Easy Beef Picadillo Recipe

See how easy this Latin beef picadillo recipe with potatoes and carrots is. A tasty dish that is flavorful, economical, and will please the whole family. I give you ideas for serving it, reusing the leftovers, and useful substitutions.

Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Video • Preparation

Beef picadillo.

Why I ❤️ it

This is a very versatile beef picadillo recipe. You can serve this rich stew as the main dish, as a filling for tortillas or empanadas, or serve it with rice and beans for a hearty meal. It is one of my most useful recipes, with a surprisingly short cooking time. and the great nutrition of loads of veggies.

And with this recipe, once you learn how to make beef picadillo, it will be easy to prepare it with other types of meats. My suggestions are below.

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Utensils and tools

• Large bowl
• Large skillet or pan

Ingredients

• 1½ pound [0.7 kg] of minced beef
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ¾ cup of tomato sauce
• 1 carrot (wash, peel and cut into small pieces)
• ¼ teaspoon of cumin powder
• ¼ cup of pitted green olives, sliced
• 1⅓ teaspoons of salt, or to taste.
• ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
• ¾ pound [0.35 kg] of waxy potatoes (wash, peel and cut into cubes)
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ tablespoon of hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped

Video

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Brown the meat

Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add the meat and simmer, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated and the meat is browned.

Step 2: Sauteing onion

Add chopped onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until heated through. Add tomato sauce and ½ cup of water, and mix. Add bay leaf, and lower heat to medium-low and cover. Cook until it comes to a boil (5-7 min).

Step 3: Cooking potato and carrot

Add potatoes and carrots. Cook covered for 15 minutes, adding water as needed to maintain the same volume. Stir in cumin.

Step 4: Seasoning picadillo

Add celery, bell pepper, and olives. Season with salt, pepper, and olives. Cook covered for 5 minutes, adding water if necessary to maintain the same volume.

Step 5: Serve

Season with hot sauce and salt to taste. Toss with parsley.

Remove from heat and serve.

Serving suggestions

This is a dish that goes great with white rice, but you can also serve it with tortillas, in tacos, or you can fill empanadas with the leftovers. Fried plantains

Variations

If you want to make picadillo de puerco (pork), you can perfectly substitute ground beef for ground pork and follow the recipe.

A lighter option is using lean ground beef or making a turkey picadillo with vegetables, or you can even prepare it with ground chicken.

To fill empanadas, you can make it with this minced meat with potatoes and carrots, or without potatoes and carrots, or add raisins (which is a popular and controversial ingredient in empanada filling). 🙂 Peas are a great substitute for raisins if you dislike them.

Nutritional information

Calories: 258kcal - Carbohydrates: 13g - Protein: 27g - Fat: 11g - Saturated Fat: 3g - Cholesterol: 70mg - Sodium: 862mg - Potassium: 844mg - Fiber: 3g - Sugar:3g - Vitamin A: 2450 IU - Vitamin C: 37.6mg - Calcium: 45mg - Iron: 5.1mg

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FAQs

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