I’ve probably mentioned her in some previous posts, but I feel like it’s high time to introduce my sous chef…my dog Rooney! She’s most interested whenever there is anything chicken, cheese or bread-related happening in the kitchen. This dish had all three going on so she was at my feet the entire time.

I’m not completely certain that I’d ever had arepas before, though I’d seen them offered in may restaurants in my old D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights. They do require a fair amount of oil to fry up these corn cakes so they aren’t the lightest dish, but I loved the end result and thought they were incredibly easy to make.

While they are typically used as a sandwich type bread and you stuff a filling inside, I didn’t find that my version quite sliced that easily so I elected to serve this as an open-faced sandwich. I made a chipotle shredded chicken that we topped with cilantro and feta.

Recipe I used for arepas: https://pinchofyum.com/arepas

Recipe I used for chipotle shredded chicken filling: https://pinchofyum.com/spicy-chipotle-shredded-chicken

Overall Level of Effort: 1

Skill Level: Beginner

Would Make it Again? Yes

Additional Notes: Arepas are incredibly easy to make as long as you have the precooked cornmeal. And now that I do, I’m going to make these again, perhaps with a carnitas filling, or make them with cheese in the dough (which is very popular).