Cocido madrileno is Madrid's defining stew: chickpeas, slow-cooked beef, chicken, chorizo and morcilla simmered for hours, served as three sequential courses (broth, chickpeas and vegetables, then meats) in a single pot.

The cocido madrileno descends from the medieval adafina, a Sephardic Jewish Saturday stew of chickpeas and meat slow-cooked overnight to circumvent the Sabbath cooking prohibition. After the 1492 expulsion of Jewish residents, the dish was adopted by Castilian Christian cooks, with the pork additions (chorizo, morcilla, tocino) emphasizing the lack of Jewish observance. By the 18th century, the cocido had become the city's defining stew, eaten at boarding houses, taverns and the royal court alike. The three-volcado service tradition (broth first, then chickpeas, then meats) developed in the 19th-century working-class taberna. Lhardy serves the canonical version since 1839; Taberna La Bola cooks individual pots over charcoal since 1870; Malacatin since 1895.

5 editor picks for Cocido madrileno in Madrid, ranked by editorial score. All Madrid signature dishes · Cocido madrileno across every city.