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This Cuban Picadillo recipe consists of flavorful ground beef, spices, green olives, boiled egg and raisins cooked in a delicious tomato sauce, and then served over a bed of rice. This is the ideal weeknight meal because it can be made in under 30 minutes!
I grew up eating renditions of this dish. When I was a teeny kid, my mother would make picadillo and it’d simply be fried diced potato with ground beef over rice.
Every couple of years, as I got older, the recipe’s identity evolved from crazy plain to what you see now. I guess you could say I went from super picky, pain in the butt eater to normal human, and this recipe was along for the ride.s
What is Picadillo?
Well, the literal translation of picadillo in English is “all chopped up.” Picado in Spanish means “chopped.” The potatoes, egg and meat are all chopped up, too. A lot of different countries make renditions of a picadillo. Colombians put it in empanadas. Peruvians put it in papa rellenas. And Puerto Ricans put it in empanadas and alcapurria. The version you see here is Cuban-style Picadillo. I LOVE Cuban food (Ropa Vieja and Lechon Asado are my personal favorites).
Ingredients You’ll Need for Picadillo
- Potatoes – This dish consists of beginning with pan-frying cubed up potato. If I’m on a bit of a health kick, I’ll skip it entirely OR use sweet potato.
- Onion, bell pepper and garlic – The sofrito is essential to begin this recipe.
- Ground Beef – I like using 85%/15% for maximum flavor. But feel free to use 90%/10% if you’re wanting something a bit leaner.
- Spices – I love adding paprika, cumin, coriander and bay leaves for a flavorful picadillo.
- Green Olives – You can slice these or add them whole – your call!
- Tomato paste – This thickens everything up and makes it nice and glossy.
For the rest of the ingredient list, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Picadillo?
- Cook the potatoes. This recipe starts with dicing up potatoes and frying them in the pan in a few tablespoons of oil. After they’re crispy, the potatoes are removed from the pan and set aside (we’re going to add them back at the end!)
- The sofrito (onion, bell pepper, garlic). The Cuban holy trinity. This is cooked until softened.
- Cook the ground beef. I used a 85%/15%, grass-fed organic beef. Surprisingly, I’ve also have made this with ground bison which was so delicious. I bet you could even use ground chicken. Break up the ground beef until it resembles crumbles.
- Spices and salt go in, along with tomato paste and beef broth. This makes it nice and thick and saucy. This is the time when I like to add the raisins (in today’s recipe I used golden raisins because I’m fancy but regular ones will do, too) because it allows them to simmer in the sauce and rehydrate a bit.
- Add in the diced egg, crispy potatoes, olives and red wine vinegar. I’ve read that diced egg is actually Dominican. Most Cubans don’t add diced egg. I’ve always eaten it this way. The additions really make this picadillo so flavorful and delicious.
Variations for this recipe
Use different ground meat. I love bison for this recipe.
Leave out the add-ins. I’ve had this without raisins, egg and have subbed in different briny things like capers. All delicious.
Make this recipe ahead. This makes delicious leftovers. I love making this the day ahead and keeping it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
I love it served on a bed of white rice. That is essential. I also love to serve it with maduros (sweet plantains) or tostones (fried green plantain).
I personally don’t but feel free to. It’s traditional in a lot of Cuban-style picadillo recipes.
The texture and sauce are very different. Mexican picadillo is a little sweet, while Cuban picadillo is more briny and tart (due to the added olives and red wine vinegar).
Yes, absolutely. I’ve made this with ground bison with amazing results. I’ve used ground chicken with solid results (not stellar lol). I would recommend using ground dark chicken meat vs. ground white chicken meat. You could also use a vegan ground meat alternative. I’ve never tried ground lamb but I bet it would be good too.
What to Serve with Picadillo
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Picadillo
Equipment
- 1 (4-quart) Dutch oven or braiser pot
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil, (I like to use grape seed or avocado oil)
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 large yellow onion (or 1 small yellow onion), peeled and diced
- 1 green or red bell pepper, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, (I used 90/10 lean grass-fed beef)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth or water
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup green olives
- 2 large eggs, boiled and diced
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, set over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, add the diced russet potato and cook until crispy on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes from the pan and transfer to a sheet of paper towels or on top of a clean kitchen towel to drain.
- In the same large sauté pan, add more oil, if needed. Add the onion, red bell pepper and garlic; cook until softened about 5 minutes. Add the meat and break up with a large spoon until it’s into crumbled ground beef. Add the salt and spices and give it a mix. Next, add the tomato paste, broth and golden raisins. Mix until all combined. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, we really want the flavors to combine and marry.
- Lastly, mix in the red wine vinegar, crispy potatoes and diced boiled egg. Give it a taste and adjust the salt according to your liking. Serve alongside rice and tostones or maduros.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I need to make this!
Mariya | https://www.brunetteondemand.com/
This was SO DELICIOUS. Definitely going into the rotation. I didn’t have every ingredient but used chopped dried apricots and chicken broth and no bell pepper but added chopped tomato and carrot and it was great.
Comfort food for us Puerto Ricans, part of our week meal plan…for those not can of the raisins give it a try with chopped sweet fried plantains! BTW we call empanadillas the fritter that is filled with picadillo or any other filling (an empanada is what you may know as a chicken fried steak, either with chicken or beef).
Definitely going to make this but fyi (with all due respect): you neglected to list an egg in your ingredients.
just added it! thanks for note.
I just made my (Cuban) Abuela’s picadillo last night for my (non-Latino) husband’s birthday. It’s one of his favorite dishes, and it’s a great, quick,weeknight option. She never added potatoes or eggs, so that’s new to me. Do yourself a favor and add the olives even if you don’t like them! I can’t stand olives and give mine to Hubby, but the flavor you get from the brine is irreplaceable. I always add a splash from the jar. I use Goya manzanilla olives with pimentos.
Ahhh so I’ve made picadillo a lot since this post and now I add olives and I LOVE THEM. They add a nice briny flavor to them. I need to try that Goya. I moved out of Florida and now I all the groceries stores near me don’t carry them. 🙁
Goya also makes jars of pimento stiffed manzanilla olives with capers. They’re a great addition, but my picky little one won’t eat them. Maybe when he’s older!
This dish is so GOOD!! I can’t wait to make it again…the egg on top is a great touch. WOW! This blog is awesome 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
This takes me back to my Cuban Grandmother’s kitchen. Can’t wait to try the addition of egg.
I loved picadillo growing up. Never had a version with egg in it though – sounds good!
Very nice recipe of Spanish origin. I’m certain you meant to say “Cuban-American” i.e. Florida-based restaurants. The “real” Cubans would die and go to heaven for a meal such as this, and it would be entirely new for them.
Oh man, my mom used to make this all the time (with fresh flour tortillas, too)! But just the ground beef, tomato base, and potatoes. (Cheers to being a picky eater as a kid!). I’ve never heard of making it with raisins, though. I’ll gave to give it a whirl! 🙂
My husband is not a fan of beef — could this work with lamb, chicken or pork?
Pork is even better
Oh I haven’t had it with anything other than ground beef but I bet ground lamb would be delicious!