Cachapas are a traditional Venezuelan and Colombian dish made from corn. Like arepas, they are popular at roadside stands. They can be made like pancakes of fresh corn dough. The most common varieties are made with fresh ground corn mixed into a thick batter and cooked on a budare.
A Budare is a kind of griddle, made from stone, clay, or steel, that is often used to cook a variety of breads. In Venezuela, it is used to cook Cachapas, Arepas, and Casabe. These delicious and sweet pancakes are an integral part of Venezuela’s culinary history and their origin dates back to pre-Colombian times when the Indigenous population would grind corn with stone pestles and then cook it on clay budares.
Arepas are made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, like pancakes; the cachapa is slightly thicker and lumpier because of the pieces from corn kernels. For this recipe, I had some sauteed beef left and added that to the cheese, and served the cachapa with some fresh greens! great! for a quick lunch or dinner!
Cachapas are traditionally eaten with Queso de Mano (handmade cheese), a soft, mozzarella-like cheese, and on occasion with fried pork chicharrón on the side. Cachapas can be very elaborate, including different kinds of cheese, milky cream, or jam. They can be prepared as an appetizer, or as a full breakfast with hand cheese and fried pork.
Cachapas or corn pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 can of corn 14 oz or 2 cups of kernels
- 2 tablespoons of fine corn meal Masa harina
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- Oil for frying pan
Instructions
- Preparation
- In a blender or a food processor mix the corn, egg, milk, corn meal, melted butter, sugar and salt, until you get a thick and chunky dough, this should not be too thick.
- Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet on the stove over medium heat, smear a little oil on a paper towel and grease the griddle lightly for each pancake, then pour a ladle of the corn mix on the griddle about 1/2 cup of the mixture, spreading it with a spoon or spatula to form a circle. When the bubbles formed on the entire surface and it seems to be dry and get golden edges, flip it with a spatula to cook the other side, about 1-2 minute on each side. Remove it from the griddle or skillet and reserve, keeping them warm.
- You can use many ingredients for the filling, as well as countless combinations Queso fresco, Cheese, Mozzarella, Gouda cheese, shredded beef, ham, chorizo, pork cracklings, etc.
Nutrition
Happy cooking!
16 thoughts on “Cachapas or corn pancakes”
I’ve never been to Venezuela nor Colombia, but after such a beautiful presentation, I want to buy a ticket immediately – I know I wouldn’t be starving in these countries! Awesome pancakes! Even though I’ve never incorporated corn in them, that sounds so good. Why not indeed? Nicely done, Gaila!
Ben!! Thank you! You know I do like my savory food with a touch of sweetness and this is the perfect combination for that and all that cheese! it’s truly delicious!
These look absolutely divine. Though I don’t have clay to cook them on, I’ll be trying this new-school on my range griddle. Wow. Just beautiful!
Thank you Adam! I did my on the stove top on a regular frying pan! 😉
Growing up in South Florida, I ate Arepas like they were potato chips, but I’ve never had Cachapas. I’m so excited to see this recipe and can’t wait to try it. Pics look fantastic too 🙂
Karrie! thanks for stopping by! let me tell you that I have always preferred cachapas to arepas! both amazingly good but I love having some sweet touch on my savory foods! and corn is perfect!
Great looking dish. I’ll be giving this one a try soon.
Oh my YUMMMM! I freggin’ LOOOVEEEEE arepas, but I have never had the pleasure of trying cachapas… and now thanks to you, I can (and will) indulge in these delicious pancakes. These look so scrumptious, G. I want to jump through my computer screen and eat ALLLLL of your cachapas! 🙂 Thanks for introducing me to yet ANOTHER stellar dish. Cheers, my sweets! xoxo
P.S. Sorry if I have been M.I.A. I’m in the process of moving almost half way across the country (south to north).. So i’ve been CRAZY stressed. Hugs!
Hi Chey!! I imagine you were up to something! These are soo good!! so try and let me know how you liked them!! Hugs!!
Looks delicious! One question, though. If using canned corn, do you drain it first?
I finally got around to making these tonight. I lived in Colombia until I was 8 years old and never had them. But got to try them recently at a Venezuelan restaurant in Orlando. These are delicious but REALLY hard to flip, I think if I’d had a bigger spatula it might have been easier but they do fall apart really easily. Also I only got 6 pancakes using a 1/4 cup measuring cup so it was a lot less than I thought it would be. But enough for the 3 of us 🙂
(also used honey in place of sugar as my hubby can’t eat refined sugar)
Hello Monica! thank you so much for your feedback! I am glad you tried it out and I agree these can be tricky to flip, so for sure get a bigger spatula! Thank you for stopping by! ????
Recipe looks great, can’t wait to try it. The FONT IS IMPOSSIBLE to read though…. Why?!?
Hey! thanks for your interest in my blog! I will be figuring out a better reading font.
I could not get these to cook up as a solid pancake. It was so frustrating because the flavor is good. Byt I just noticed if I use the recipe listed and click on the 1x, 2x, and 3x buttons, they all say to use 2 cups of corn kernels even though the amount of canned corn changes. I followed the recipe for 1x the recipe, and used 2 cups of frozen kernels. I hope this just means I needed 1 cup, and not 2. Maybe that’s why they wouldn’t hold up, I tried adding an egg and it still was not right.
Just had to mention in case anyone has the same experience!
Hello Cara,
So sorry to hear about the cachapas. The recipe is for 1 big can of corn or 2 cups of kernels. Was the dough too liquid? or too thick? I hope this helps you try again. Regards, Gaila