Yuca hervida encebollada or yuca con cebolla is one of our most popular side dishes. It's also easy to make and can be served as part of every meal. Nothing like a plateful of buttery, creamy boiled yuca with Dominican pickled red onions to start the day on a good foot.
Why we ❤️ it
If you are searching for how to cook yuca, you couldn't have found an easier way to do it. Yuca encebollada is one of the simplest, easiest-to-make yuca dishes you can find.
It is also a very versatile side dish, and depending on what you serve with it, it can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cookouts.
Before we get to the recipe, let's answer some questions you might have if you are new to cooking yuca (cassava).
How to cook yuca
If you are new to this root vegetable, check our tutorial to learn how to peel yuca.
We have an extensive collection of recipes with yuca, but the simplest way to cook it is to boil it in salted water. You can check this recipe with yuca with mojo de ajo (garlic sauce) which is also very popular.
If you are feeling a little more adventurous, try yuca frita, the popular yuca fries that we love as a side dish or as an appetizer served with your favorite dip.
How to pick good yuca
Yuca should have a brown rind and a uniform white color inside. If you notice discoloration, dry rind, or the wax is falling off, pick another one.
How long the yuca will take to boil will depend on its quality and — most importantly — its freshness.
Cooking frozen yuca
Yuca, where it's popular, can be found fresh, or fresh and covered with a coating of wax to prevent it from dehydrating and going stale. The wax vastly improves its shelf life.
Frozen yuca might be your only choice if you are not lucky enough to find fresh yuca.
Keep in mind that frozen yuca will have a slightly different texture from fresh. Boiling frozen yuca takes about the same time as fresh yuca in my —albeit limited — experience with frozen yuca.
Serving suggestions
You can serve yuca encebollada for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I suggest serving it with Salami frito (Dominican salami), Salami guisado, Longaniza (Dominican sausage), Chicharrones (pork crackling), or Chuleta frita (pork chops).
Breakfast will be complete with one of our hot breakfast drinks, and – for any course – some slices of avocado are very welcome.
About our recipe
There aren't many variations of this dish that I have ever found. Yuca salcochada (boiled) can be served without the sauteed onions too, so there's that. I'd love to hear if you make this differently or add anything else. Let me know in the comments.
Recipe
[Recipe + Video] Yuca Encebollada (Boiled Cassava with Onion)
Ingredients
- 2.5 pound yuca (cassava), [1.1kg] peeled, chopped, washed
- 1.5 teaspoon salt, [9g]
Ingredients for onions
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large red onion, sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1½ teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), (or to taste)
Instructions
Place yuca into a medium-sized pot. Pour in 6 cups [1.5l] of water and add salt. Simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until tender (test by poking with a fork). Remove the yuca from the water.- Heat oil in a skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook and stir until they become translucent (2-3 minutes).Add vinegar and stir until the onions turn a bright color (2 mins).Season with pepper, and salt to taste.
Top yuca with onions and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
Published April 29, 2010, and last revised
Hola Clara, I was born in DR but came to the US very young. thanks to your website I can now make dishes typical of my country other then the few things i learned from my mother. My husband loves dominican food and you have gave me the guide that… Read more »
Yuca is so much better this way, that's in a league of its own. 🙂
Love your new recipe. Mine is very similar. I love yuca. Thanks for sharing!