These Colombian Arepas con Queso are corn patties stuffed with melty cheesy. They are slightly crunchy on the outside and gooey inside.
Arepas are the Colombian daily bread. We eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Why you will love these arepas
Arepas are inexpensive to make. They only require 4 ingredients and they are highly customizable.
Arepas vary in size, ingredients, fillings and type of corn. There is more than one variety of arepas.
In the movie Encanto, Julieta Madrigal makes arepas con Queso which are the food that heal the ill. This is a beautiful way to highlight how meaningful arepas are in Colombian culture.
Although they look like bread, arepas are corn and not flour based. To make them, all you need is precooked cornmeal, water, salt, cheese and butter.
If you are looking for cheese bread also featured in Encanto, this recipe for Colombian buñuelos is what you need.
Ingredients for Arepas con Queso
To make these arepas con queso, you need a melty cheese like shredded mozzarella. Any other cheese blend that melts well works in this recipe.
I like to use Mexican cheese like Asadero or Quesadilla. They are melty and mild in flavor which compliments the corn flavor. Any melty cheese works.
What to eat with arepas
Arepas go well with pretty much anything. In this case they are stuffed with cheese and people usually add butter on top when ready to eat.
But they are also great vehicles for all sorts of toppings including shredded meat, smashed avocados, scrambled eggs etc.
People usually eat these cheese arepas for breakfast with a side of Huevos Pericos or sausage.
What do arepas taste like?
Arepas are similar to pupusas from El Salvador or Mexican Gorditas. Think of a hybrid between a thick corn tortilla and a grilled cheese.
These arepas de queso are basically thick corn patties stuffed with melty oozing cheese.
Tips to make the best arepas
There are different methods to make arepas.
I like to use 2 corn dough disks and place the cheese in between them. Cook them in a cast iron skillet until golden brown.
You can also use a mozzarella log that is precut into rounds and you will only need one disk of dough and you will wrap the cheese around it. See example below.
If you use the mozzarella cheese logs, the arepas will be smaller, bite size and perfect for snacking (you will get 6 servings instead of 3).
Other way to make them is to make a thicker corn patty and cook it until golden brown and then slice the arepa to create a pocket and stuff the cheese inside.
Arepas with Precooked Cornmeal vs Uncooked Cornmeal
You can make arepas with both precooked or uncooked cornmeal.
If you use precooked cornmeal, so all you need is room temperature water, salt and cheese to make this arepas. Recipe is below.
If you don't find precooked cornmeal, all you need to do is cook it in boiling water.
To make the dough with cornmeal, use equal parts of cornmeal and boiling water and cook it until it forms a uniform dough.
You will need to stir it constantly and it will take about 5-6 minutes. Let it cool down and proceed to form the arepas as noted in the recipe below.
Trouble shooting
- Pick a finely milled cornmeal (the brand P.A.N. is readily available at most grocery stores).
- Use warm milk/water to make the dough. It helps softening the mix and yields a smoother dough.
- Pick a melty cheese such as mozzarella, asadero, quesadilla or a combination of cheeses.
- If your dough is too wet or sticky add more corn flour. One tablespoon at a time.
- If your dough is too dry, add more liquid. One tablespoon of water a time.
- Your pan (I recommend a cast iron skillet) should be well oiled and hot.
- Let your arepas cook throughly on one side before attempting to flip them. This prevents the filling from coming out of the center or your arepa from breaking.
- You can add cheese to your dough when kneading if you want a cheesier flavor.
Colombian Cheese Arepas from Encanto
Ingredients
- 1 cup Precooked cornflour Harina PAN brand preferably
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese or any melty cheese (divided)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Melted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, salt, milk and butter and 1 cup of your mozzarella cheese.1 cup Precooked cornflour, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons Melted butter
- Knead the mix until smooth ball forms.
- Cover with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Form clementine size balls and flatten them with a plate of tortilla press.
- You should have 6 discs about 5 inches in diameter.
- Add mozzarella cheese to the center of one of your discs (about 2 tablespoons) and cover with an additional corn disc.2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- Secure the edges by pressing them down and inward. Making sure all the edges are closed so the cheese won't ooze out when cooking.
- Add the oil to the cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat1 tablespoon vegetable oil for cooking
- Add the arepa to a hot pan or cast iron skillet.
- Cook on medium high for about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately, add more butter on top for serving if desired
Madie V
These look great! I was wondering, are these gluten free?
Isabel
Yes! Gluten free, just make sure your corn flour/meal is 100% corn.
Lisa
Can I use regular maseca in place of the Masarepa? Grocery choices are quite limited in northern WIsconsin, lol.
Isabel
Absolutely! It will work fine, I would make sure is white corn meal.
l
could you be more specific with the corn meal i need? i couldn’t get the recommended brand so i used what i and and it wouldn’t work.
Isabel
Hi there,
Tell me which kind you used. Was is a pre cooked cornmeal? PAN is a finely ground pre cooked cornmeal.
If you used another kind, for example not pre cooked, you would boil the water and add the cornmeal and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Let me know which kind you got, I'd be happy to help troubleshoot.
Jennifer
U don't think you should mention somewhere in the recipe that the cornmeal is pre cooked!!! what a watse i just had.
Isabel
Hi Jennifer!
I just updated my post to explain how to make them with cornmeal as well. Thanks for bringing that up to my attention, I've always used PAN (which is pre cooked) and it's the brand I recommended on the post originally. But both methods should work. Hope you give them another try!
Natalie Chao
Can you make these arepas ahead ? My daughters birthday is Saturday and I wanted to prep them the night before
Isabel
Absolutely! They are great reheated in the air fryer or on the stove top. Avoid the microwave as it will draw moisture out and they will be soggy and break.
lisa
Hi would be my first time making. No salt sugar or anything added? other recipes add it. Just asking. Didnt want a disaster lol. Also what of cheese can I add to dough as well? TIA
Isabel
Yes, recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt. You can use mozzarella in the dough or whatever cheese you are using on the filling. I love Asadero cheese.
Alicia
I tried this recipe tonight and it wasn't working until I added flour to the mixture. The recipe indicates corn meal and then in another area references corn meal/flour...those are different. Mine tur ed out okay, just more dense than the picture of yours.
Isabel
Hi Alicia!
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! I will make the clarification on the post. Thanks for pointing that out. For reference did you use cornmeal or corn flour?
When I use cornmeal, the arepas are just a bit more rustic, as if you used fresh corn to make them but both corn meal and corn flour should work. I will update the post to make it clear.
Thank you again for trying it!
Karen
I was looking for nutritional value. I used my cast iron frying pan to flatten the dough. And I cooked them longer on low. Came out well for a first try. It would also be nice to see photos of what the dough looks like, consistency. I didn't use a full cup of water. Maybe seven oz.