Cantina Chicken & Cheesy Polenta Arepas
with Tomato, Pickled Red Onion & Crema
- Milk
- Wheat
- Eggs
Juicy Mexican-spiced chicken cutlets are served beside the star of this meal: homemade cheesy arepas (savory corn cakes popular in Colombia and Venezuela). You'll fill and shape the dough, brown the arepas in a pan, then bake until crispy outside and melty within. Finish with tangy crema, fresh diced tomato, pickled onion, and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Red Onion
1 unit
Precooked Polenta
1 cup
Mozzarella Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
82 g
Tempura Batter Mix
(Contains: Milk, Wheat, Eggs)
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
1 unit
Tomato
1 unit
Lime
1 tablespoon
Mexican Spice Blend
¼ ounce
Cilantro
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
½ teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Olive Oil
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry produce.
-
Drain polenta. In a large bowl, crumble polenta into small pieces, about the size of a pea. Add tempura batter mix, mozzarella, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 TBSP olive oil (2 TBSP for 4 servings) to bowl with polenta. Using your hands, mash to combine until tempura batter mix and mozzarella are thoroughly incorporated, 30-60 seconds.
-
Set dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.
-
While dough rests, halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion (all the onion for 4 servings). Quarter lime. Roughly chop cilantro. Dice tomato into ¼-inch pieces; season with salt and pepper.
-
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine onion, juice from half the lime, 1 tsp water, ½ tsp sugar (2 tsp water and 1 tsp sugar for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave until onion is softened and bright pink, 30 seconds. Carefully remove plastic wrap and stir. Set aside to pickle, stirring occasionally.
-
Place sour cream in a separate small bowl. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide dough into four equal portions (eight portions for 4 servings); shape each into a ball. On a clean work surface, flatten each ball into a ¼-inch-thick round using the palm of your hand. TIP: If dough feels sticky, spray your work surface and hands with nonstick cooking spray.
- Heat a ⅓-inch layer of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot enough, carefully add arepas to pan. Cook until bottoms begin to brown, 2-3 minutes.
-
Carefully flip arepas. Cook until opposite sides begin to brown, 2-3 minutes more. Carefully transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining arepas. TIP: The oil will get hotter with each batch. If arepas begin to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium.
-
Once all arepas are browned, bake on middle rack until dough is cooked through and mozzarella has melted, 10-12 minutes. Let pan cool slightly, then carefully wipe out.
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While arepas bake, pat chicken* dry with paper towels and season all over with Mexican Spice Blend, salt, and pepper.
-
Heat a large drizzle of oil in pan used for arepas over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. TIP: Lower heat if chicken begins to brown too quickly.
-
Slice chicken crosswise.
-
Divide cheesy arepas between plates. Fan chicken next to arepas. Drizzle everything with crema. Top with tomato, cilantro, and as much pickled onion as you like (draining first). Squeeze remaining lime wedges over the top. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The cheesy polenta arepas were a standout hit — crispy outside, melty inside, and packed with flavor. Some found the chicken mild or the overall dish a bit bland; adding extra seasoning or using the full spice pack helped.
- Ease of prep: This is a hands-on recipe that takes longer than the estimated time — many found the arepa dough and frying steps quite involved. A nonstick pan is strongly recommended, as sticking and crumbling were the most common challenges.
- Suggestions: Add 2–3 tablespoons of water to the dough if it feels too dry and crumbly — several cooks found this helped it hold together. Make the arepas smaller and thicker for a crispier result, and oil the baking sheet before transferring them to the oven to prevent sticking.
- Leftovers: Arepas don't reheat well and are best enjoyed fresh; the dish loses texture and flavor the next day.
- Toppings: The pickled red onion, crema, tomato, and cilantro were widely praised for brightening and balancing the rich arepas 🎉. A few customers added guacamole, beans, or rice on the side to round out the meal.
Reviews from our home cooks
I was so excited to try this recipe! I've never had polenta before, so I was looking forward to that! The cheesy polenta arepas were a little tedious to make, but it was so worth it because they tasted like big, crispy mozzarella sticks in the form of patties. DELICIOUS! I would say that my dough needed a little more moisture, but I was able to add some while working with the dough. The chicken was also really good! I loved the spices on it. I wasn't sure if I would like the pickled red onions, but they were really good! Overall, this was a fun and delicious recipe (even if was a little time consuming)!
Polenta is essentially grits, for those of us born in the south, so the patties were easy to handle. The pickled red onion was a great flavor, so much that I pickled the whole thing and used it all week in things. The chicken was okay, but I think that chicken thighs would be a better standard in this recipe, letting the richness compliment the cheese grits. I imagine shrimp would also be good, and may keep some around for next time.
Arepas very good! Only ate half with dinner and saved others for breakfast (very good with fried & poached eggs!) make sure polenta is well broken down (small pea sized pieces were more difficult to incorporate and remained in chunks after fully cooking). Omitted red onion (used shallot instead- very good!) Used half sour cream and added lime juice instead of water.
The seasoning for the chicken was not good. The directions for making the Arepas could use improvement. The Arepas should be seasoned with salt and pepper when done frying..or out if the oven. Use some of the onion and lime juice with the tomato to make a salsa. Needs a tomato sauce like a red sauce. I hope someone sees these. This could be really good with a couple of changes.
It was a long process to make the arepas as the polenta was really tough to mash but it tasted really good once finished, I would add a fresh element to this dish to bring it whole , I personally added guacamole and charred bell peppers and onions to brighten it up, otherwise delicious 😋🤤
These polenta arepas we're great. I've made many traditional arepas, but never with prepared polenta or cheese inside before. These were crispy outside, creamy and indulgent inside. I will make these again, and I hope that they are included in many more Hello Fresh meals.
I really loved this recipe. The arepa dough was a bit crumbly which made it hard to fry (could be our 4,000 ft altitude) but the spice blend on the chicken, pickled onions, tomatoes, and sauce were perfection. I would love to see more meals like this.
Super good! Glad we got it this week to test out! My only critique would be when mixing the polenta to add 2-3 TBSP of water to help form the dough! Other than that it was DELISH! We ended up making a sauce for the arepas! Mixed some mayo and ketchup together! YUM! Will definitely be making in the future!
I never had Arepas and I LOVE them. They were pretty difficult to prepare and I made a mess with the oil on the stove. The chicken was just ok. I always look at the prep/cook times and I don't even come close. Always takes me a lot longer. For instance to make dough..30-60 seconds. Good grief! Polenta is hard to break up!!
The arepas were to die for! Never before had or made arepas but they did not disappoint. The heaviness of the arepa paired perfectly with the fresh veggies and picked onion. Please make this a permanent recipe!!!!
