lol! Also, you can make the masa the day before and put it in a container, and just roll what you need the next day!
Barranca says
We also add a salted cheese to the masa
Colomrican says
These remind me of my dad. He was from Barranquilla. He would make these for breakfast and they were to die for!!! He also added some anise to give it a little bit more of flavor…oh how I miss those days. May he RIP. Miss me some arepitas de huevo!!! ☺
Lily says
Arepa e’ huevo so goood
Katayah says
Sometimes despite the recipe, there is too much water in the arepa. It should look like the texture of thick (not runny) mashed potatoes. If it is too thin or too thick you can have this problem. Some brands of the masarepa absorb less water than others. I’ve noticed this when I didn’t buy specifically the pan brand. You have to change the water accordingly. Not all masarepa is the same. At least this has been my experience.
Tamara says
I finally got it right. The brand of masa was the problem. In Trinidad we had one main brand of masa called Promasa.. But I recently saw the P.A.N brand and decided to give it a try and perfection!. So after 3 years of failure, I now understand why our arepas were cracking.. It was because of the brand masa. Go figure!