Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Sancocho
A big-boned chicken broth with plantain, cassava, corn, and potato, Colombia's restorative weekend lunch.
Colombian · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~740 cal · 45g protein · 107g carbs · 13g fat · 7g fiber · 12g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sancocho is the great restorative soup of Colombia, a pot big enough to feed a family and then some, simmered slowly until the broth carries the flavour of everything in it. Every region has its version, made with chicken, beef, fish, or a mix, but the shape is always the same: meat on the bone and a raft of starchy vegetables.
In Antioquia it leans on chicken and plenty of green , , corn, and potato, seasoned with a simple sofrito and a big handful of cilantro at the end. It is Sunday food and hangover food, cooked outdoors over a fire when there is time.
Served with a bowl of white rice on the side and lime and hot sauce to adjust, it is less a recipe than a ritual, a slow lunch that draws a family to the table and keeps them there.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 lb chicken pieces on the bone
2 green , cut in chunks
1 lb (), peeled and chunked
2 corn on the cob, cut in rounds
3 potatoes, halved
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 , chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 large handful fresh cilantro
4 cups cooked rice, to serve
1 avocado, sliced (to serve)
Instructions
1
Bring the chicken to a simmer in a large pot of water with the onion, garlic, scallions, and cumin, skimming off any foam.
2
After 20 minutes, add the corn and green plantain and simmer 15 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Add the vegetables in order of how long they take: plantain and corn first, then cassava, then potato, so nothing turns to mush.
3
Add the cassava and potato and cook until everything is tender, about 20 minutes more.
4
Season the broth well with salt and stir in most of the cilantro.
5
Serve in deep bowls with rice, avocado, and hot sauce alongside, and the rest of the cilantro scattered over.
Antioquian weekend cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Antioquia. Colombia's Antioquia, around Medellín, is the home of the bandeja paisa, a groaning platter of beans, rice, pork, plantain, and egg. It descends from the fiambre the arrieros carried into the mountains wrapped in a bijao leaf, but the composed tray itself was assembled in the mid-twentieth century to represent the region, and some paisas will tell you it was never home cooking. Hearty, generous, and coffee-country proud, it feeds farmers and cities alike.
🗺️
Colombia. Colombia's food varies by altitude and coast, hearty Andean stews like ajiaco, corn arepas eaten everywhere, and a lavish bandeja paisa platter. Tropical fruits, plantain, and fresh cheeses run through a warm, regionally diverse cuisine.
🌍
South America. The Andes are the potato's homeland and still hold something like four thousand native varieties, selected over thousands of years for altitude, colour and texture. The high plateau also worked out how to keep them: frozen overnight in the cold, trodden to press the water out, then dried in the sun into chuno, which stores for years.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Colombia
Arepas con Quesito & HogaoGriddled corn cakes split and filled with fresh cheese, spooned over with a warm tomato-scallion sauce.
Ajiaco SantafereñoBogotá’s three-potato chicken soup thickened by the potatoes themselves, perfumed with guascas, finished with cream and capers.
Empanadas ColombianasCrisp golden corn-dough turnovers stuffed with shredded beef and potato, fried until they shatter and dipped in a bright cilantro ají.
Browse all Colombia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Colombia meal
AguapanelaDrink
Natilla ColombianaDessert
Bandeja PaisaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Sancocho?
A big-boned chicken broth with plantain, cassava, corn, and potato, Colombia's restorative weekend lunch.
Where does Sancocho come from?
Sancocho is a Colombian dish from Antioquia, Colombia.
Can Sancocho be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sancocho recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sancocho safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sancocho take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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