(Reina Pepiada) Chicken Avocado Arepa

Reina Pepiada or Chicken Avocado Arepa is a beloved Venezuelan dish, featuring a corn arepa patty with a filling of shredded chicken, creamy avocado, and mayonnaise, seasoned with lime and cilantro. The combination of the creamy chicken salad served inside a golden, crispy cornmeal cake, creates a perfect balance of textures and flavors! This recipe is by Jani Díaz, our partner in Venezuela!

Receta de la Arepa Reina Pepiada en español

What is a Reina Pepiada Arepa?

A reina pepiada arepa is a Venezuelan-style stuffed arepa which is filled with a shredded chicken and avocado salad.

It was originally invented in Venezuela in the 1950s, when the Álvarez brothers and their mother, María de Los Santos Álvarez, opened an empanada shop. Within three years, their business prospered, and they started to offer stuffed arepas. It was here that the Reina Pepiada was born, initially as a tostada filled with chicken and avocado. After the Venezuelan Miss World, Susana Duijm, visited the shop, they changed the recipe and named it “La Reina Pepiada,” in honor of the beautiful curvy pageant queen.

As far as arepas go, the Reina Pepiada is definitely one of the best. Armando Scanonne, one of Venezuela’s most legendary cookbook authors, describes this chicken avocado arepa as a magnificent combination of textures and flavors. The chicken and avocado mixture with the crispy corn arepa really is exquisite from beginning to end.

Ingredients You Need

For the Arepas

• Pre-cooked Corn Flour: You can use white or yellow corn flour. The most common brand is called “PAN”. You can usually find this at your local grocery store in the International aisle. This is not the same as normal corn flour or masa harina. Make sure to get a pre-cooked version!
• Warm Water: Warm water will help the salt to dissolve and evenly spread throughout the dough.
• Salt: For added flavor.
• Oil: A little bit of neutral oil is needed to create a seamless, soft dough!

For the Filling

• Chicken: The chicken avocado filling in these reina pepiada arepas is essentially a chicken salad. So you will need pre-cooked and shredded chicken! You can simply boil or air fry the chicken breast, or for ease you can use a rotisserie chicken.
• Cilantro: Adds a bright and herby flavor.
• Garlic: For a depth of savory flavor.
• Onion: Finely diced for just a slight bite of flavor and texture!
• Avocado: Use ripe avocados here, since you need to be able to mash them.
• Mayonnaise: You can use low fat or regular, whichever you prefer!
• Olive Oil: For a little extra moisture.
• Lemon: Or lime juice! To brighten up the flavors.
• Salt: To taste!

How to Make Reina Pepiada or Chicken Avocado Arepas

To Make the Arepas

1. Make Arepa Dough: Place the warm water in a mixing bowl. Then add the sat, and a tablespoon of oil, and stir. Add the precooked corn flour, stirring occasionally with a spoon. Knead until you obtain a dough with a nice smooth consistency, without any lumps. The arepa dough should come off the bowl easily.

2. Divide and Create Disk Shapes: Divide the dough into six large balls of the same size and flatten them between your hands to form the arepas into a disk shape.

3. Heat Pan & Oil: Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to a frying pan or a griddle pan, make sure the pan is evenly coated with the oil.
4. Cook: Turn the stove on to medium-high heat, and add the arepas to the pan. Make sure there is enough space between them to be able to turn them easily. When the first five minutes have passed, turn them over and cook them covered for another five minutes on the opposite side.

5. Remove & Set Aside: Remove the arepas from the pan and let them rest. Repeat if working in batches.

To Make the Chicken and Avocado Filling

1. Prep the Filling: While the arepas are cooking, you can prepare the filling. You can also prepare it ahead of time and have it ready to serve.
2. Chop the Ingredients: Finely chop the onion and cilantro. Crush the garlic clove. Place them in a bowl and mix them with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and mayonnaise.
3. Slice Some Avocado: Save about ¼ of the avocados, to slice and decorate the arepas when serving. You can sprinkle a bit of lemon juice on the slices to keep them from darkening. Mash the rest of the ripe avocados.

4. Make the Sauce: Add the mashed avocado to the bowl with the chopped onion and cilantro mayonnaise mixture. Mix everything until you have a smooth sauce. You could also make the sauce in a food processor, if you prefer.
5. Add the Chicken: Mix in the shredded chicken with the avocado sauce. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.

6. Assemble: Use a sharp knife to open the arepas lengthwise and fill each one with the chicken avocado salad. After filling the arepas with the chicken salad, add the extra avocado slices and serve.

Tips & Tricks

• When making arepa dough, the mixture should be very smooth and soft. It is important to roll the dough into balls, which can then be gently smashed into discs. Keep in mind that you will slice the arepa in half to fill it after it is cooked, so it should be thick enough to be able to cut!
• Add some spice! If you like spicy food, serve with hot sauce or diced jalapeño peppers.
• Add extra veggies! You can add finely chopped red bell pepper or cucumber into the avocado chicken salad filling! The original Álvarez brothers recipe called for petit-pois or green peas, but over time, this ingredient was no longer added. However, you can definitely add fresh peas if you prefer!
• For a slightly healthier version, you can replace the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt!
• Serve your chicken avocado reina pepiada arepa with side dishes like fried ripe plantains, cucumber cilantro salad, or a mango salsa!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an arepa?

Arepas are essentially corn patties. They can be made in many different ways, but are always made with some kind of corn flour, water, salt, and oil. They are most common in Colombia and Venezuela. Colombian arepas and Venezuelan arepas have some differences. Venezuelan arepas are usually stuffed with different fillings like a sandwich.

How do I know when arepas are done cooking?

Making arepa should not be rushed! Once you place the arepa on the pan or griddle, let it cook undisturbed. It will get crispy on the bottom and start to gain some color. Once it has some golden color, you can flip it! You will know they are done when both sides have turned crispy and gained some color.

(Reina Pepiada) Chicken Avocado Arepa

Recipe for Reina Pepiada arepa or Venezuelan Chicken Avocado arepas, this traditional dish consists of crispy corn patties filled with a creamy chicken avocado salad.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Main dish

Cuisine: Latin American, Venezuelan

Keyword: Arepas, Avocado, Chicken, Comfort food, Reina Pepiada, Street food

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 large arepas or 6-8 small ones

Ingredients

For the arepas:

• 2 cups of precooked corn flour 290 grams=~10 ounces – PAN brand
• 2 ¼ cups warm water 510 ml
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil

For the chicken and avocado “Reina Pepiada” filling:

• 1 roasted chicken breast shredded, about 300 grams or 10 ounces
• 2 sprigs of cilantro
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 1 medium onion ~ 80 grams
• 1-2 ripe avocados ~ 300 grams
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon
• Salt to taste

Instructions

To make the arepas:

• Place the warm water in a mixing bowl. Then add the salt, and a tablespoon of oil, stir. Add the precooked corn flour, stirring constantly with a spoon. Knead until you obtain a dough with a nice smooth consistency, without any lumps. The arepa dough should come off the bowl easily.
  
• Divide the dough into six large balls of the same size and flatten them between your hands to form the arepas into a disk shape.
  
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to a frying pan or a griddle pan, make sure the pan is evenly coated with the oil.
• Turn the stove on to medium-high heat, and add the arepas to the pan. Make sure there is enough space in between them (to be able to turn them easily). When the first five minutes have passed, turn them over and cook them covered for another five minutes on the opposite side. Remove the arepas from the pan and let them rest. Repeat if working in batches.
  

For the chicken and avocado “Reina Pepiada” filling:

• While the arepas are cooking you can prepare the filling. You can also prepare it ahead of time and have it ready to serve.
• Finely chop the onion and cilantro. Crush the garlic clove. Place them in a bowl and mix them with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and mayonnaise.
• Save about ¼ of the avocados, to slice and decorate the arepas when serving; you can sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice on the slices to keep them from darkening. Mash the rest of the ripe avocados.
  
• Add the mashed avocado to the bowl with the chopped onion and cilantro mayonnaise mix. Mix everything until you have a smooth sauce. You could also make this sauce in a food processor.
  
• Mix the shredded chicken with the avocado sauce. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
  
• Use a sharp knife to open the arepas lengthwise and fill each one with the chicken avocado salad. After filling the arepas with the chicken salad, add the extra avocado slices.
  

Notes

The original Álvarez brothers recipe called for petit-pois or green peas, but over time this ingredient was no longer added.

Step by step preparation photos for Venezuelan Reina Pepiada or Chicken Avocado arepas:

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