How To Make Arepas: Venezuela's Daily Bread Recipe
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10 minutes prep time
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10 minutes cook time
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Easy
An arepa is a grilled cornflour or cornbread ‘bun’. They’re not only Venezuelan’s everyday breakfast, they’re becoming more and more popular in the street food scene all around the world.
What is an arepa made of?
This classic bun is made with Harina PAN, the essential ingredient in authentic Venezuelan arepas. Accept no substitutes! The Harina PAN brand is the most famous brand of maize flour in Venezuela.
What can you serve with arepas?
Once cooked, they’re split in half to hold fillings. Classic fillings include reina pepiada – chicken and avocado, see recipe below – shredded beef, cheese, or even just a bit of butter!
What is arepa flour?
Harina PAN flour, or arepa flour, is a pre-cooked white maize flour. It gives arepas their signature texture and bite. You can also use Harina Pan to make Venezuelan empanadas – small, half-moon shaped cornbreads, classically stuffed with shredded spiced beef, cheese or even ‘cazón’ which is a small shark found on the Caribbean Sea around Venezuela’s coast.
What’s the difference between arepas and pupusas?
Arepas are fairly small, while pupusas are larger flat breads that are stuffed before being grilled. They are a little like thick Mexican tortillas. Discover more baking recipes here, or browse our products for baking products here.
Ingredients for the arepa bun Serves: 2
- 300g Harina PAN flour
- 600ml water
- 1 tsp salt
How to make pepiada filling
- 170g cooked chicken
- 160g avocados
- 60g mayo
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 12g red onions diced
Method for arepa buns
- Mix together the Harina PAN flour, water and salt until it forms a dough. Divide into 6 equal size pieces and roll into balls
- Spread a small amount of sunflower oil with a kitchen towel onto a hot pan
- With your hands flatten the dough balls into disks about 2 cm thick and place on the pan for 3 min each side – or until golden brown.
Reina Pepiada filling
- Shred the chicken into strips
- Mix together shredded chicken, avocado, mayo and the red onion. Add the splash of lime juice to preserve the green of the avocado.
- Once your arepas are crispy on the outside split them in half creating a little pocket, like you would a pita bread. Add a generous amount of reina pepiada filling and enjoy!
