For vegans and vegetarians who still miss the traditional sancocho, I've created a simple Vegan sancocho recipe that is hearty and filling. Full of familiar flavors, rich, filling, and comforting, serve this meatless stew with steaming rice, and find a new dish for special days.
By - Reviewed: . Original: May 8, 2013
Why we ❤️ it
Vegan sancocho? Do you know what a sancocho is? If so, I know what you're thinking: "if it's vegan, then it isn't sancocho." After all, the recipe in our blog is called a "seven meat-stew". You can hardly get any more carnivorous than this beef and meat-heavy stew, that, short of chasing and killing your own prey.
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But you don't have to completely abandon your culinary culture; a little bit of creativity and some flexibility will allow you to enjoy some of your favorite traditional dishes by adapting them to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
And this stew is so good that even meat lovers will enjoy it.
Why a vegan sancocho?
When I told our readers on social media that I was working on a vegan sancocho recipe, some of the reactions were the complete opposite of each other, but everyone seemed to have strong opinions on the matter.
One follower commented: "If it doesn't have meat, it's not a sancocho. It's a vegetable soup!!"
On the opposite side, we get "Sancocho is totally vegetarian - just take out the meat!". Another hilariously replied, "Sounds good to me [...]; it's only that my hubby is not as open-minded with anything as sacred as his sancocho."
This is no laughing matter for some people.
Vegan "Sancocho" and ingredients.
Serving suggestions
Just like sancocho, this dish is best served with a bowl of white rice, some avocado slices, and some hot sauce on the side (we love the traditional Dominican agrio de naranja).
Top tips
- Mushrooms: I used dry porcini mushrooms, which are available commercially, or you can make yourself and has a very "meaty" taste.
- To make the dry mushrooms: If you do not have dry mushrooms available, you can make them at home. First, wash and pat dry ¼ lb big porcini mushrooms. Place on an oiled baking pan, sprinkle with salt, and cook in the oven at 200 ºF for one hour. Remove from the oven. Cool to room temperature and cut into "spoon-sized" pieces.
- Other ingredients: Dominican sancocho differs from sancocho in other Latin American and Caribbean countries. There are differences even from home to home. Dominican sancocho never contains tomato sauce, potato, or noodles.
About this recipe
So, what makes this soup a sancocho?
Protein, plantain, lots of carbohydrate-rich root vegetables (taro, cassava, yam, plantains), and strong flavors.
By adding yellow split peas to the soup we get the thick, yellowish stew and the protein, the roots and vegetables typical of this dish are present, and for some meat-like texture, I have added dry mushrooms, which you can buy or just make yourself (the process is described in the preparation).
The truth is, I didn't come up with the concept. I've been eating vegetarian and vegan sancochos for decades.
For some odd reason, I once found myself employed by a company with a higher percentage of vegans than should be normal. There were four of us (I was a vegan back then), in a company that employed about a dozen people. The rest were unapologetically carnivorous.
One of my workmates (hi Alex!) introduced me to her vegetarian sancocho, which she made with seitan, a gluten-based meat substitute. I loved it. A few years ago, I posted my version of Alex's sancocho, which was pretty well-received.
So, why reinvent the wheel and create a completely different vegan sancocho recipe?
I am not particularly fond of seitan, and I find the process of making it a little too cumbersome. Plus, nowadays, a lot of people have been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, which was pretty obscure when I first posted the recipe. I wanted to create one that has a wider appeal.
I hope you enjoy it! And remember that we have a lot of vegan recipes in our collection.
Video
Recipe
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Vegan 'Sancocho' [Video+Recipe] Vegetables and Roots Stew
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon oregano , (dry leaves) or ½ teaspoon of powdered orégano
- 1 cup yellow split peas
- 1 quart vegetable broth, [1 liter] or homemade vegetable broth recipe
- 1 cup dry mushrooms, (about 2 oz [57 g]) of dry porcini (see notes)
- ¼ pound yuca , (cassava) [0.24 kg], peeled and cut into small pieces
- ¼ pound yautía, (malanga) [0.24 kg] (optional)
- ¼ pound auyama , (kabocha squash) [0.24 kg]
- 1 plantain, (green, unripe) cut into ½" slices
- ¼ pound ñame , (yam, read more) [0.24 kg] (optional)
- 1 corn cob, cut into ½" slices (optional)
- 1 bunch cilantro, and parsley, chopped
- 1½ teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste),
- ½ teaspoon pepper, (freshly-cracked, or ground) (or more, to taste)
- Agrio de naranja, to serve (optional)
Instructions
1. Sauteing vegetables
Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, orégano, and split peas. Cook and stir for a few seconds.
2. Simmering
- Add 1 qt [1lt] of vegetable broth plus 1 qt [1lt] of water. Cover and lower temperature. Simmer until the split peas are very soft. Add more water to maintain the same level and stir when it becomes necessary.
3. Cooking roots
- When the split peas are cooked through, add the dry mushrooms, cassava, malanga, plantain, pumpkin, yam, and corn. Simmer covered over medium heat until all the vegetables and roots are cooked through.
4. Seasoning
- Chop the cilantro and parsley and add to the pot.Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serving
- Remove from the heat and serve.Find serving suggestions above the recipe.
Cook's Notes
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 vegan recipes
We have heaps of vegetarian and vegan recipes on the blog from the very beginning. Dominican cooking is very veggie-rich, and many dishes are naturally vegan. But we also include all the adaptations needed to make some either meatless or vegan, so you can adapt them to your own liking.
Some, like this sancocho, and a vegan asopao were designed to be vegan adaptations from start.
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