Picadillo – Latin ground beef stew
This picadillo recipe is made from ground beef stewed with layers of savory Latin flavors of sazon, onions, garlic, olives, tomato, sweet peppers and cilantro. Served over fluffy white rice, it makes a perfect weeknight meal.
Jump to RecipeIf these flavors sound good to you, you’re also going to love my pollo guisado and arroz con pollo!
Main ingredients in my picadillo
Below I’ve listed the main components for this picadillo recipe, but each one has flexible options and substitution suggestions.
Ground meat
When making picadillo I always use ground beef, with a 80/20 mix.
However, you can make this recipe with any type of ground meat you like!
If using beef, I would not go with less than a 10% fat mix.
Ground chicken, turkey, pork or even lamb are great options if that’s your preference.
Sofrito or sweet peppers and cilantro
In this recipe you can use sofrito. If you don’t have sofrito on hand, you can substitute it with finely minced sweet green peppers- such as cubanelle or bell peppers- and cilantro.
Sofrito, also known as recaito, is a blend of herbs and peppers, along with onions and garlic. It forms the most flavorful base for countless Puerto Rican dishes.
My recipe for sofrito contains traditionally used ingredients like culantro, aji dulce peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, and bell peppers. I offer suggestions to tailor your sofrito based on what you have available.
You can make a large batch and freeze what’s left for future use.
If you aren’t able to make the homemade sofrito, you can use store-bought. Though less flavorful, it will totally work.
Onions and garlic
While your sofrito will have onions and garlic already, I add some more to amp up the flavor even higher. The addition of onions also adds to the texture of the sauce, giving it more body.
Ground garlic can also be used if you are out of fresh.
Tomato
In this recipe I use tomato paste because I love the intense umami flavor it lends to the sauce.
However, you can absolutely use tomato sauce or passata instead if that’s what you have on hand. Just increase the amount by double at least.
Spices
This recipe uses ground cumin and sazón.
Sazón is a staple latin spice blend that can consist of spices like cumin, coriander, garlic and black pepper, along with achiote aka annato. Achiote lends a signature orangey red hue. Be aware that some sazón blends also contain salt, and you may need to temper your salt use as a result.
I recommend Loisa Sazón for an organic and salt-free option (affiliate link).
You can substitute sazón with an equal amount of cumin and paprika.
Alcaparrado
Many Latin dishes also include in their base alcaparrado- a mix of pimentos, pitted green olives and capers. This mix is sold jarred in the Latin food aisle or alongside Goya products in many grocery stores. It can also be found online here (affiliate link).
While this mix is nice to have, you can also use pimento-stuffed green olives and capers that are bought separately, or substitute the alcaparrado with just stuffed olives.
While the alcaparrado adds a bright brininess and additional salt to the stew, if you dislike olives and/or capers feel free to omit this ingredient. You will salt the stew to taste near the end of cooking to adjust for their absence.
Veggies
In this version of pollo guisado I always add potatoes. I love how the potatoes release their starch while cooking and help to thicken the stew.
There are endless options for additional veggies and you should use what you like, carrots and pigeon peas make great additions.
How to make picadillo
This picadillo recipe is simple and makes for a great flavorful yet easy meal.
The key to making a great picadillo is to layer your ingredients- adding them bit by bit to the pot, searing and sauteeing each to release its unique flavors before stewing.
The first step in this picadillo recipe is to sear your ground beef, making sure it allow it to brown. Scrape up all the delicious brown bits that might stick to the bottom of the pan. These add so much meaty flavor!
Next, add your chopped onions and sauté until translucent, then add the garlic, sofrito and spices, tomato paste olives and capers.
To these layered aromatics, you will add water to reach the top of the mixture, salt, a bay leaf, and your diced potatoes.
Bring it all to a boil, cover and simmer over the stove, or in the oven at 325 degrees Farenheit.
Serving picadillo
I always serve picadillo over fluffy white rice.
I love to pair it with some sliced ripe avocado.
It also goes great with a side of fried plantains- either sweet maduros, or savory tostones.
You can find my recipes for plantain tostones or breadfruit tostones below.
Make either one to round out this meal!
¡Buen Provecho! Enjoy!
Picadillo – Latin ground beef stew
Ingredients
- 1 TBS neutral oil vegetable, avocado etc
- 2 lbs ground beef or substitute chicken, turkey, pork or lamb
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup sofrito OR same amount mix of finely chopped sweet peppers and cilantro
- 1/3 cup stuffed manzanilla olives whole or chopped
- 1 TBS capers
- 4 TBS tomato paste
- 1 TBS sazon OR 1/2 TBS each of paprika and cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium potato diced
- 2 tsp diamond kosher salt OR 1 tsp table salt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Add oil to a large heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat.
- Once oil is hot, add ground meat. Break up meat into small pieces as it cooks, stirring occasionally. Cook until meat begins to brown, about 12- 15 minutes.
- Add chopped onions to the meat and lower heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic, sofrito or minced peppers and onions, as well as your spices. Mix into meat and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomato paste, olives and capers and sauté for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Add enough water to reach the top of the meat mixture (approximately 3.5 to 4 cups), salt, bay leaf, and diced potatoes. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, cover with lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer for at least 40 minutes and up to 1.5 hours. You can continue this simmering on the stive, or transfer to a hot oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook there.
- Once finished, taste and increase salt if necessary. You can add optional minced cilantro garnish.
