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.
This Arepa de Huevo recipe or Colombian Arepa Filled with Egg is absolutely delicious with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack.
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 .
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
Arepas with Beef Chili and Guacamole
Arepas with Salmon and Avocado
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.
Paola
Hey Erica I have attempted to make arepas de huevo for years but this time I followed your instructions to the tee and they were a success. Thank you!!
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!
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!
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
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.
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!
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.
Lily
Arepa e' huevo so goood
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!!! ☺
Barranca
We also add a salted cheese to the masa
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!