Nothing's like a plateful of soft, buttery, Yuca hervida encebollada or boiled yuca with sauteed vinegar red onions to start the day with a happy face. Try it with my video-recipe.
By - Reviewed: . Original: April 29, 2010

❝ Very good. It is easy to make, and it's vegan... ❞
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, topped with our traditional Sauteed red onions with vinegar.
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.
How to cook yuca
Before we get to the recipe, let's answer some questions you might have if you are new to cooking yuca (cassava):
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.


Yuca encebollada (boiled cassava with onions).
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.
Top tips
- 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. - Cooking onions: Some people prefer onions with some crisp, some like them softer. Cook to your preferred consistency.
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.

Video
Recipe
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Yuca Encebollada [Video+Recipe] Boiled Yuca 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
1. Hervir
- 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.
2. Make onions
- Heat oil in a skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook and stir until they start to become translucent (about a minute).💡 Some people prefer onions with some crisp, some like them softer. Cook to your preferred consistency.Add vinegar and stir until the onions turn a bright color (2 mins).Season with pepper, and salt to taste.
3. Serve
- Top yuca with onions and serve. See serving suggestions above the recipe card.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More recipes with yuca
Yuca is Dominicans' favorite vívere (root vegetable), so yuca recipes are some of the most popular in our collection. For breakfast dishes with yuca, don't miss our Yuca al mojo, Yuca mash, Arepitas de yuca, and Casabe.











