Arepas the best Venezuelan corn cakes you love. It is gluten free, it is vegan, contains a couple of ingredients and is easy to make. Want to learn how you can make arepas? Lets get started!

Arepas or corn cakes is considered the most popular type of bread that is made with with pre cooked corn four and eaten in South American countries like Venezuela or Columbia.

Funnily enough this bread is also eaten in the Spanish Canary Islands which is miles away from South America. In Venezuela and Columbia it is eaten daily with almost every meal.

With a lot of bread type of recipes there a many ways to make Arepas and eat them. You prepare them:

• Fry
• Grill
• boil
• bake in the oven
• steam

Just like bread you can eat these Corn Cakes as a sandwich or a regular slice of bread and eat it with sweet or savory toppings.

There are a number of maize flours. The pre cooked version for instance comes in a yellow maize flour or white maize flour. I used the yellow flour to make it more festive.

Be aware that the corn for this recipe is different than the flour used for corn tortilla. Look for flour that says harina precocida or masa al instante. A popular brand is Harina PAN.

Arepas ingredients

The base of the vegan corn cake is just as simple as the corn tortilla. It required four ingredients:

• Pre cooked maize flour
• Water
• Salt
• Vegetable oil

The more elaborate versions of the arepas contain oil, milk, butter or eggs. This recipe is made with the simplest of ingredients.

How to make arepas

Measure the pre cooked maize flour and salt. Stir the salt through the flour before you continue and add the water. The ratio of flour to water to use is a 1 by 1 ratio.

If you have made corn tortillas you can make this dough in a similar way. The dough should not be too dry else the end result will crack and it should not be wet either. This will result in dense corn cakes.

Add warm water and stir it through the flour. The maize flour will absorb a lot of moisture so make sure the water is absorbed and knead it into a consistent dough.

Let it set for 5 minutes then cut it into 4 equal pieces and shape into a corn cakes. Repeat for the remaining three.

I choose the pan fry oven baked version to prepare these cake but you can also decide to fry the corn cakes in oil or steam them like Chinese steamed buns.

So put some oil in a pan and let them pan fry for about 5 minutes per side. Pre heat the oven to 350℉/175℃. Take them out of the pan and let them bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven. When the corn cakes are done take them out of the oven and split them in half.

Store

Arepas are best eaten fresh from the grill, pan or oven. You might be able to store them in the freezer and warm them on a griddle or pan. However the best way to eat them right out of the pan.

What to eat with arepas

You can eat these corn cakes with so many things. Take a look at all the options you have:

• Pulled chicken – like the one that is used in the pulled chicken fajitas
• Shredded brisket beef – is also a popular dish to stuff the arepas with
• Grated cheese – simple and easy. Warm them in the oven or toaster so you get a grilled arepas with soft cheese
• Fried or boiled eggs – fried, scrambled or boiled all work nicely with these corn cakes
• Salad like tuna salad – especially tuna salad goes really well with arepas
• Hamburger – yes this recipe is perfect for a hamburger or chicken burger

See how to make arepas

Want to see how you can make arepas the best corn cakes? Watch the video instruction below:

Have fun with this arepas recipe! Made a recipe tag @thetortillachannel on Instagram or PIN on Pinterest.

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