Juicy ground meat cooked with aromatics, tomatoes, olives and raisins creates an irresistible filling for these crispy, cheesy enchiladas. A celebrated dish throughout Latin America, picadillo will win you over with its delicate balance of sweet and savory. Enjoy as a filling or on its own with rice and beans.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 pound 80-percent lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- One 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup green olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar (about 8 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, the onion and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef, five-spice, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, olives and raisins. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the remaining oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, heat the tortillas, one at a time, in the hot oil until they bubble and darken slightly, about 10 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. Spread about 1/2 cup ground beef picadillo mixture on the bottom of a 9 -by-13-inch baking dish. Put about 1/4 cup picadillo and 1 tablespoon Cheddar down the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and lay them in the baking dish, seam side down. Spoon the rest of the picadillo over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake the enchiladas until the tortillas are slightly crisp and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 930 |
| Total Fat | 64 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 137 mg |
| Sodium | 1011 mg |
Reviews
Good recipe, I left out the olives and the raisins and added different seasonings to the beef. I also used red enchilada sauce and poured on top.
I made this without the olives and raisins and I used wheat tortillas. I didn’t want to get out a pan, so I just microwaved the tortillas for 7 seconds each to make it easier to flatten out and fold around the cheese. For the spices, I just put random stuff together until it tasted good. I think it would’ve been way better if I’d used the correct tortillas but I just used what I had.
4 stars for what i made, but 5 stars for what it could’ve been
We DEVOURED IT! What a great combination of flavors. HIGHLY recommended (except for those who apparently find Chinese five-spice powder repulsive.)
This turned out great! The leftovers even tasted wonderful. The only thing I changed was made the meat mixture ahead leaving out the raisins since I only had black ones and froze until I was ready to make the. A few weeks later. The night I finally made them I fully thawed the mixture and added another half can of diced tomatoes and made as directed…
I have to admit I didn’t try this recipe. I’m a visually oriented person and the picture of this dish was so unappealing that I couldn’t bring myself to make it. It looked like someone dropped it on the floor, scraped it up and plopped it back into the dish. Yuck! Doesn’t the person who decides on the picture for a recipe know that what food looks like is supposed to be appealing, not sickening?
This recipe is a keeper. I’ve made it now about three or four times and everybody gobbles it up. The Chinese five spice and the green olives add just right the amount of flavor. This dish is not meant to be spicy but is savory. I don’t put in the raisins but that’s just a preference. It’s absolutely delicious!
Just O.k. My husband did not like it. It is not your typical Mexican dish. The five spice did not work for us.
I felt like this was an easy recipe to follow and the ingredients were pretty much on hand. I probably will make it again, but I’ll use a dash of red pepper flakes instead of the five Chinese spice. I was expecting a more spicy flavor, not sweet. It was good.
Flavor was overtaken by the 5 spice rendering it too sweet. One kid refused to eat anything more than two bites the other smothered them in Franks Red Hot. I followed the recipe to the t.
Very yummy! I skip the golden raisins and use black olives instead of green!