🥙🌽 Looking for an easy and delicious way to enjoy Venezuelan-style arepas? These homemade Venezuelan-style arepas are naturally vegan, wonderfully versatile and perfect for making the most of the ingredients you already have at home. Made with pre-cooked corn flour, these golden corn cakes are crisp on the outside, soft and tender inside, and ready to be filled with all sorts of delicious combinations.
🌱🇻🇪 Lica joined A Grandchild in My Kitchen, Grandma Sita’s plant-based cooking challenge, to bring a taste of Venezuela into the kitchen. Together, they prepare these delicious arepas and fill them with colourful sautéed vegetables, creating a simple, satisfying meal inspired by a much-loved Venezuelan tradition.
😋 Arepas are one of those wonderfully adaptable foods that can be enjoyed in so many ways. Grill them, pan-fry them or bake them, then slice them open and fill them with whatever you fancy. From seasonal vegetables and leftovers to beans, salads or your favourite plant-based fillings, there are endless possibilities.
♻️💚 And that is exactly what Grandma Sita loves about them: a simple recipe that gives you plenty of opportunities to use what you already have in the fridge and pantry. So grab your corn flour, gather your vegetables and let’s make these delicious Venezuelan-style arepas with sautéed vegetables — colourful, comforting and full of flavour, the Grandma Sita way!
INGREDIENTS
For the arepas — Makes approx. 10
2 cups Harina P.A.N. (pre-cooked white corn flour)
2½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Grandma Sita’s tip: If you prefer to avoid oil, simply leave it out and make sure you use a good non-stick frying pan.
For the vegetable filling
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
½ broccoli, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
METHOD
For the arepas
1. Prepare the dough. Add the warm water and sea salt to a medium mixing bowl. Gradually add the pre-cooked corn flour, mixing with your fingers until you have a soft, moist and pliable dough.
2. Knead and rest. Knead the dough gently for about 2 minutes, then cover and leave it to rest for another 5 minutes. This gives the flour time to absorb the water and makes the dough easier to shape.
3. Shape the arepas. Divide the dough into approximately 10 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. Flatten each ball gently with your hands until you have a round disc, about 1 cm thick.
4. Cook the arepas. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the arepas in batches for about 10 minutes on each side, or until a golden crust has formed and the centres are cooked through.
Grandma Sita’s tip: The secret to delicious arepas is getting that lovely contrast between a crisp outside and a soft, tender and fluffy centre.
5. Drain and cool slightly. Transfer the cooked arepas to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Leave them to cool slightly until they are comfortable to handle.
For the vegetable filling
1. Prepare the vegetables. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly and chop them into small pieces.
2. Sauté the vegetables. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until softened. Add the bell pepper, broccoli, tomatoes and asparagus, then season with salt and black pepper.
3. Cook until tender. Stir well and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
To assemble the arepas
1. Create the pocket. Using a thin, serrated knife, carefully cut each arepa horizontally about halfway through to create a pocket. Take care not to cut all the way through.
2. Fill and serve. Fill each arepa generously with the warm sautéed vegetables. Serve with a fresh salad or your favourite side dish.
🥙🌱 Golden on the outside, soft in the middle and packed with colourful vegetables — these Venezuelan-style arepas are a delicious way to make the most of simple ingredients, the Grandma Sita way!
👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips
- 🌽 Use the right flour: Arepas are made with pre-cooked corn flour, such as Harina P.A.N. White and yellow varieties are available; for this recipe, we use white corn flour.
- 💧 Get the dough right: It should be soft, moist and easy to shape, but not sticky. Add a little more warm water or corn flour if needed.
- 🔥 Cook them patiently: Keep the heat at medium so the arepas have time to develop a golden crust while cooking through in the centre. The result should be crisp outside and soft inside.
- 🥕 Use whatever vegetables you have: The filling is very flexible, so feel free to use seasonal vegetables or anything in the fridge that needs eating.
- ❄️ Make them ahead: Cooked arepas can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen, with baking parchment between them to prevent sticking.
📗 Did you know?
🌽 The word “arepa” has Indigenous roots. The Real Academia Española’s historical dictionary records it as coming from the Cumanagoto word erepa, meaning “corn”.
Arepas are a much-loved part of Venezuelan cuisine, but they are also enjoyed in Colombia and other parts of Latin America. They can be grilled, baked or fried and filled with countless different ingredients. There is no single way to fill an arepa. That is part of their charm — vegetables, beans and other leftovers can all become delicious fillings.
🗑️ A little food-waste fact
🥕 Vegetables are easy to forget in the fridge, but they can often be given a delicious second life before they go to waste.
♻️ These Venezuelan-style arepas are perfect for that. Simply chop and sauté the vegetables you already have and turn them into a colourful, satisfying filling.
♻️🌱 Give your vegetables a second life
💚 Grandma Sita loves recipes that make the most of what we already have. These golden corn cakes are a simple base for all kinds of seasonal vegetables, making them easy to adapt throughout the year. Cook with what you have, waste less and enjoy every delicious bite — the Grandma Sita way!