I'm so excited to share these VEGAN Colombian Arepas! My boyfriend is Colombian and he has been asking me to make these for a long time but I always shrugged it off because I didn't think I could do it justice. Arepas are not vegan in the slightest. They contain butter and cheese! This recipe was inspired by the Colombian Arepas Daniel had as a kid but with vegan ingredients. They are surprisingly easy to make and not intimidating at all. Daniel loved these and said they taste just like the one he grew up eating.
Vegan Colombian Arepas can be served in various ways. Serve them at breakfast with a cup of coffee. Turn them in to a sandwich or serve them along side dinner instead of bread. Or even as a dessert paired with hot chocolate. So many ways! And with this recipe, I plan to try them all. When you make this recipe, tell me how you served yours down below!
What You Will Need For These Vegan Colombian Arepas
Main Ingredients:
- Pre-Cooked Cornmeal
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Nutritional Yeast
- Butter
Substitutions:
This is what you need for this recipe: Pre-Cooked Cornmeal. There is no substitutions for this. This recipe will only work with the pre-cooked cornmeal that I have linked. This isn't made with the typical cornmeal you'd find at every supermarket. But you can use white or yellow. Typically it's made with white but I could only find yellow.
Products I Used:
- Vegan Mozzarella: I love Violife and Follow your Heart but you can use any vegan cheese that you enjoy!
- Vegan Butter: I use Earth Balance but any butter you love will do.
More Recipes You Might Like:
If You Make This Recipe:
Tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I would greatly appreciate if you share your review in the comments below. Don’t forget to add if you made any fun substitutions. Thank you!
Ingredients
- 5 ½ cups Room Temperature Water
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 4 cups Pre-cooked Yellow or White Cornmeal
- 2-3 cups Shredded Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- ⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast
- ¼ cup Vegan Butter I use Earth Balance
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the water and salt. Stir to dissolve the salt.
- Add in the pre-cooked cornmeal, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, and butter. Mix well with clean hands or wooden spoon until dough is combined and has a soft consistency.
- For a larger arepa, use ½ cup of dough. For a smaller arepa, use ¼ cup dough. Roll in to a ball and then flatten with your hands until it's about ½ inch thick. Repeat.
- Heat a griddle or non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Place arepa on well-oiled pan and cook for 5 minutes each side or until golden brown. Set aside and repeat. Being sure to add more oil and turning down heat as needed. Serve and enjoy!
Bethan says
Hi Liv - just stumbled upon your site, and these look so delicious. Colombian food isn't huge in the UK/outside of London, so I've never had arepas before. Can arepas be made sweet/without the cheese, or is that a kind of blasphemy? Love the look of your coffee smoothie on your IG too by the way - here to subscribe and stay!
Liv says
Hi Bethan! Thank you so much for your comment! This recipe is savory and best served with salt and butter. But there is a version of an arepa that is sweet that I will be working on very soon and posting here. So stay tuned for that! In the meantime, feel free to play around with this recipe by leaving out the cheese and adding sweet corn and/or sugar. - Liv