I’ve never had traditional sancocho. Frankly, I’d never even heard of the dish until a few months ago! But once I learned about it I pretty much had to create a vegan version. Those plantain slices and big chunks of corn on the cob smothered in cilantro-spiked sauce just looked so good! I was totally intrigued. For anyone who showed up at this post having never heard of sancocho, it’s basically a Latin American analogue to beef stew. There are a bunch of versions from different regions, but most involve meat, root veggies, maybe some winter squash, and corn on the cob. My version is obviously not very authentic. For one thing, it’s made with seitan instead of meat! But also, I substituted some of the more difficult to find ingredients with ones that are more accessible, at least where I live. I did however include some notes on alternatives in the ingredients section below. If you can get your hands on some of these alternative ingredients like name or yuca, I highly encourage you to include them in your version of this stew!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Olive oil. You can substitute another high-heat oil if you’d like. Canola, corn, or avocado oil would all work.Onion.Green bell pepper.Seitan. This is my substitute for beef in this sancocho. You can buy it at the store, or make your own using my seitan recipe. Garlic. Cilantro. Substitute with parsley if you’re a cilantro-hater.Cumin.Vegetable broth.Yellow potatoes. You can absolutely substitute another starchy root vegetable here. I’ve also made the stew with name, which I LOVED, but can’t always find. Yuca is another one that’s often used. You could even make the stew with purple potatoes or plain old baking potatoes.Sweet potato. We’re using an orange sweet potato here, which might be labelled as a yam at the supermarket. Boniato would be a great alternative if you can get ahold of it. Winter squash such as butternut or acorn squash would also work well.Plantains. You can use a ripe plantain (yellow with brown spots), an underripe (green) plantain, or half of each (my preference). It really depends on the balance of flavors you prefer in your stew — sweet or starchy.Corn. We’re using fresh corn on the cob, which frankly makes the stew really fun to eat! However, I totally get that you might not be able to find this during the winter months. If this is the case, substitute with 1 ½ cups of (thawed) frozen corn, and add it when the stew is done simmering.Tomato paste.Lime juice.Salt & pepper.
How to Make Vegan Sancocho
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Heat up some oil in a large pot, then add diced onion and bell pepper. Sweat them until they begin to soften up. This should take about 5 minutes.Stir in the seitan and cook it with the onion and pepper for another 5 minutes, until it begins to brown.Now add the garlic, cilantro, and cumin. Cook everything briefly, stirring frequently to prevent anything from burning.Stir in the broth, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Bring the liquid to a boil and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Stir in sliced plantain and let it simmer with the stew for about 10 minutes.Finally, stir in small sections of corn on the cob, along with the tomato paste. Continue simmering the stew until everything is tender — the potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains, and corn. You can add more broth or some water if the liquid reduces too much while the stew cooks.
Take your vegan sancocho off of the burner and stir in some lime juice. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste, then enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftovers of this dish will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
More Vegan Stews
Vegan Portobello “Beef” StewVegan BigosVegan Irish StewEggplant GoulashVegetable Stew
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