Cachapas (How to Make Venezuelan Fresh Corn Pancakes)
on Sep 15, 2020
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Cachapas are soft, sweet, and savory corn pancakes – a delicious Venezuelan breakfast dish. Made with fresh corn and a few other simple ingredients, these cachapas can be easily folded over a cheese filling such as Queso de Mano, mozzarella, or cream cheese. Incredibly delicious! (No special flour needed.)
The Best Cachapas Recipe
Homemade cachapas are soft, cheesy, and delicious, a great alternative to the regular flour-based pancakes. They’re a popular street food in Venezuela, and traditionally served with queso de mano cheese.
This cachapas recipe uses fresh corn, which adds nice sweetness and freshness to this corn cake. When combined with the melted cheesy bliss, it’s so irresistible. The best cachapas EVER!
Cachapas Ingredients
- Corn: Fresh corn kernels work the best. Alternatively, you can sub frozen ones or canned whole kernel corn.
- Cornmeal: Use finely ground cornmeal for this recipe.
- Milk: Whole milk works the best but you can also use skim milk.
- Sugar & Salt
- Butter: I used unsalted butter. Make sure it’s soft before adding it to the blender. If you use salted butter, you can skip the salt.
- Eggs
- Flour (optional): Many cachapas recipes don’t use flour, but I find the batter is too thin, and the pancakes can easily fall apart. I used all-purpose flour to thicken the batter. If you’d like to make a gluten-free version, you can skip this ingredient.
- Cheese: I use mozzarella cheese, but you can use your favorite cheese for this recipe.
How to Make Cachapas from Scratch
1. Husk the ears of corn, removing the husks and silk. Cut the kernels off each ear. (If you use canned corn, drain the liquid.)
2. In a blender or food processor, add corn kernels, cornmeal, milk, sugar, and salt. Blend until combined.
3. Add eggs and softened butter, and blend for one more minute.
4. Pour the mixture into a jar, and add flour. Use a whisk to mix. Let it chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while heating up your pan or griddle.
5. Heat a non-stick pan over low-medium heat and lightly grease the pan with butter.
6. Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan and spread out gently into a round shape.
7. When the underside turns golden (after about 2 minutes), flip with a spatula and cook until the other side turns golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.
8. Once cooked, transfer your cachapas to a plate, and add cheese on top. Fold your cachapas gently. Serve warm and enjoy immediately.
Tips & Tricks for Making this Venezuelan Corn Pancakes
- Make sure your batter has the right consistency. Add more flour to thicken it if necessary.
- It’s very important to let the batter rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat your non-stick pan over medium heat first. Once hot, lower the heat to low-medium heat and wait for two minutes. This is crucial for cooking the cachapas perfectly.
- Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour your batter so you get perfect, evenly sized cachapas.
- Let your cachapas cook properly, and don’t rush them on high heat. Make sure the underside is golden brown before flipping.
Cachapas Fillings
Traditionally cachapas are filled with queso de mano cheese, a soft, mozzarella-like cheese, but over the years there have been many variations, and here are some options:
- Other cheese fillings like cream cheese or mozzarella.
- Fried pork, ham, or sausage are sometimes added to the filling or as a side dish.
- Sour cream
- Veggies or herbs like jalapeños or cilantro.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cachapa?
Also called Arepa de Choclo, cachapa is Spanish for “crumpet”. It’s a thin, flat pancake made with ground corn mixed into a thick batter, and then cooked on a hot budare.
The cachapa tastes lumpier than regular pancakes as there are pieces of corn kernels mixed in the batter. It’s a popular street food at roadside stands in Venezuela.
What’s the Difference Between Cachapas and Arepas?
Both cachapas and arepas are corn flour-based patty. Arepas are from Colombia and made of precooked ground corn flour; while cachapas are Venezuelan corncake made with fresh corn, therefore they’re thicker and lumpier than arepas.
Can I Make Cachapas with Cornmeal?
Yes, this recipe uses cornmeal instead of arepa flour. It’s very delicious and has a different texture than the one made with arepa flour.
Are Cachapas Gluten-Free?
You can make gluten-free cachapas by omitting flour.
If You Like This Recipe Try These Out
If you tried this recipe, let me know how your cachapas turn out in the comments below!
Easy Cachapas Recipe (+VIDEO)
Ingredients
For The Cachapas Pancakes
- 4 cups of fresh corn kernels, 4-5 ears of corn
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoon cornmeal
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, (softened, plus more for greasing the pan)
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
For Serving
- cheese of your choice, (I used mozzarella cheese)
Instructions
- Prepare the corn: Husk the ears of corn, removing the husks and silk. Cut the kernels off each ear.
- Make the batter: In a blender or food processor, add corn kernels, cornmeal, milk, sugar, and salt. Blend until combined.
- Add eggs and softened butter, and blend for one more minute.
- Pour the mixture into a jar, and add flour. Use a whisk to mix. (The batter will be thick in consistency. If you find the batter too thin, just add a tablespoon of flour into the batter at a time until reaching the desired consistency)
- Let it chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while heating up your pan or griddle.
- Make Cachapas: Heat a non-stick pan over low-medium heat and add a little butter to lightly grease the pan.
- Once the pan is very hot, pour 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan and spread out gently into a round shape.
- When the underside turns golden (after about 2 minutes), flip with a spatula and cook until the other side turns golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Once cooked, transfer your cachapas to a plate, and add cheese on top. Fold your cachapas gently. Serve warm and enjoy immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
Can you make this recipe a day or two ahead of time and let rest in the fridge?