Tasty Puerto Rican Sancocho Recipe – Beef & Vegetable Stew
Looking for a hearty stew that is out of this world? This tasty Puerto Rican sancocho is the ultimate flavor bomb. Made with root vegetables and different meats simmered for a couple of hours. It is worth the wait and extremely easy to make. Perfect for a rainy day!
This recipe includes how to make sancocho on the stovetop, instant pot, and slow cooker.
Jump to RecipeWhat is Puerto Rican Sancocho?
From the Spanish verb “sancochar,” it means to boil a food with salt and condiments (seasonings). It is made with a blend of different meats, root vegetables (or starchy vegetables), and seasonings. It really is a big old mix of things!
Sancocho is believed to have been invented in the Spanish Canary Islands. Apparently, the Canary Islanders came up with the recipe upon migrating to different Latin American countries. Hence the many adaptations on the recipe!
There are many variations throughout Latin American cuisines and the Caribbean. The most known versions outside of Puerto Rico’s are the sancocho from the Dominican Republic, and Colombian sancocho. The main differences lie in the amount and types of meats utilized in the different countries, as well as the vegetables and core seasonings.
Puerto Rican sancocho is typically served with white rice, tostones, bread, or sliced avocado. This is one of my favorite Puerto Rican recipes due to its versatility and heartiness. It is the ultimate comfort food to feed a bunch of people. Not reserved for special occasions. 😉
Notes to consider for this version of the Puerto Rican sancocho recipe.
I understand not everyone has the same access to some of the root vegetables. Therefore, I am using the most commonly available ones like potatoes and carrots. If you cannot find yuca root or plantains, feel free to substitute them with any squash or root vegetable (e.g. sweet potato) from where you are. The ones you like the most! On the other hand, if you have access to the ones more common in the traditional stew, you can add malanga/yautia/taro root, chayote, ñame, and batata, feel free to use those in place of the potatoes and carrots.
If you do not have homemade sofrito at hand, you can check out my Simple Sofrito recipe. This one is also made considering not everyone has access to the ajicitos or sweet peppers we usually find in Puerto Rico. It is very simple, and you can keep it in hand for other recipes.
It is not uncommon to marinate the meat the night before or at least an hour before cooking. However, if you do not have the time to marinade it, and are trying the Instant Pot recipe, you can always do a simple marinade and set it aside for 30 minutes or while you chop the vegetables and prepare the rest of the ingredients. You can skip it, too, but the marinade really helps to tenderize the meat which is crucial to the magic of the stew.
Speaking of meats, that is also up to you. There are many combinations of meats to pick from when making sancocho. For example, my mom would sometimes make it with chicken and (boneless) short ribs rather than chuck roast. Or chuck roast and short ribs. Puerto Ricans use different types of protein such as fish, top-round beef, and pork feet. If you prefer to make it with only beef, or a different kind mentioned here, feel free to make your own version of stew. That is one of the things that makes this a great recipe!
I hope you enjoy this delicious stew, and that it makes for a hearty meal for you and your family or friends. It is one of my favorites during cold weather but, to be honest, I can happily eat it any time of the year. Feel free to let me know how you liked it and share some pictures!
¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Tasty Puerto Rican Sancocho Recipe - Beef & Vegetable Stew
Equipment
- 1 large pot or Dutch oven
- 1 Pressure cooker
- 1 Instant Pot (depends on the method you are using to cook)
Ingredients
Meat Marinade
- 2 lbs beef chuck roast cut into 2-inch pieces or cubes
- 1 lb bone-in chicken thighs or legs (skinless)
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Adobo seasoning or to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup white vinegar or juice of 1 lime
For the Sancocho
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion diced (yellow preferred)
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup sofrito
- 1 ham or bouillon cube or packet
- 2 packets of sazon con culantro y achiote
- 8 oz (1 cup) tomato sauce
- Fresh oregano leaves
- Adobo seasoning
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 quarts beef broth (or chicken broth)
- 1 medium yuca root peeled and chopped
- 1 large potato of your preference peeled and chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 cup acorn squash chopped
- 3 ears corn on the cob
- 2-3 green plantains cut in 1" slices or shredded
- culantro leaves or recaito Goya* optional
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro or Italian parsley
Instructions
Stovetop Sancocho:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your various meats with the oregano, Adobo seasoning, pepper, and and vinegar or lime juice. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes; overnight preferred.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, heat some oil at medium-high heat and brown the meats for about 2-3 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pot, work in batches if need be. Set aside on a warm plate.
- In the same pot, add onions, minced garlic, sofrito, culantro (recaíto), adobo, sazon, bouillon, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves. Sauté for a few minutes until nice and fragrant. Stir to keep the seasonings from burning. You may want to reduce to medium heat if it seems too hot for the herbs and seasonings.
- Add the meats, beef broth, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Cover, lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 25 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- Add the yuca, potato, carrots, squash, green plantain and corn. Bring your broth to a boil.
- Cover, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
- Taste the soup and adjust seasonings (add salt or Adobo) if needed. If it is too thick, add water to reach desired consistency. If you did not use culantro, top with cilantro and stir.
- Serve warm with a side of white rice, bread, tostones, and sliced avocado.
- ¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Instant Pot Sancocho:
- Marinade the meat with oregano, Adobo seasoning, pep per,and vinegar or lime juice. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes; overnight preferred.
- Set pressure cooker to sauté mode. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot.
- Add your marinated meats and brown on all sides for about four minutes each.
- Add onions, sofrito, culantro (recaíto), garlic, adobo, sazon, bouillon, thyme, salt, and pepper, and stir.
- Once the onions are transparent, add beef stock (or chicken stock) and with a wooden spoon deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add your root vegetables but not the corn.
- Now add the tomato sauce, bay leaves, and fresh oregano. Do not stir the tomato sauce as it will burn if it reaches the bottom of the cooker.
- Place lid on cooker and set valve to “Sealing.” Cook on HIGH pressure for 30 minutes.
- Once it is done cooking, allow for a natural release.
- After releasing, add your corn-on-the-cob but do not cancel(turn off) the cooker. Simply cover the pot and wait a few minutes for the corn to be cooked by the heat on the inside of the pot.
- If you did not use culantro, top with cilantro and stir.
- Serve warm with a side of white rice, bread, tostones, and sliced avocado.
- ¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Slow Cooker Sancocho
- Marinade the meat with oregano, Adobo seasoning, pepper, and vinegar or lime juice. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes; overnight preferred.
- In a skillet at medium-high heat, add oil and brown the meats for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Be sure to flip them to avoid burning.
- When you get to the last side of the meats, add onions, sofrito, culantro (recaíto), garlic, adobo, sazon, bouillon, thyme, salt, and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes.
- Move the contents from the skillet to the slow cooker and with a spoonula or spoon, be sure to not leave anything on the skillet. There is a lot of flavor sitting in the bottom!
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker: tomato sauce, bay leaves, fresh oregano, root vegetables, corn, and beef broth.
- Stir all the ingredients well and place the lid on the cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 3 – 4 hours or LOW for 6 – 8 hours.
- Once it is done cooking top with cilantro and stir (if you did not use culantro).
- Serve warm with a side of white rice, bread, tostones, and sliced avocado.
- ¡Buen provecho from The Happy Wookiee!
Notes
- Culantro or recaíto is not easily accessible to everyone. Whenever I am in Puerto Rico, this is what we use for the sancocho. However, when I am not, I simply substitute with cilantro. It is not the same flavor but gives it a nice little twist.
- My abuela always makes little plantain balls instead of simply cutting the plantain and adding it to the soup. The way to do this is by shredding the plantain with a metal shredder and adding adobo. Then, make your plantain into 1 ½ - 2” balls, and add to the soup with the rest of the vegetables.
- Any leftovers can be stored and refrigerated for up to four days in an airtight container. It may be reheated in the stovetop or the microwave. If using the microwave, make sure to add some water to the bowl as it may be too thick. Also, remember not to reheat more than you will eat because it cannot be placed back in the fridge after being heated up again.
