# The best traditional Venezuelan dishes

Classic Venezuelan food, from the stuffed arepa to pabellón criollo and Christmas hallacas, according to Wikipedia and Venezuelan cooking guides.

- 111 votes · 16 items
- Jun 10, 2025 · Fabiola Rojas Guerrero
- https://even.best/en/l/308/the-best-traditional-venezuelan-dishes

## Top 12

1. **Arepa** (13 · ▲14 ▼1) — Griddled pre-cooked cornmeal bun stuffed with cheese, shredded beef, chicken or black beans; the most representative dish.
2. **Cornmeal empanadas** (11 · ▲12 ▼1) — Fried, with cheese, beef, dogfish or pabellón; the beach breakfast.
3. **Arepa reina pepiada** (9 · ▲10 ▼1) — Filled with chicken, avocado and mayo, named after Miss World 1955.
4. **Asado negro** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Beef eye of round cooked in raw cane sugar until dark and sweet, typical of Caracas.
5. **Tequeños** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — White cheese sticks wrapped in dough and fried, a must at parties.
6. **Pabellón criollo** (6 · ▲9 ▼3) — White rice, shredded beef, black beans and fried ripe plantain; the national dish.
7. **Pan de jamón** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Christmas bread filled with ham, olives and raisins, created in Caracas in 1905.
8. **Hairy buns** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Corn dough balls stuffed with stewed meat and served in sauce, typical from the center of the country.
9. **Cachapa** (4 · ▲6 ▼2) — Sweet fresh-corn pancake with handmade cheese.
10. **Andean chupe** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Creamy chicken, corn, potato and cheese soup from the Venezuelan Andes.
11. **Hallaca** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — Corn dough with a meat stew, olives, capers and raisins wrapped in banana leaf; queen of Christmas.
12. **Hervido (sancocho)** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Hen, beef or fish soup with cassava, taro, yam and corn.
13. **Patacón maracucho** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Fried green plantain used as bread, filled with meat, cheese and sauces; from Zulia.
14. **Mondongo** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Beef tripe soup with vegetables.
15. **Cazabe** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Crisp flatbread of bitter cassava of indigenous origin.
16. **chicken powder** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Baked pie of brittle dough filled with chicken stew, typical of the parties in Caracas.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.