Description
Picadillo brings Cuban comfort straight to your dinner table with ground beef dancing alongside sweet raisins and briny olives. Serve this hearty dish over white rice for a quick, satisfying meal that connects you to classic Caribbean flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Proteins:
- 1.5 pounds 93% lean ground beef
Supporting Vegetables:
- ½ large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tomato
- ½ pepper
Seasonings and Extras:
- 4 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 2 tablespoons pitted green olives
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1–2 dried bay leaves
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 ½ pounds of 93% lean ground beef. Cook for 6-8 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles until it turns brown and no pink remains.
- Drain any excess fat from the skillet, leaving the beef ready for seasoning. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper over the meat.
- Dice ½ large onion, 2 garlic cloves, ½ bell pepper, and 1 tomato into uniform small pieces. Chop 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro separately.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the skillet with the beef. Toss in 2 tablespoons of pitted green olives and 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
- Pour 4 ounces of tomato sauce into the skillet and stir all ingredients until well combined. Drop in 1-2 dried bay leaves.
- Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet, and let the picadillo simmer for 20 minutes at 325°F. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Remove bay leaves before serving your fragrant picadillo over rice or with warm tortillas.
Notes
- Drain meat thoroughly to prevent a watery final dish and ensure a rich, concentrated flavor.
- Choose a lean ground beef (85/15 or 90/10) to balance flavor and reduce excess grease.
- Chop vegetables uniformly for even cooking and consistent texture throughout the picadillo.
- Adjust spices to personal taste, adding more cumin or bay leaf for deeper warmth and complexity.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sautéed
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Latin American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 to 6
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 280 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg