This post is also available in Spanish
Arepas are definitely one my favorite Colombian dishes and these stuffed arepas with mozzarella cheese or Arepas Rellenas de Queso are absolutely delicious.
Other Popular and All-Time Favorite Traditional Colombian Dishes: Empanadas Colombianas (Colombian Empanadas), Sancocho de Gallina (Chicken Sancocho), Ajiaco Bogotano (Chichen and Potato Soup), Bandeja Paisa (Paisa Tray), Pandebono (Cheese Bread), Buñuelos (Cheese Balls).
Ingredients:
(6 Arepas)
2 cups pre cooked corn meal (masarepa)
2 cups hot water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon soft butter, divided
12 slices mozzarella cheese
Directions
In a medium bowl mix the masarepa, water, salt and butter. Knead with your hands for about 3 minutes moistening your hands with water as you work.
Form 6 small balls with the dough. Place each ball between 2 plastic bags or parchment paper and with a flat pot cover flatten to about 1/3 inch. The arepas should be about 5” in diameter.
Add the butter to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Place the arepas in the pan, and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until a crust forms or until they are golden brown.
Split the arepas using a knife as you would do with an English muffin and stuff wit 2 slices of mozzarella cheese.
Place the stuffed arepas back on the skillet over medium high heat and cook 2 minutes on each side or until the cheese is melted and serve immediately.
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[…] Arepas on Epicurious.Basic Colombian and Venezuelan Arepas, with serving ideas on About.com.Cheese-stuffed corn cakes, or Arepas rellenas de queso from My Colombian RecipesBasic Arepa and three different fillings: Arepa de Pabellón; Reina […]
-
[…] [photo courtesy of My Colombian Recipes] […]
-
[…] until my legs can’t support me anymore? Checked; Loving cumbia: checked; Arepas hawaiana, arepas con queso and thinking plantains must be part of everyone’s dish? Double-checked; I could also add […]
-
[…] is an easy to follow arepa recipe courtesy of My Colombian Recipes blog. Arepas are cheese stuffed corn cakes that are a popular snack in Colombia. […]
-
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
I want to grab those corn cakes with cheesy goodness right off the screen! Yummy!
Soma says
You keep coming up with real unique stuff! amazing!!
lisa (dandysugar) says
I recently had arepas for brunch in a restaurant and I loved them. But yours look so delicious and authentic, I’d love to try your recipe!
Felisha says
Pieces of heaven 🙂 love me some arepas! I love arepa de choclo and also maiz trillado. I like them with queso blanco or fresco. I grill mine on a flat cast iron skillet
pigpigscorner says
Who can resist that oozing cheese! Looks so mouth-watering.
Erica says
Thank you all for the nice comments!
Pocky says
This is what I want!!!!! I always order this when I go to my favorite Colombian restaurant called, La Estancia De Luisa. So delicious. Yours look absolutely fabulous.
Eric says
Can you use Maseca for this too? I’ve always wanted to make these and yours look great!
Erica says
Hi Eric,
I know people use maseca for mexican tamales……I am not sure if you can make arepas with it.
They are a lot of places online to find masarepa: amigosfood.com, hatogrande.com, Goya.com.
Armando G says
Hi, Maseca is only for Tortillas. You Can Find Harina Pan o Doña Arepa. They are the best for this king of plate.
Silvia says
Probé las arepas hechas por un Venezolano y me sorprendieron muchísimo, están riquísimas. Las tuyas no se quedan atrás, tomo nota de la receta.
Besos.
Lori Lynn says
Oh, don’t those look good? I must try this too.
LL
lilee says
I can’t wait to make this tonight!! Looks delicious! 🙂
Sophie says
MMMM..Erica! they look so georgous & so delicious! Yum Yum Yum,…what else can I say? 8)!!
Stanley Barker says
Puede decir “Ñam, ñam, ñam
John says
I Tried my first arepas in Villavicencio, Colombia. The maid Sandrita made them and told me her secret was to mix the dough with white cheese and add some aguapanela to the dough at
taste !
Also I had the oppurtunity to eat the “Arepa Paisa” Large disc form arepa, but then they were
all morning cooking corn, grinding and baking, I think at least 6 hours work to get a breakfast,
I think I will stay with the instant Masa Harina!
Erica says
Hi John,
I am paisa and my grandmother made arepas cooking and grinding the corn at home too. That is the traditional way to make arepas in Antioquia and it is delicious!
I agree with you I prefer masarepa is easier and faster.
Thank you!
Dimah says
Yum! Looks drool worthy!
Federico says
¿Cuando ha visto usted arepas como esas en Colombia? Esas son arepas venezolanas. Las arepas colombianas son muy distintas.
Erica says
Federico.
Mi abuelita , mis tias y mi mamá siempre han hecho esta clase de arepas rellenas de queso o tambien arepas rellenas de huevo …..Yo se que son similares a las Venezolanas, pero en Colombia tambien las hacemos y la arepa de huevo por ejemplo es tipica de la region del caribe.
Nosotros no hacemos rellenos de pollo, chorizo, etc, como los Venezolanos. En Colombia las hacemos delgadas y les colocamos los guisos encima, pero las recetas que yo coloco aqui es por que mi familia las ha hecho por muchos años.
Gracias por tu comentario!
Erica.
Claudia says
Yo soy Colombiana y vivo en Medellin y si he visto arepas como esa en muchos restaurantes tipicos Colombianos y tambien las hacemos en mi casa.
Me encanta tu pagina, Felicidades.
Alejandra Castillo says
Yo soy de Colombia y me encanta tu pagina, muchas gracias por mostrar algo lindo de nuestro pais que es la comida.
En el rancherito un restaurante en Copacabana (Antioquia) hacen arepas como estas. y en mi casa mi mami muchas veces las hace con jamon y queso blanco.
Yo no conozco las arepas Venezolanas pero estas son muy comunes en nuestra region. Tambien tengo un libro de cocina Colombiana que tiene estas arepas, pero la receta es con cuajada.
Me gustan mucho tus fotos, sigue con el buen trabajo
Tangled Noodle says
We are fortunate to have at least one Colombian restaurant here in Minneapolis where I had my first taste of arepas! This looks wonderful (especially with all that lovely cheese oozing out!) I will be on the look out for masarepa – my husband would really enjoy these.
Erica says
Thank you everyone for the comments! Gracias a todos por los comentarios:)
Alfonso Galvez says
Esta receta se ve muy buena, pero me gustaria que probaras las arepas con queso ack Pepper Jack..Este queso le da un sabor medio picante y la arepa queda maravillosa. Trate y no se va a arrepentir..
Erica says
Hola Alfonso,
gracias por el comentario…..seguro que voy a probar tu receta!
linda says
I wonder how do some Arepas come out softer and higher mine taste good but feel a little dense any suggestions
Erica says
Linda- I usually follow the same directions from this post and they are perfect! Water your hands when your are making the balls, that can help a little.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I love this!!! I feel so hungry now….:-((( and I am not supposed to eat anything after 8pm…
Luis Fernando says
Soy Colombiano nacido en Santiago de Cali y residente fuera de Colombia. Felizmente si hay restaurantes de comida típica de Colombia, en este país donde vivo. Allí yo como las deliciosas arepas colombianas, de cualquier tipo.
I LOVE AREPAS. I LOVE COLOMBIA.
Martha says
Hi Erica,
Just have a question. Why you have not come out with a book on your own?
I would love to buy a couple if you just had one out there that we all can enjoy your fantastic receipes.
Abrazos,
Martha =)
Erica says
Martha- maybe I should try to write my own cookbook! Thank you so much for the wonderful comment 🙂
maribel says
Thank you so much for these recipes!! I did another one of yours and my boyfriend thats colombian didnt believe it at all!!! the taste was so authentic!!! great job!!!
Angelica says
Erica, me encanta tu pagina hace 4 a~os estoy fuera de Colombia y es una maravilla encontrar tantas recetas en un solo lugar, me encanta cocinar cositas para mis amigos y asi darles a probar un poquito de la maravillosa comida que tenemos en nuestro pais.
Sigue adelante!!
mARIA eSCOBAR says
I am a Colombian grandama, living for 47 yrs, here in the USA. I already passed the recepie to my 4 daughters in law: German, Italian, Irish and from Georgia. They all know how to make them with cheese. I add a little bet of sugar, to complement the ingredients. Also before putting them together, I let the maza rest for 5 minutes. make a big ball, and cut it in the number of arepas you are going to make. That way everyone has the same size! I use Mazarepa.
herman says
can you tell me what corn i can use to make the arepa santaderana,and maybe you have the recipe,I look foward to your daily recipes thanks
LeeAn Kahriger says
Has anyone ever had the arepas con quasi at the airport in Bucaranga? Those were my very favorite! Would this recipe be similar?
LeeAn Kahriger says
Sorry meant queso above spell correction switched it…
Diana says
I made these this weekend for breakfast and they were deeeelicious! Just like the ones we eat in Medellín. The one thing I would change is to add a bit more salt to the masa but that’s just a personal preference in taste. I also ended up cooking the arepas for about 5 minutes per side before adding the cheese, 3 minutes were not enough. A couple of tips for anyone who is not familiar with Masarepa, make sure you add the water slowly and see how much more or less you may need as you knead, don’t throw it all at once. Also, let the arepas rest before cutting them and adding the cheese. Thanks Erica, this was a wonderful recipe!!!
Diana Lopez says
Just wanted to give you guys an update on this recipe. I tried it last weekend just as Erica wrote it but I added two thin slices of honey ham and one slice of mozzarella cheese. They were out of this world!
LeeAn says
Please share if someone knows how to make the arepas like at the airport in Bucaramanga! Is it a different corn??? I love them and have nit had one in about 24 years!
Isabel M says
Tambien se puede utilizar queso mejicano como el queso fresco, le da un sabor mas de campo….Also try it with a type of mexican cheese called queso fresco….. yummy
Ana says
YOU ARE MY HERO. Enough said.
Here lately I have fell in love with you and your blog. I read in one of your post earlier that you felt homesick and were going to the Latin Store. Totally my kind of day today… I am totally homesick and wishing abuelita was here to spoil me… 🙁 But since she’s not ‘chocolate y arepas’ as soon as i can come back from the Latin Store!
Thankyou so much for taking the time to do all these. I bet your husband feels like he hit the jackpot with you! (Saying that because i have made about 4 of your recipes and my fiance thinks he’s the luckiest man on Earth… and I definitely wouldn’t say I am a good cook!)
So seriously… thank you! 🙂
Erica says
Hi Ana- Thank you so much for your beautiful comment…..:) I truly appreciate it!
Anonymous says
They r so good and easy to make
Aimee says
Thank you for your recipe! Now my husband doesn’t have to rely on the frozen ones!!
Lisa says
Thanks to your website I’m starting to love arepas! I prefer the taste of the arepas fried in oil (as your egg arepas are). Any way this recipe can be modified to first fry them and then add the cheese? Not sure if the part to melt the cheese should still be done in a skillet with butter but just fry the arepas first? Your opinion on this will be great!
Dawna says
Hi Erica,
I made these for breakfast today (topped with poached eggs, with a side of sausage). Wonderful! I made a half-batch, since there were only two of us, and was really happy with how well they turned out. I suspect I will be making these fairly frequently going forward, by popular demand! I’m also looking forward to trying your other arepa recipes. Cheers!
Dulce says
Hey Erica, I was wondering about the prep time and the cook time for this recipe.
I’m doing a project for school & were going to have cultural food day.
Colombiana Laura says
oh the arepas just need to be golden on each side and the cheese melted… cook at a low temperature. If it takes long its normal. sometimes its fast and sometimes not.
Annie says
I just wanted to thank you for posting all of these amazing Colombian recipes! My boyfriend is from Colombia and I know how much he misses his comfort food, and I’ve been dying to make him something that reminds him of his home. Thanks so much!!! You’re amazing 🙂
Paola says
OMG… you have the best recetas ever they always come out so good like home…. living in the united state without mom is hard to get home cooking… thank so much for sharing
Angela says
I can’t wait to make this recipe!!! I’m an adult Colombian adoptee who has traveled to Colombia twice and met my birthfamily last year. Delicious Colombian food takes me back and definitely feeds my soul. Thanks for all your hard work on this website!
Colombiana Laura says
I recommend that you add shredded cheese in the bowl before mixing it and also a little bit of brown sugar. i also recommend putting hot water(really hot) in the batter then mix it (NOT WITH YOUR HANDS but with a big spoon or something).When you make the balls add more shredded cheese to the inside of each ball (a lot of cheese) before flattening them. then just flatten them and cook in a pan like you said. Cook it at a low temperature and let it cook thoroughly. Take my advise… Just try it! They will taste even better.
NELLY GRILLI says
Que rico se ve, pero debo preguntar , ¿que es la Masarepa? o como se prepara esa masa?, muchas gracias, desde Argentina,, un saludo ….
Vanessa says
I made this for breakfast…it came out great! Thanks for the posting these recipes!!!
OliviaStein says
do they work if you use polenta for the cornmeal part?
Erica Dinho says
Olivia, I didn’t try making them with polenta, but you can try it and let us know if you like them.
Tara says
This was absolutely delicious! It was my first time making arepas and I love the cheese filling. Can’t wait to try other variations.
ymassey says
Us Mexicans also use and make corn cakes for our gorditas and stuff them with anything. 🙂 sometimes I smother them with red or green Chile sooooo yummy!! We use masa harina
Claudia says
Tengo una pregunta,soy de padres colmbianos,y cuando mi abuelita hacia árepas ella usaba una parilla encima de la estufa y teníamos estufa electrica. Con esta receta se puede usar una parilla?
Por que no sabe lo mismo en un sartén que en parilla.
Raquelle says
I am all for anything with cheese!
Michael says
I make these all the time, but I grill them to get a “skin”, then pop them in a convection oven at 400 degrees until the puff up. After cooling slightly I cut a slit in the edge about half way around and stuff goodies inside….YUM.
Maria says
I only have in the house at this moment fine yellow corn meal, can I used it to make the arepas? Thank you in advance
Erica Dinho says
Precooked cornmeal or masa arepa
David Brenner says
Hi, these look great, and I want to try and make them; however, I have one question: you list the butter as “2 tblsp of soft butter, divided. Does that mean that 1 tblsp goes in the dough, and 1 tblsp goes in the pan for toasting?
Erica Dinho says
Step by step video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiDPP2JP9zI
David Brenner says
Thanks, but that still didn’t clarify how much butter goes in the dough and how much goes in the pan; is it one tablespoon each?
Erica Dinho says
Yes