They are common at breakfast or as an afternoon snack in Colombia, where they are often served with ají, a spicy condiment. Arepas are eaten throughout the day in Venezuela.

Arepa is, without dispute, Venezuela's most traditional dish. Its origins date back to precolumbian times, when the “Caribs,” a native indian tribe from the northern section of Venezuela, prepared a dough made with granulated maize, called erepa, which they then baked into thin round shaped “breads.”