Cuban Beef Picadillo. A simple and flavorful ground beef dish made Cuban-style with tomato sauce, spices, olives, and raisins. Perfect weeknight meal!
If you were to ask me what was the recipe I had the most often during the week as a kid, the answer would be picadillo! My mom was never a microwave mom. She cooked every night. On those busy nights, there was nothing easier to make than this. Needless to say, I always have ground beef and ground turkey in my freezer ready to go. Old habits die hard.
I’ll be honest, for a long time, I would only make picadillo with ground turkey. And while it was good, nothing truly compares to Cuban-style beef picadillo.
What is picadillo?
Picadillo [pee-ca-dee-yo] is a classic Cuban dish made with ground beef, tomato sauce, raisins, olives, and lots of spices. This one-pan meal is usually served over white rice. It’s an easy and flavorful weeknight meal. The leftovers the next day are even better! The recipe below is my go-to recipe. Can’t wait for you guys to make it!
How To Make Picadillo
You’re going to see how easy it is to make Cuban picadillo. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add ground beef and cook, breaking the meat apart using this meat chopper tool, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Turn the heat down to low. Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add green olives and raisins. That’s all folks! I mean… how good does that look!
I always serve beef picadillo with white rice BUT… you can totally serve it with veggies or even inside of sweet potatoes. It’s very versatile and that’s one of my favorite things about it. Make it tonight!
Video On How To Make Cuban Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef, or lean ground beef
- 6 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons green olives, cut in half
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking the meat apart, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low. Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add green olives and raisins. Serve and enjoy!
I add 1 cup of dry cooking wine, multi-color sweet peppers and capers. Also, chopped cherry tomatoes instead of tomatoe sauce.
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I will be making this every week for the foreseeable future! So easy, such clean ingredients, and great flavor! Topped it with lots of cilantro. OBSESSED.
So happy you + the fam loved it, Ari!!