Skillet Arepas with Black Beans and Tomato

The Compact Skillet

4 stuffed arepas · Active 25 min · Total 40 min

Arepas turn a small bag of precooked cornmeal into warm, sturdy pockets for black beans and tomato. They are useful in a compact kitchen because the dough needs a bowl and a skillet rather than an oven or a rolling pin. The cakes should be modest in size so their centers cook before the outside becomes too dark. Serve two filled arepas per person, with any extra bean mixture beside them.

Jump to ingredients

Golden skillet arepas filled with black beans, tomato and cilantro.

Use the correct cornmeal

Choose precooked white cornmeal labeled for arepas. Ordinary polenta, corn flour used as a thickener and masa harina are different products and do not behave the same way in this dough. Let the mixture rest so the meal absorbs the water before deciding whether it is too wet. It should feel soft and pliable, with only small cracks at the edges when shaped. Add water a teaspoon at a time if it crumbles.

A steady skillet beats fierce heat

A compact burner can create one hot spot in the center of a pan. Use medium-low heat and rotate the skillet if your appliance permits it safely. Cook the arepas until the surfaces are golden and the sides feel set, then cover briefly to finish the center. A cake should sound slightly hollow when tapped and have no wet dough inside when one is split. Do not confuse a dark crust with a cooked middle.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup precooked white cornmeal for arepas (150 g)
  • 1 cup warm water (240 ml), plus teaspoons as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, divided
  • 2 teaspoons neutral oil (10 ml), divided
  • 1 can black beans (15 oz/425 g), drained and rinsed
  • 1 medium tomato, finely diced (150 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons water for the beans (30 ml)
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice (10 ml)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Set out

10-inch nonstick skillet with lid, Mixing bowl, Spatula, Plate and clean towel

Allergens

No major US allergen identified in the base ingredients. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Mix warm water with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in arepa cornmeal and rest for 5 minutes. Knead briefly with clean hands. Add teaspoons of water if the dough cracks badly.
  2. Divide into four balls and flatten to rounds about 3 1/2 inches across and 1/2 inch thick.
  3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the skillet over medium-low. Cook the arepas for 7–8 minutes per side until golden. Cover and cook for 3 more minutes, then split one to check the center has no wet dough. Put on a plate and cover with the towel.
  4. Add remaining oil, beans, cumin, remaining salt and 2 tablespoons water to the skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until hot, crushing a few beans. Stir in tomato and cook for 1 minute.
  5. Turn off the heat and add lime juice and cilantro. Split the warm arepas partway through, fill with beans and serve immediately.

One burner, two short stages

The cakes cook first and stay covered only while the beans heat. Set the serving plate in a stable clear spot before lighting the burner, so there is somewhere safe to transfer hot food without juggling pans in a narrow galley.

A useful detail

Cooking flour can leave a warm, soft center, but it should not be wet or paste-like. Make the cakes thinner next time if the outsides brown before the centers set.

Another way

  • Use canned pinto beans instead of black beans.
  • Replace half the diced tomato with drained roasted red pepper for a pantry-led filling.

Keep it well

Refrigerate beans and arepas separately within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days. Reheat the beans to 165°F/74°C. Warm arepas in a covered skillet, then uncover briefly to refresh their crust.

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