Puerto Rican Arepas de Coco – Fried Coconut Bread Recipe
Made with flour and coconut milk, these sweet Puerto Rican arepas are so tasty, it will be hard to eat just a few!
Jump to RecipeArepas’ Origin.
Puerto Rican cuisine is rich and diverse, but arepas (round cornbread or sweet bread) are not traditionally part of Puerto Rican culinary culture. The most known are Colombian arepas and Venezuelan arepas. Most arepas in south America are confectioned with corn flour/precooked cornmeal or masarepa flour (harina PAN) and cooked on a grill over butter. However, in Puerto Rico, arepas are made with multipurpose or wheat flour and coconut milk and fried in oil. This is why we call them “arepas de coco.”
These sweet Puerto Rican arepas are so delicious, it will be hard to eat just a few… I hope you are ready! You only need 6 ingredients, and they are so easy to make. They are like small, thick tortillas that make the perfect side for a variety of meals. As a side note, if you make your way to Puerto Rico, you can find these in San Juan so be sure to look for them!
What you need.
For this Puerto Rican arepas recipe, you need 2 – 2 ½ cups of multipurpose flour, ½ cup of white granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of canned coconut milk, and some vegetable oil for frying the arepas. If you want to lean into the sweetness of the arepas, you can add a pinch of cinnamon and some nutmeg to enhance that flavor. It is SO GOOD! I made these for dinner, so I omitted those two ingredients. Also, these will make about 6 servings, depending on how much you and your family/guests like arepas.
As far as equipment is concerned, you need a rolling pin, a large frying pan, a round cookie cutter (or a glass), and a mixer with a dough hook. If you do not have an electric mixer or dough hook, you can simply use a large mixing bowl and a spatula or wooden spoon. Either way will take about the same time to make the dough.
What to do.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: 2 cups of flour, ½ cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt. If you are not using an electric mixer, blend the dry ingredients with a whisk. Then add only 1 cup of your canned coconut milk and begin mixing with your spatula or spoon, then continue to knead with your hands. Please ensure the contents in the can are well mixed before pouring. If it is separated you may get too much fat or too much liquid, which will affect the consistency and flavor of your arepas.
Continue kneading the dough for about 5 minutes (with a mixer or manually), and if it feels too wet and sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. If it appears to be too dry, add a tablespoon of coconut milk at a time. The dough should be a little tacky but still easy to manage. If it is too wet, it will be impossible to roll out and cut. Once the dough forms into a ball, cover the ball with a towel and rest for 20 minutes.
After resting the dough, roll it out onto a floured surface. Cut it in half, and with your rolling pin, begin to flatten out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thin. Then use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut circles in the dough. The size of the cutter is up to you (I used a 3.5 inch cutter for mine.) Continue to do this until you run out of dough.
When you are almost done cutting, heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan or skillet to medium heat. You will want to have about an inch of oil in the pan. Once the oil is hot enough, begin to carefully add your arepa dough to the skillet. As soon as the dough puffs and looks golden brown on the bottom, flip the arepas and fry bread on the second side until it is golden brown, too.
Have a plate set with a paper towel on it so you can place your fried arepas on it as you remove them from the skillet. Adjust the heat in the pan as you move from one batch to another. The oil might increase as time passes causing your arepas to burn if you are not careful. Continue frying in batches until you have cooked all your dough circles. Also, you can start eating some of the first ones you made since they will be ready at this point. Just kidding! Save some for everyone else. Haha!
There you have it!
Serve warm with some Puerto Rican Picadillo, camarones criollos (shrimp stew), ensalada de pulpo (octopus salada), roasted vegetables or a pork dish. You can also add a sweet topping, or cut them and fill them with butter, and cheddar cheese or use them as bread to make little arepas sandwiches! If you are feeling adventurous, you can also make a guava sauce for dipping or any delicious filling you prefer. It will be tasty.
These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about four days. They are always better fresh out of the pan but they will still be delicious later. You can try freezing them as well if you made a big batch and want to have them readily available for later.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did. It is a hit with my family and friends, especially because they are so good even by themselves! The coconut gives it a new dimension and unique flavor that makes it hard to stop eating them. 😊 Let me know how it went for you and feel free to post pictures of your own arepas in the comments.
¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Puerto Rican Arepas de Coco - Fried Coconut Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 mixer with dough hook, or spatula and large mixing bowl*
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 round cookie cutter or glass
- 1 large frying
Ingredients
- 2-2 1/2 cup multipurpose flour
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: 2 cups of flour, ½ cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt. If you are not using an electric mixer, blend the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Add only 1 cup of your canned coconut milk and begin mixing with your spatula or spoon, then continue to knead with your hands. Please ensure the contents in the can are well mixed before pouring.
- Continue kneading the dough for about 5 minutes (with a mixer or manually), and if it feels too wet and sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. If it appears to be too dry, add a tablespoon of coconut milk at a time. The dough should be a little tacky but still easy to manage.
- Once the dough forms into a ball, cover the ball with a towel and rest for 20 minutes.
- After resting the dough, roll it out onto a floured surface. Cut it in half, and with your rolling pin, begin to flatten out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thin.
- Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut circles in the dough. The size of the cutter is up to you (I used a 3.5 inch cutter for mine.) Continue to do this until you run out of dough.
- When you are almost done cutting, heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan or skillet to medium heat. You will want to have about an inch of oil in the pan.
- Once the oil is hot enough, begin to carefully add your arepa dough to the skillet. As soon as the dough puffs and looks golden brown on the bottom, flip the arepas and fry bread on the second side until it is golden brown, too.
- Have a plate set with a paper towel on it so you can place your fried arepas on itas you remove them from the skillet.
- Adjust the heat in the pan as you move from one batch to another. The oil might increase as time passes causing your arepas to burn if you are not careful.
- Continue frying in batches until you have cooked all your dough circles.
- Serve warm with some Puerto Rican Picadillo, camarones criollos(shrimp stew), roasted vegetables or a pork dish. You can also add a sweet topping, or cut them and fill them with butter, or cheese.
- ¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Notes
