Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Sancocho Dominicano
The Dominican Republic's legendary celebration stew: several meats simmered for hours with yuca, yautía, plantain, and pumpkin into a thick broth, served with rice and avocado.
Dominican · advanced · serves 8
prep 45 min · cook 150 min
~649 cal · 47g protein · 56g carbs · 25g fat · 6g fiber · 11g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sancocho is the Dominican Republic's most cherished stew, the pot that comes out for special Sundays, family reunions, and any occasion that calls for feeding a crowd. The grandest version is sancocho de siete carnes, made with seven cuts from several animals, but a wonderful sancocho can be built on just beef, pork, and chicken. Each meat brings something: chicken for the broth, beef for depth, pork ribs for richness.
What sets the Dominican version apart is the viandas, the island's starchy root vegetables, , yautía, ñame, , and auyama (Caribbean pumpkin), added after the meats have simmered. The yautía practically dissolves into the broth and thickens it, and grated green does the same, until the stew is thick enough to coat a spoon.
It is browned meat, then a sofrito of onion, garlic, cubanelle pepper, cilantro, and a little tomato, then long slow cooking. Sancocho is always served with white rice on the side, sliced ripe avocado, and a wedge of lime, and many Dominicans stir the rice right into the bowl.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-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 8
1 lb beef chuck, in chunks
1 lb pork ribs, in pieces
1 lb bone-in chicken pieces
2 lime, juiced (to clean the meat)
1 large onion, diced
1 cubanelle pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lb (), in chunks
12 oz yautía (), in chunks
2 green , in chunks
12 oz auyama (kabocha or butternut squash), in chunks
2 ears corn on the cob, in rounds
3 tbsp vegetable oil
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Rub the beef, pork, and chicken with the lime juice, rinse and pat dry, then season with the oregano, some of the garlic, and salt and let sit 30 minutes.
2
Brown the meats in the oil in a large heavy pot, in batches so they sear rather than steam.
✎ Chef’s note
Grate one of the green plantains into the pot near the end; it dissolves and thickens the broth to the signature spoon-coating body.
3
Add the onion, cubanelle, remaining garlic, most of the cilantro, and the tomato paste and cook a couple of minutes.
4
Return the beef and pork, cover with water by a couple of inches, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about an hour until the tougher meats begin to soften.
5
Add the chicken and all the root vegetables, plantain, pumpkin, and corn, topping up with water to cover, and simmer another 45 minutes until everything is tender and the broth is thick.
6
Season with salt and the remaining cilantro, and serve in deep bowls with white rice, sliced avocado, and lime.
Cibao Sunday tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Cibao. The mangu is the point, not the toppings. Green plantains are boiled and mashed with some of their own cooking water and a little butter until completely smooth, and the pickled red onions go over the top, sharp enough with vinegar to keep the whole plate from sitting heavy.
🗺️
Dominican Republic. Dominican cooking is comforting and citrusy, la bandera (rice, beans, and stewed meat), mangú mashed plantains, and hearty sancocho stew. Sofrito, plantain, and a Spanish-African-Taíno heritage define the plate.
🌍
North America. Almost every regional cooking here records who arrived and on what terms. Enslaved West Africans brought rice, okra, black-eyed peas and the techniques behind Lowcountry and Creole food; Chinese railway labour and later Italian, Jewish, Mexican and Vietnamese arrivals built the way the cities eat; and Indigenous foodways sit underneath all of it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Dominican Republic
MangúSilky mashed green plantains under pickled red onions, the Dominican breakfast that carries the day.
La Bandera DominicanaThe Dominican everyday plate: white rice, stewed red beans, and braised meat, often with fried plantain.
Chicharrón de PolloMarinated chicken pieces dredged and fried crisp, a Dominican favorite from colmado counters and family lunches.
Browse all Dominican Republic recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Dominican Republic meal
Morir SoñandoDrink
Habichuelas con DulceDessert
Chicharrón de PolloLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Sancocho Dominicano?
The Dominican Republic's legendary celebration stew: several meats simmered for hours with yuca, yautía, plantain, and pumpkin into a thick broth, served with rice and avocado.
Where does Sancocho Dominicano come from?
Sancocho Dominicano is a Dominican dish from Cibao, Dominican Republic.
Can Sancocho Dominicano be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sancocho Dominicano 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 Dominicano 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 Dominicano take to make?
About 195 minutes total (45 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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