Picadillo

[Michie]

• SERVES: 6
• PREP TIME: 15 min
• COOK TIME: 1 hr
• CALORIES: 236

• DAIRY-FREE
• GLUTEN FREE
• KID FRIENDLY

Ground beef, studded with potatoes and spiced generously with cumin, cinnamon and garlic—what’s not to love? Our picadillo recipe makes for a homey weeknight dinner that everyone will gobble up!

An Easy, Beefy Picadillo Recipe to Make Weeknights Just A Little More Delicious

Easy, hearty, filling and bursting with flavor, picadillo has long been a comfort food in homes throughout Latin America, and now we’re adopting the tradition, too. A little bit hash-like, this humble dish of ground beef, spiced with cumin and cinnamon and simmered with tomato, garlic, onions and carrots, is meaty, gently spicy and just so very easy to fall in love with. It’s right up there with chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese as meals that are certain to please everyone at the table. Plus, it’s really versatile and easy—serve it with rice for a super simple supper, or think of it as a taco filling and plan a whole taco night around it. There’s no wrong way to do it!

What Is Picadillo?

Versions of picadillo can be found all over Latin America and there’s plenty of variance from region to region as well as family to family. Classic Cuban picadillo is defined by the addition of briny green olives and sweet raisins, while other versions are heavier on the potatoes. Some use tons of fresh tomatoes, some use paste, some are tomato-less. But the unifying thing is the dish’s namesake meaty base of ground or minced beef, because the Spanish word “picadillo” in English means “minced” or “hash” deriving from the root “picar” which means “to chop”. While we love olives as much as the next person, when it comes to making picadillo, we like to keep it as simple as possible. So, our picadillo recipe is more like what you’d find in Mexico than Cuba—in other words, no raisins or olives here, but plenty of warm spices and an umami hit from a good squeeze of tomato paste, too.

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Picadillo | The Modern Proper

 

[Shane R]

I was not familiar with that dish but my brother in law served paella at his wedding. Somewhat similar but the paella uses rice rather than taters and seafood rather than meat.

 

[Michie]

I was not familiar with that dish but my brother in law served paella at his wedding. Somewhat similar but the paella uses rice rather than taters and seafood rather than meat.

I’ve never had it either. Your brother in law’s version sounds better.