
A staple in Venezuela and Colombia, arepas—a corn-based flatbread—are the perfect vessels for all kinds of toppings. In our twist on the beloved dish, we’re piling on melty mozzarella, guacamole, ají salsa, and a drizzle of lime crema. Alongside you’ll serve juicy, seared sirloin and a bright, herby cilantro chimichurri to complete the feast.
½ cup
Flour
(Contains: Wheat)
1 unit
Jalapeño
2 unit
Scallions
1 unit
Lime
½ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Tomato
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
4 tablespoon
Guacamole
10 teaspoon
White Wine Vinegar
1 unit
Precooked Polenta
12 ounce
Sirloin Steak
½ cup
Mozzarella Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Olive Oil
Cooking Oil

• Adjust rack to middle position (middle and top positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Drain polenta and transfer to a large bowl; using your hands, crumble into pea-size pieces. • Add flour, half the Southwest Spice Blend, half the mozzarella, 2 TBSP water, and ¼ tsp salt (4 TBSP water and ½ tsp salt for 4). Using your hands, mash until flour and cheese are thoroughly incorporated, 30-60 seconds. Set dough aside to rest for 10 minutes. • While dough rests, finely dice jalapeño, removing ribs and seeds for less heat. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Zest and quarter lime. Finely chop cilantro. Finely dice tomato.

• In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine vinegar, 2 TBSP water, 1 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt (2 TBSP water and 2 tsp sugar for 4 servings). Stir in jalapeño and scallion whites. Microwave until dark green, 30 seconds. Set aside to pickle, stirring occasionally, until ready to use in Step 7. • In a separate small bowl, combine lime zest, half the cilantro, half the garlic powder (you’ll use the rest later), 2 TBSP olive oil (4 TBSP for 4), and juice from half the lime. Season with salt and pepper to taste. • In a third small bowl, combine sour cream, juice from remaining lime, and a pinch of salt.

• 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 1⁄4-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 1⁄3-inch layer of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot enough that a pinch of flour sizzles when added to the pan, carefully add two arepas. Cook until bottoms begin to brown, 2-3 minutes. • Carefully flip arepas. Cook until beginning to brown on second side, 2-3 minutes. Carefully transfer to one side of a baking sheet (for 4 servings, arrange arepas across entire 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.

• While arepas cook, pat steak dry with paper towels. Season all over with remaining Southwest Spice Blend, salt, and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a second large pan over medium-high heat. Add steak to pan and sear until browned all over, 3-4 minutes.

• Once steak has seared 3-4 minutes, transfer to opposite side of baking sheet from arepas. Bake on middle rack until arepas are cooked through and steak is cooked to desired doneness, 12-15 minutes. (For 4 servings, transfer steaks to a second sheet; roast steak on top rack and arepas on middle rack, swapping rack positions halfway through.) TIP: For perfectly cooked steak, use a meat thermometer! • Once steak and arepas have roasted 12-15 minutes, remove sheet from oven. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over each arepa. Return to middle rack and bake until cheese melts, 1 minute. Transfer steak to a cutting board to rest. TIP: If steak is done before arepas, carefully remove and continue roasting arepas.

• Using a slotted spoon, transfer jalapeño mixture to a fourth small bowl. Add tomato, remaining cilantro, and remaining garlic powder; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. • Slice steak against the grain. • Divide steak and arepas between plates. Top arepas with guacamole, ají salsa, and a drizzle of crema. Top steak with chimichurri. Serve.
Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
The arepas and condiments were AMAZING. Will be making these again on my own. However, the sirloin ended up veryyyyyy overcooked when following the instructions.
The arepas were the star of the show. Now that I know these exist, my mind swims with possibilities. Sweet styles, other savory styles, breakfast, Italian, Eastern and Western Asian styles. Changing the spices that go in the mix and what's on top, the sky really is the limit.
This meal was delicious! I was so glad the meat cut was excellent, with no bad tendons or anything. The arepas were perfect and the sauces truly made the dish. I absolutely will get this one again. Thank you so much!
A lot of prep work, but great flavor combination. Loved the flavor of everything on the Arepas.
This was harder to make than I thought it would be. My husband and I tackled it together. Arepas that I had in the past were more "cornbread" but these were still yummy! I would order again.
This was super tasty! The beef was not nearly as good (nor easy to cook) as the ranch steak I'm used to seeing in similar recipes. Maybe we overcooked it, maybe it was lower quality, maybe both... that might have been close to a waste, though when we cut it small enough, sure. In hindsight, I would have butterflied it first for even cooking, because it bunched up into a mini-roast. The real standout, though, is all the sauces in this recipe. They each bring something different, and it's really fun to eat bites with different combinations. I'm totally stealing the ají salsa - I want that on just about everything. Respect to whoever brought that in here.
I suggest the steak should be sliced into thin strips before plating. It is so delicious! But hard to eat with big slices of meat. I also added dried garlic, chili flakes, and lime to the chimichurri. It made it more authentic.
Instructions: step 2~ suggest naming each sauce on each bullet [jalepeño mixture, chimichurrri, crema] so the Cook knows which is which in step 7. example: in Step 7, instructions refer to 'chimichurri' but I didn't know which of the two 'green' mixtures in step 2 was that ~ I erroneously put the chimichurri to make the salsa (I know, silly me)
Everything was delicious, especially the salsa. The steak was cooked to the least amount of time given and was still well done. I think if the steak was at least medium it could have been a 4 star meal. Will definitely remake, but will cut down the steak time in the oven. Maybe check it at 5 or 7 minutes?
This is the second time we made this meal--the first time my kid fell in love with the arepas, so when I saw it available again, I couldn't wait to cook it! It was as good as we remembered!