Arepa Pabellón

Name: Arepa Pabellón
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 23 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Venezuela
Ingredients: 2 Corn Arepa Filled With Mozarella Cheese; 1 Fried Ripe Bananas; 1 Can Black Beans; 1 Pico De Gallo Sauce; 2kg Shredded Meat; 1 chopped Tomato; Pinch Salt; Pinch Pepper

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Venezuela flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 40 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Prepare the meat in a skillet and add salt and pepper to taste, heat the beans over medium heat in a pan, fry or grill the ripe plantains as indicated on its package and cut the tomato into small cubes. Reserve these ingredients until filling.
Preheat the grill or pan and grill the arepa, putting it once on each side until they are golden brown.
With the help of a knife, open it by the edge through the middle, creating a space to fill it with the ripe plantain, the beans, meat and chopped tomato.
Serve with a little pico de gallo or guacamole dip sauce.

Why this works on a weeknight

Arepa Pabellón genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Arepa Pabellón actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Beef Venezuela ⚡ 30-Min Dinner