Arepa de Huevo is a traditional Colombian dish from the Caribbean region of the country. This arepa stuffed with egg is sold around the beaches in Cartagena.
What is Arepa de Huevo?
It is a typical dish from the Caribbean region of Colombia where they are sold on street stalls. It's basically an arepa stuffed with egg and deep fried in oil. Some cooks also add ground meat to their egg stuffed arepa and that version is hearty and filling.
These egg stuffed arepas are served in Colombian homes for breakfast, but I remember my family making them for lunch and dinner. This versatile arepa de huevo recipe can serve them at any time of the day.
What you'll Need to Make Arepa de Huevo
The printable recipe card with exact ingredients amounts, directions and step by step video is below.
Masarepa: Yellow or white masarepa is a pre-cooked corn meal. You can find it in Latin markets, online or International aisle at your local supermarket. Some popular brands are PAN and Goya.
Salt and sugar: To add some flavor to the masa.
Water: I recommend using lukewarm water to make this arepas.
Oil: I recommend using canola or vegetable for frying.
Eggs: I like to use cage free organic eggs for my recipes.
Arepas are my comfort food, they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In Colombia we have a lot of variations depending of the region and the cook.
Best Toppings for Arepas
They can be stuffed and topped with your favorite ingredients. I like serving arepas for breakfast with fried eggs, scrambled eggs (huevos pericos) or butter and cheese. But, if I am serving them for lunch or dinner, some of my favorite toppings are crab salad and avocado, tuna and shrimp and avocado and chicken .
Arepa de Huevo Recipe (Arepa Stuffed with Egg)
Ingredients
- 1 cup of yellow or white masarepa or pre-cooked corn meal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the masarepa, salt and sugar with a fork. Add the warm water and mix with a spoon. Then using your hands form dough. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form each portion into a ball by rolling between the palms of your hands. Reserve a small piece of dough and set aside.
- 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.
Video
Nutrition
This Arepa de Huevo recipe or Colombian Arepa Filled with Egg is absolutely delicious with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack.
I prefer eaten these arepas de huevo immediately after cooking, but you can store them in the fridge for 2 days in a zip lock or a sealed container.
More Delicious Arepas Recipes to Try
Pork and Avocado Stuffed Arepas
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
Oh, I was wondering where your updates where! Will subscribe to the new site right now. Arepas with eggs sound delicious!
Allison
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
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
holy shoot...this looks awesome. i'm imagining all the other great things i could add to this - tonno or veggies. so good.
Andrea
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
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
LAS MEJORES AREPAS SON ESTAS...........
THE BEST AREPAS IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Eric
Viva Barranquilla, Santa Marta y Cartagena!! The coast of Colombia!!
Bianca
Wepa!
Nicole Ibanez
My husband is from Barranquilla and he loves these. He keeps bugging me about them so tomorrow I will attempt to make them ☺️. Wish me luck lol
Notorious MLE
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
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....
Ashley
This may seem like absolute sacrilege, but I wonder if there is a way to cut back on the traditional frying with oil and do these in an air fryer instead? Nothing beats traditional of course! But when you’re craving arepas but want to keep it lighter…I may give it a try!
KJ
I cook mine on a very lightly oiled non-stick griddle. If they are especially thick they can be finished in the oven at 375F for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
Michelle
hola, quisiera saber si despues de hacer las bolitas, las puedo refrigerar o congelar para hacerlo temprano en una mañana apresurada..?
Clara
Las arepas te salieron estupendas, tu blog es una maravilla!!
losantojosdeclara.blogspot
Gianfranco
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
Hi Gianfranco,
I don't know!
Jessica
Made the arepas a little bit tiker in that way you can cut it in the middle
Tamara
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
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
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
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
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
wow looks amazing want one now
MSantos
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
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
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
We also add a salted cheese to the masa
Colomrican
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
Arepa e' huevo so goood
Katayah
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
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!
Zachary
I made these this morning, and they were perfect!! I used the PAN brand precooked cornmeal (masa arepa), and followed the instructions listed in the recipe. Fantastic! One thing that I did , and found out really boosted the flavor of these was that I filled my arepas with egg and a spoonful of the hogao recipe found on your website! 10/10 fantastic breakfast.
HK
Hi The video says 2 cups of masarepa and the written instructions say 1 cup (all other amounts are the same in the video and the written) - which one should I be doing?
Thank you! These look delicious!
Erica Dinho
1 cup
xiu
I make arepas with PAN flour all the time. I tried making the egg filled ones twice now and failed both times. I tried making them both thin or thick and when I tried to split them open, they cracked or split apart and could not get the egg to go in
Erica Dinho
You have to practice. It gets easier.
HK
Hi xiu, i found if I spooned oil over the top of the arepas they puffed up and I was able to easily open them and fill them with the egg. I had to constantly spoon the oil until the whole thing was puffed.
Good luck!
Samar
I love making these but they are either a hit or a miss. My biggest issue is they crack and can't hold the egg. My solution has been to make them thicker but then they are thick and undercooked. Any advice on how to make them 1 1/2 without them cracking? The cracking happens in the first fry.
KW
I did something similar and just cooked them a bit longer before putting in the egg. It worked pretty well and was very good!