Keshi Yena: Aruban Meat Stuffed Cheese

Last Updated on January 28, 2025 by Carne Diem

Protein:

Origin: Aruba, Caribbean, Taste of the Islands

Method: Stovetop, Smoker or Oven

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The National dish of the island of Aruba, this Keshi Yena recipe, made with ground beef, combines olives, raisins, onions and peppers under melted gouda or Edam cheese.  It is one of our favorite dishes when visiting the Southern Caribbean islands and one that is easy to make at home.

Those that know me well, know that the one food that I love almost as much as meat, is cheese. We fell in love with Keshi Yena during a recent visit to Aruba and Curacao. Seasoned meat is stuffed into cheese crust of Edam or gouda cheese and baked until bubbly and perfect.

History of Keshi Yena

Keshi Yena is a famous meat and cheese dish originating in the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao). The dish was born in these islands during the time of slave trading and Dutch rule of the islands. It is said that as the slave masters ate their rounds of gouda and edam, they did so from the inside out. When only the empty rind remained, the hollowed-out empty shell of cheese was given to the slaves, along with any meat scraps from the day. The slaves would then fill the cheese shells with the leftover meat scraps, table scraps and some seasoning and bake or steam the filled edam until the cheese was melted and the meat was cooked through.

Today's versions of Keshi Yena can vary greatly. Chicken filling and ground beef are the most common fillings though almost any protein can be used in this classic recipe. The meat mixture is then seasoned and often mixed with raisins, olives, and peppers to add even more flavor to this fantastic dish. Today, the dish can be found cooked in individual dishes or ramekins or as a larger shared casserole. We have done both and like it equally both ways.

Making the Keshi Yena Recipe

Prepare your ingredients

Our Keshi Yena uses common ingredients and is super easy to make. You will need an onion, garlic cloves, a green bell pepper, tomato, capers, green olives, raisins, a scotch bonnet pepper or habanero pepper and flat leaf parsley. The filling is also seasoned with tomato paste, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.  We chose ground beef for our Keshi Yena but ground or diced chicken would work just as well. You will need about ¾ of a pound of protein to make this traditional Keshi Yena recipe.

Start the Keshi Yena recipe by dicing the veggies and set them to the side. Finely chop the parsley. Take care handling the Scoth Bonnet pepper. If you can't find Scotch Bonnet peppers, you can substitute habanero in the recipe.

The meat mixture will be seasoned with capers, green olives (diced), raisins and tomato (diced) along with mustard, ketchup, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Castelvetrano olives are our favorite olives due to their mild flavor, but feel free to use your favorite or what you have on hand.  Either red or golden raisins can be used in the recipe.

Prepare the filling for the Keshi Yena

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions and peppers until they are soft. Next, add in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

Add in the ground beef and parsley and cook until the meat is just about cooked through. Drain the grease and return the pan with the beef Keshi Yena filling to the stove.

Stir in the capers, diced olives, raisins, diced tomato, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, and tomato paste. Stir well to combine then season with salt and pepper. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes then remove from the heat.

Let the pan cool until the mixture is close to room temperature, then stir in the beaten eggs.

Preparing the Keshi Yena

Preheat your oven or smoker to 350 degrees. While the oven is heating up, prepare your cheese. Slice the cheese into thin slices.

What is the best cheese for making keshi yena?

This dish is traditionally made with Edam or Gouda cheese and both are fantastic. We have also grown to love using a smoked Gouda as well.

Line the casserole dish or ramekins with the cheese

Line the bottom of an 8x10 casserole dish, shallow baking dish, or 6 ramekins with cheese slices.

We like the appearance of making Keshi Yena in mini ramekins and this was closer to the version we were served in Aruba and Curacao, but the dish turns out just as well in a casserole dish if you prefer to make the Keshi Yena recipe that way.

Fill and top the Caribbean stuffed cheese

Next, top the cheese layer with the seasoned meat mixture.

Finally, cover the meat with additional slices of cheese.

If you desire a more browned topping, you can brush the top of the cheese with an egg wash.

Bake the Keshi Yena

Place the ramekins or casserole dish into the 350-degree oven or smoker. Bake, uncovered, for about 35-45 minutes. The cheese should be nicely melted and a nice golden brown. If you are using ramekins, the dish may be done sooner. Keep an eye on it to prevent burning.

Serve the Keshi Yena warm with some Caribbean vegetables or Caribbean Rice and Beans or roasted veggie. Our Caribbean Fire Shrimp, Karni Stoba: Caribbean Beef Stew, and Spicy Trinidad Style Pepper Shrimp also make perfect additions for a Caribbean inspired meal. Finally, don't forget to wash it down with a refreshing Coconut Mai Tai.

If you enjoyed this be sure to check out our Smoked Lasagna and check out some of our other ground beef recipes like our Navajo Frybread Tacos with Seasoned Bison, Dutch Oven Crumbly Burger: Maid Rite Style Loose Meat Sandwich, Spicy Cheese Stuffed Smoked Meatloaf and Authentic Swedish Meatballs: Köttbullar.

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