Festival Flavors at Home: Our Favorite Arepas Recipe w/ Latin BBQ Sauce

We're sharing a favorite One Potato recipe, with some time-saving hacks.

The trees are in full bloom and it’s fair and festival season.  We love to walk around, soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of the food stalls and trucks and strategizing about what to taste first (and second, and third.)  Sometimes we give each of our children a fixed amount and tell them to come back with something new to try and then we pool our dishes for a taste test (and sometimes… that backfires with too many desserts.)  

Arepas is a favorite one of those treats and surprisingly easy to make at home - with or without shortcuts - and we know this is a crowd pleaser.  This recipe calls for shredded chicken breasts, but we think it is just as delicious with leftover roasted or bbq chicken - and can easily be made vegetarian with a vegetarian filling. We also recognize that using quality arepas purchased at a store can save time for a weekday meal.  We know that you have been looking forward to our special sauce recipes - here we’re sharing our recipe for the Latin BBQ Sauce, which can be used as a marinade AND dipping sauce, and it freezes beautifully.  Our recommendation is to double the batch and store in our favorite BPA-free, glass, freezer-to-oven storage container.

Got time?

Cook up One Potato extra-special Latin BBQ sauce & sides for this dish

From our survey, we know that quick & easy is an important part of your family meal planning. To that end, we’ve included our favorite pre-made sides in the recipe below. But if you’re looking for that extra-special One Potato magic, there are four parts of this recipe that might take a little more time, but you can make a batch and store to use for a few meals. 

1. You can whip up a batch of our One Potato Latin BBQ Sauce that will store for up to two weeks in the fridge, or freeze in smaller portions to save for longer. 

2. We’ve written this recipe to use pre-cooked shredded chicken breasts to save time. If you have a slow-cooker or Instant Pot, you can cook chicken breasts and thighs in water with a little Better than Bouillon for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly, shred, and use as outlined in the recipe below. 

3. To add an extra zing to the arepas, here is our Curtido Slaw recipe. Curtido is a slightly fermented slaw from Central America; the cabbage, carrots, and onions get a crisp taste from marinating in lemon and oil. The arepas recipe below includes a basic slaw for a nice crunch, but if you want to elevate your arepas and have a little time - try adding some curtido. 

4. For the Corn Avocado Cups, we give you directions to make your own Corn Salsa in as little as 15 minutes. For those short on time, you can purchase a pre-made corn salsa fresh at your local grocery store, or choose frozen (we’ve included the Alexia Mexican-Style Street Corn in the Instacart link if you’re interested!) or canned version and prepare as directed on the packaging.

We always recommend reading through the full recipe before starting to cook - that way all the steps will go more smoothly. Want to do it like the pros? Mise en place, preparing the ingredients and equipment before serving, is a fun way to get the kids more involved in measuring and pouring (without risking a quantity mishap).

Have fun making this recipe your own!

Arepas with Latin BBQ Chicken (or vegetarian!) & Sweet Corn Avocado Cups

For 4 Servings

One Potato Kitchen Tools: Large sauté pan, cooling rack, small saucepan, chef’s knife, zester, cutting board, slotted spoon, bread knife

From your pantry: flour (for dusting), olive oil, rice wine vinegar, cumin, salt (kosher or sea), pepper

Ingredients for the Arepas:

• 1 1/2 cups Masarepa or PAN pre-cooked white cornmeal

• 1 lime zested & juiced

• 1 ½ cups water

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Filling:

• Cabbage/Broccoli Slaw or Curtido

• Latin BBQ Sauce (One Potato Latin BBQ Sauce Recipe or your favorite store alternative)

• 1 lb. Shredded Chicken (pre-cooked) OR Vegetarian Alternative*

• Fresh Cilantro

• Oaxaca Cheese (substitute Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack)

Ingredients for the Corn Avocado Cups:

• Avocados

• Corn Salsa

  • 1.5 Cups Sweet Corn thawed from frozen or 2 large fresh cobs of Corn, Grilled

  • 1/2 Red Onion, finely chopped

  • 1/2 Red Pepper, finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons Jalapeño, minced (~1 medium jalapeño)

  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin

  • Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice - to taste

  • Olive Oil - to taste

  • Rice Wine Vinegar - to taste

  • Salt - to taste

  • Sugar (optional) - to taste

    Printable Shopping List Here

Here’s a link to Shop Specialty Items from your local Latin Grocery Store and have them quickly delivered, including pre-made arepas if they’re available in your zip code, and Masarepa or PAN gluten-free corn meal to make your homemade arepas.

Alternative InstaCart Link.

Directions:

1. Prepare the Arepa Dough: In a large bowl, add Masarepa or PAN white cornmeal, lime zest, 1 ½ cups water, 2 teaspoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir to form a stiff dough. Transfer dough to clean, dry work space and knead dough for about 30-40 seconds or until smooth. Set aside for 3-4 minutes to rest. Form into 4 equal size balls. Flatten the balls with the palm of your hands to create 1/2 inch thick discs (for equal-size servings)

2. Lightly coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with oil and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add each arepa, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the arepas over, cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden on both sides. Remove the arepas from the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack.*

3. Prepare the Filling: Place the pre-cooked shredded chicken or your favorite vegetarian substitute in a sauce pot, add Latin BBQ Sauce, stir to fully coat, and set over low-to-medium heat. Cover and simmer and cook for 3-5 additional minutes or until heated through.

4. Roughly chop the cilantro and place the cabbage or broccoli slaw in a serving bowl. Dress lightly with a dash of rice wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt to taste. Stir and set aside to marinate. (If you have prepared Curtido Slaw, skip this preparation step. Chop the cilantro to use with your curtido.)

5. Prepare the Avocados: Halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pit by tapping the heel of your knife, then twisting gently until the pit comes out. Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the avocado flesh whole (if preferred, you can leave the flesh in its shell and serve them that way - but thoroughly wash the outside shell before slicing), and season lightly with salt. Cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice over the top of the avocados.

6. Prepare the Corn Salsa: Thaw and rinse the frozen corn kernels and drain well. Add the corn to a medium-size mixing bowl with the red onion, red pepper, jalapeño, and cilantro. Add the cumin then squeeze some lime juice over the top, drizzle with the olive oil, rice wine vinegar, and add salt and sugar to taste. Toss to coat, taste, and add to taste any more of the dressings as desired. Spoon the corn salsa into the centers of the avocado halves.

   1. If you’re using your favorite store-bought corn salsa side dish, prepare as per the packaging or simply serve. Spoon the corn salsa into the centers of the avocado halves.

7. Assemble the arepas: Split each arepa in half lengthwise with a bread knife. Using a slotted spoon, remove the filling from the sauce and scoop about ⅓ of cup of filling on the bottom half of each arepa.

8. Top the filling with the shredded Oaxaca cheese followed by some cabbage/broccoli slaw or curtido slaw and fresh cilantro. Serve arepas accompanied by the corn avocado cups.

Substitutions and Dietary Considerations

• Vegetarian: Feel free to use your favorite meat alternative in this recipe - we recommend jackfruit or shredded grilled “chick’n”; both of these go well with the BBQ Sauce. We like to marinate these a little longer so they can absorb more flavor.

• Dairy-Free: Feel free to omit the oaxaca cheese, or use a dairy-free cheese alternative.

• Sugar-Free: BBQ sauce usually contains sugar, including the recipe for our One Potato Latin BBQ Sauce. If you are Sugar-Free/low-sugar or following a keto diet, purchase a Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce to use in this recipe. For the Corn Salsa, easily omit the sugar.

• Arepas, made of cornmeal, are naturally gluten-free.

• Hold the Cilantro: Some individuals have a genetic variation that affects how cilantro tastes - describing it as eating soap. Or, maybe your kids just don’t like it. If you or your kids don’t like cilantro, there is no need to include it at all! Flat Italian parsley can be a nice substitute to add color and a more subtle flavor.

• Want more spice? Have cayenne powder on hand, start with adding 1/4 teaspoon, and flavoring to taste.

• Ultimate Time-Saving Hacks:

  • Buy pre-made arepas at your local latin market

  • Buy pre-shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken

  • Substitute your favorite BBQ or Latin Sauce

  • Buy your favorite already prepared fresh corn salsa

Getting Kids Involved

• Let your kids assemble the ingredients - from the treasure hunt to find the items to measuring the ingredients into bowls to be added when ready.

• When the arepas are ready to be served, let kids assemble their own arepas.

• Kids can help portion the dough and shape the arepas.

• Kids can also sprinkle salt and squeeze lime juice on the avocados and spoon the corn salsa into the avocado halves.

Pro Tips

• Picky Eaters? There are a lot of components to this meal. Offer them a sampling of each component (chicken, BBQ sauce, arepa, slaw, avocado, corn salsa) and ask them to taste each one separately and rate their favorites.

• Keep your arepas from getting soggy: If you don’t have a cooling rack you can use the rack from your oven or toaster oven. This prevents the arepas from steaming themselves and getting soggy on the bottom.

Tips for using our online Shopping List

Remember: In our linked Shopping List, the cart might have multiple brands of the same ingredient listed - in case you want the sugar free or organic version, for example. All you need to do to have the ingredients quickly delivered is

1. Verify your location

2. Choose your preferred store and delivery service (Instacart will show you how many items in the list are available at your preferred store; if the item we’ve recommended is not available they should show you an alternative item)

3. Confirm the items and quantities that you want to purchase - Click the “Add” button next to the ingredient you want to add to your cart

4. Check out and schedule your delivery

5. Feel free to message us with any questions

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