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    Sancocho Dominicano (Meat and Roots Stew)

    En Español Recipe ↆ

    Sancocho (Dominican meat and vegetables stew) is without doubt Dominicans' most cherished dish. Sancocho is usually made for special occasions, but you can enjoy it any day. Here I show you all the ways we make sancocho, and how you can make it too.

    Sancocho Dominicano

    JUMP TO: show ↓
    1. Why we ❤️ it
    2. What is sancocho?
    3. Sancocho ingredients
    4. Serving suggestions
    5. About this recipe
    6. Video
    7. Recipe
    8. Dominican sancocho recipes

    Why we ❤️ it

    Where there are two or more Dominicans, a party can suddenly break out. It is on that kind of occasion when it is indispensable that someone knows how to make a sancocho dominicano, or beloved national stew.

    If it's your turn, our sancocho recipe is here to rescue you.

    What is sancocho?

    Let's start with the name: It's sancocho [1], not "salcocho".

    Sancocho is a meat and roots-based stew that appears in different forms in several countries of Latin America, especially the countries bordering the Caribbean Sea. There are Colombian sancochos, Panamanian sancocho de gallina. There is a Venezuelan sancocho and a Puerto Rican sancocho. In some parts, they have sancocho with other names: sancochado, sopón, olla de carne, etc.

    As a funny note, in Cuba "sancocho" is a derogatory name that describes the food that is given to pigs.

    In short, there are sancochos to spare, and each country has its own tastes in this regard.

    Sancocho Dominicano
    Sancocho de Siete Carnes (Seven Meat Stew) served with rice and avocado

    Dominican sancocho

    Sancocho ingredients

    This recipe describes how to make Sancocho de siete carnes, the Dominican deluxe sancocho, but if you want to make a simpler version (the simplest is beef sancocho, followed by beef and chicken sancocho), you can leave out the other meats, just add a proportional amount of extra beef or chicken as you like and add the meats in the order described in the recipe.

    The vital vegetables in sancocho are yuca, plantain, and auyama. If you can't find any of the others, don't worry, just add a proportional amount of yuca, plantain, and auyama to the one you are not going to add.

    Some rules, though, seem to be almost universal: never add potatoes, noodles, or tomato sauce.

    Serving suggestions

    Sancocho dominicano is served with white rice (Arroz blanco), some slices of avocado, and hot sauce on the side (it's much better if you have Agrio de naranja).

    Ingredients for Vegan "Sancocho" (Root Stew)
    Sancocho dominicano

    Ingredients and Dominican sancocho

    About this recipe

    There are approximately 3.5 million recipes for sancocho (the number of Dominican households), so each Dominican cook will have things that they'll love, dislike, or be indifferent about.

    Every Dominican cook has his or her own version of this dish, and even the meats vary, so if you have another way to make it, please share with us it in the comments.

    Buen provecho!

    Tia Clara

    Video

    Recipe

    This awesome free recipe contains Amazon affiliate links, we receive a small commission from any purchase you make at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

    Sancocho Dominicano
    Keep screen on while cooking

    [Recipe + Video] Dominican Sancocho (7 Carnes, or Beef & Chicken Stew)

    By: Clara Gonzalez
    Let me show you how to make sancocho, without doubt, Dominican's most cherished stew and one of our favorite dishes. It is usually made for special occasions, but you can enjoy it any day.
    4.84 from 56 votes
    Save for Later Send by Email Print Recipe
    Prep Time 25 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 25 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Dominican, Latino
    Servings 12 or 8 very generous servings (aprox)
    Calories 1240 kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound beef flank, chuck, or round [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 1 pound goat meat, [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 1 pound pork for stews, belly, or chump end [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • Juice of 2 limes
    • 1 teaspoons minced cilantro, or parsley
    • ½ teaspoons oregano (dry, ground), powdered
    • 1 teaspoons garlic, crushed
    • 1½ teaspoons salt
    • 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 pound chicken, [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 1 pound pork ribs, [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 1 pound bones from a smoked ham, [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 1 pound pork sausage, longaniza [0.45 kg] cut into small pieces
    • 2 corn cob, cut into ½-inch slices, optional
    • ½ pound auyama (kabocha squash), (auyama) cut into 1-inch pieces [0.23 kg]
    • 3 plantain (green, unripe), peeled, 2 cut into 1-inch pieces, one left whole
    • ½ pound ñame (yam), cut into 1-inch pieces [0.23 kg]
    • ½ pound yautia (malanga), cut into 1-inch pieces [0.23 kg]
    • ½ pound yuca (cassava), cut into 1-inch pieces [0.23 kg]

    Instructions
     

    • Seasoning the meat
      Place the beef, pork, and goat meat in a large bowl and season with lime juice, cilantro (or parsley), oregano, garlic, and a teaspoon of salt.
      Coat meat with the seasoning. Marinate for at least half an hour, better an hour.
    • Cooking the meat
      In a large pot heat the oil over high heat, add the seasoned meats, and stir (be careful with hot oil splattering).
      Cook stirring until browned. Add the remaining meats (chicken, pork ribs, ham bones, pork sausage) and corn, and cook stirring for a couple of minutes.
    • Adding water:
      Lower heat to medium and pour ½ gallon [2.5 lt] of water. Simmer until it breaks the boil.
    • Adding vegetables:
      Once the water breaks the boils, add auyama, chopped plantain, and root vegetables (ñame, yautía, yuca).
      Grate, or scrape with the knife the remaining plantain to make it into a pulp, and add to the pot.
    • Cooking vegetables
      Simmer covered over low heat until the last ingredients you added are cooked through, it should have thickened a bit too. If it dries too much, add water as necessary, or simmer uncovered to reduce if it is not thick enough for your taste.
      Season with salt to taste.
    • Serving sancocho
      Remove from the heat and serve (see suggestions above the recipe)

    Tips and Notes

    Read above the recipe card how to make a simplified version of this sancocho (beef and chicken sancocho).

    Cooking tricks

    The trick to this dish is adding the ingredients from the longest-cooking to the shortest-cooking.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 1240kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 68gFat: 80gSaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 273mgSodium: 1096mgPotassium: 1871mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 3940IUVitamin C: 42.6mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 5.7mg

    Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.

    READERS SEARCHED FOR beef, chicken, goat, party food, plantain
    More recipes with: beef, chicken, goat, green plantain, longaniza, meat, plantain, pork, poultry, yuca

    Dominican sancocho recipes

    In the Dominican Republic, there are also different versions of traditional sancocho, these will depend on the taste of each family and of each cook.

    Sancocho is usually prepared on special occasions since it contains many ingredients and its preparation is long. However, the time it takes to prepare is the time that is best enjoyed with friends.

    Sancocho de res y pollo

    The most common version is beef, followed by beef and chicken – or a gallina vieja (an old hen). It is the most economical and simple sancocho.

    Sancocho de siete carnes

    Sancocho de Siete Carnes is the deluxe version, and it has 7 types of meat from 4 different animals [2]. It is the most complex and sophisticated Dominican sancocho.

    Sancocho prieto

    It is also worth mentioning sancocho "prieto" ("prieto" means black in our country). It is so-called because the long cooking time and low temperatures gives it a dark brown color, in contrast to the orange-brown color of the "normal" sancocho, which obtains much of its color from the auyama (pumpkin). So, basically, it's normal sancocho cooked over lower heat, for longer.

    More sancocho recipes

    I love experimenting and adapting our traditional recipes, so we now have a Vegan "sancocho" so meatless aficionados can enjoy an approximation of our tasty stew. We also have a Seafood "sancocho" that I absolutely love! You can also find the traditional Sancocho de habichuelas, and a "Sancocho" de guandules that I have created with some of our favorite ingredients.

    References

    1. Fundeu - sancocho y salcocho, diferencias
    2. A Fuego Alto - ¿Cuáles son las 7 carnes del Sancocho dominicano ?

    Published Dec 20, 2001, revised Nov 14, 2022

    More Dominican Main Dishes for Every Occasion

    • Moro-Locrio (Rice with Black Beans and Pork)
    • Liver and Onions Recipe (Higado Encebollado)
    • Pastelón en Hoja al Horno (Easy Pasteles Casserole)
    • Pasteles de Yuca en Hoja (Cassava Pockets)
    Edited: Nov 14, 2022 | Publish: May 3, 2022

    ¡Hola! I am Tía Clara, your host. Thanks for visiting.
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