This is a traditional Cuban picadillo recipe, which is often served with white rice. It can also be used as a taco or empanada filling. With fried ripe plantains, it is excellent.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 6 large pitted green olives, quartered
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon capers (Optional)
- 2 (1.41 ounce) packages sazon seasoning (such as Goya®)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients.
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- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion, bell pepper, and garlic, onion in the hot oil until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
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- Add ground beef into the skillet; cook and stir until crumbly and completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
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- Stir tomato sauce, olives, raisins, capers, cumin, sazon seasoning, sugar, and salt into the ground beef mixture. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook until the mixture is heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.
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Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 350 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 74 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 3572 mg |
| Sugars | 17 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Easy to make and good. My husband loved it.
This is very good! I suggest making your own Sazon spice mixture. There are several places to find a recipe for that if you google it. The amount given as 1.41 oz of Goya Sazon is INCORRECT. That is the weight of an entire box of Goya Sazon which has 8 packets in it. Use only 2 packets of that 1.41 box if you buy Sazon. That comes to .35 oz. If you make your own Sazon –I used 2 TBSP. That was plenty.
In Miami, where this is a staple for lunch… raisins are optional… A different take is Huevo en caballo… a fried egg on top of the picadillo. Just like Abuela used to make.
I didn’t add the T of cumin or the capers and no salt
My Picky 17 year old and Husband loved this
Pretty authentic like my mother’s Cuban cooking. Delicious!
No raisins As no one other than me likes them Still well liked We used the capers Will add it to our list of dishes to eat once in a while
This is an awesome recipe. my wife and I loved it. just be careful of the salt content. not good for people with high blood pressure. 🙂
I didn’t add all the cumin and didn’t add the sugar. Me and the wife both loved it. We’ll be making it again.
Delicious! I made it with Beyond beef. I used a little less cumin than called for, but I think the full amount would have been fine. I was out of capers so I added some extra olives. Served with rice and maduros. It was soooo good!
I doubled the recipe and served over white rice with baked plantains. This recipe is a new favorite. Whole family loved it! Easy and delish!!
Very correct traditional recipe for Picadillo. there is also a Mexican Picadillo which has potato chunks and other add ins. If anyone eating with me does not like capers, then I leave those out. But olives, cumin, and raisins are traditional and make this what it is. To Victoria. If you leave out cumin, then you just have chili. Cumin makes the recipe. So, you just do not like Picadillo. Cumin does not ruin it. I always add a bit of red wine, or you can had wine vinegar.
Way too much cumin. The sazon also has cumin.
I made this for the first time about a month ago. I used it as a filling for empanadas and then served the rest over yellow rice with black beans on the side. It is delicious! Reminds me of one of the Cuban cafeterias I frequented in Tampa, FL when I lived there a few years ago. I would not make any changes at all and that’s unusual for me as I almost always make recipes my own. My husband took a few empanadas to work and some of the guys ask him when I am making this again. That’s why I am here writing a review. I needed to use the recipe to make it again. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this one with us!
Loved it
The recipe was easy to read and easy to make. I added adobo. It was awesome. The instructions were super clear.
This became a family favorite. I make this a couple of times a month now, and serve it with rice or roasted potatoes. I substituted pimientos because none of us like bell peppers. Sometimes I use Impossible Burger to eat lower on the food chain, but not always. The fact that it is gluten free without modifications was great. My family can eat gluten, but I can’t, and I love when a recipe is fine as is.
This recipe is a staple at our house. Serve with black beans, rice, fried plátanos and enjoy. My wife uses the leftovers as filling for empanadas, delicioso!
Outstanding! I drained the canned chicken, which I will not do next time. The extra liquid will make it even better. Fast, easy to make, and delicious.
My daughter and I absolutely love this recipe, this meal is outstanding. I followed the recipe close but omitted raisins and added mini gold potatoes. Paired with some steamy white rice and a cool slice Avocado atop the picadillo and yumm(like our 5th time in 2 weeks eating this meal.
Everyone loved this recipe. I only used one Sazón pack and I seasoned the meat with onion and garlic powder, black pepper, parsley flakes. No raisins or capers either. I added potatos as well.