Picadillo Recipes
The picadillo recipes cooks save most on Pepper — Cuban-style with olives and potatoes, Mexican with beef and potato, empanada filling, and family-recipe skillets served over rice.
★ Lunch
LunchIngredients
- 1 lbs Ground beef
- 1 Onion
- 14 oz Fresh tomato peeled
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Ground cumin
- 1/2 tbsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 20 Olives
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 cup Beef stock
- Splash Balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 chopped Red pepper
- 1/2 chopped Zucchini
- 4 diced Potatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- 1Add the ground beef to a frying pan with the onion and garlic and fry until browned.
- 2Add in the fresh tomatoes and continue to cook until the tomatoes start to break down a little.
- 3Add in the potatoes, cumin, oregano and chile powder and stir to coat.
- 4Add in the peppers, olives, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and stock.
- 5Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and liquid has reduced down. If liquid has not reduced down after this time, heat is too low.
- 6Stir in the zucchini for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
- 7Sprinkle with chopped cilantroand serve with your choice of sides.
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Open in Pepper →Picadillo Is a Frame, Not a Formula
Every top-saved picadillo recipe on Pepper starts with the same base — ground beef, onion, garlic, tomato — and then splits along cultural lines.
Cuban home cooks add olives, raisins, and a splash of vinegar; Mexican cooks add potato and warm spices; Puerto Rican cooks lean on sofrito and sazón.
The recipes here span all three traditions, and none of them require ingredients you can't find at a regular grocery store.
Quick Tips
- 1
Read the whole recipe first
Every top-saved recipe here has one step that trips people up. Reading ahead prevents the scramble.
- 2
Season the beef early
Salting the ground beef the moment it hits the pan draws out flavor and helps it brown instead of steam.
- 3
Rest before serving
Meat improves with a 5-10 minute rest after cooking — juices redistribute and the plate holds together better.
- 4
Taste as you go
The best cooks on Pepper don't follow recipes blindly — they taste, adjust, and season one more time before plating.
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