Venezuelan cachapas are like small corn cakes with cheese and tons of personality. Today I will show you two methods to make the perfect cachapas (corn pancakes).
This recipe is a staple in Venezuelan cuisine and one of my favorites recipes while I was growing up. I’m completely biased but I must say that the best cachapas are my mom’s.
I can almost taste the sweetness from my mom’s cachapas on Sundays after church. They were a hit in the neighborhood. Even the neighbors would suddenly stop by just to “say hello” and taste one of these beauties — I see you!
For those who are reading from the US, the most similar taste recipe that I can think of is southern corn casserole.
It’s sweet and with a lot of corn flavor. Also, it is a bit buttery.
So I would say that cachapas are like a corn casserole made in the shape of a pancake.
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What to eat with cachapas?
Cachapas are usually filled with cheese or chicharron. Traditionally, the type of cheese is “queso de mano” or “queso telita”. But, these types of cheese are difficult to find outside Venezuela.
So, here in Europe, my best option is fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese. It melts quite well. The main difference is that mozzarella is less stringy and less salty. But, I must say it does a fine job contrasting the sweet flavor of the cachapas.
But you can also fill cachapas with shredded chicken or shredded meat to make a protein-heavy meal.
Differences between cachapas and arepas?
This is a pretty common question for people that are not that familiarized with Venezuelan food. Both are made of corn, but they are completely different at the same time — flavor and texture-wise.
Arepas are made with cornflour and cachapas are made with fresh corn. Arepas are savory and hard like bread. So, they can be filled with almost anything and they keep their shape.
Cachapas are soft and sweet like a pancake.
Original recipe
Cachapas are made with a tender fresh corn cob. So, the only difference between using canned corn or fresh corn is that with fresh corn you need to add some type of liquid. Because canned corn is soaked in water and absorbs part of it and it has a higher moist level than fresh cob corn.
The original cachapas recipe with fresh corn is the following:
- 400 gr sweet corn
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup of milk
Now, with the substitutions to make cachapas just using canned corn. I use the exact same amount of every ingredient except the milk. I remove the milk most of the time. Some brands of canned corn are a bit drier and in that case, I can add 1 or 2 tbsp of milk. But generally, I just let the milk out when using canned corn.
Besides that detail the recipe it’s just the same.
The best part of this recipe is that it has just one step to prep: blend all the ingredients until you get a thick paste.
The consistency of the batter is the most important thing for the success of this recipe. Don’t blend the batter too much because you want to keep some of the corn texture.
After that, all it takes is to cook the corn cakes in a nonstick pan. Just like making pancakes. Pour some batter, let it cook for a couple of minutes until tiny holes appear at the surface. Flip, cook a couple of minutes more and serve.
I add the cheese right away so it can begin to melt with the residual heat from the cachapa. Optionally, you can add a bit of butter on top.
Other Venezuelan Recipes
Venezuelan Cachapas
Equipment
Ingredients
Cachapa batter
- 14 ounce canned sweet corn
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Assembling the cachapas
- 250 gr Buffalo mozzarella cheese
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the cachapa batter into the blender. Blend for a minute until you get a thick batter with some lumps of corn.
- Heat a nonstick pan and grease with a bit of vegetable oil (cachapas are pretty sticky so even if your pan is nonstick a bit of oil will prevent any disaster).
- Pour about ⅓ cup of batter and spread a bit. Cook for a couple of minutes until small holes appear at the surface and flip. Cook for another 2 minutes and serve.
- Fill with cheese and serve.
Nutrition
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.
Really like your writing. I am a Professional Chef with a huge interest in American Cuisine, i do find your blog quite inspiring. I wanted to ask you, what you think the main differences are between Cachapa and Arepa. Keep the Great Job Going!
Hi Eli! Thanks for reading the recipe 🙂 The main difference is that cachapas are made with fresh yellow corn, while arepas are made with “harina pan” which basically is precooked corn flour. So, cachapas are softer and more similar to a pancake while arepas are harder like a type of bread.
As an American I like to tell people that cachapa reminds me a bit of super most corn bread where they actually add creamed corn before cooking. Similar flavor for sure!
Also arepas have a mealiness like cornbread but slightly thicker. Also cachapas are sweeter, I only put butter on mine. Cheese is good but I prefer just butter (like corn on the cob). Either way, both are delicious! Enjoy!
I love cachapas sooo much! Had them when i was living in Orlando and now I can’t find them in Chicago area I live in. So I am trying to make them on my own. Will try your recipe out! I was wondering though, do you have a recipe for “nata”? They would serve that as like a dip with the cachapas and it made it so much better!
Thank you!
Hi Alana! I’m so glad to hear you like cachapas. So far, I don’t have a recipe for Natas here in the blog, but I think I will add it this year. Thanks for reading.!
Hey, do you leave the water from the canned corn or do you drain it first?
Hi! I drain it first. When you make cachapas with canned corn the corn tends to absorb way more moisture than when is fresh so for that reason this recipe doesn’t use more liquid in the batter.
I made these tonight and they were just what I was looking for. I’m hoping you can offer some advice, they were cracking on the seam when I folded them over. Was the batter too dry or maybe too much heat?