Easy beef picadillo. A delicious, easy to make one skillet dinner. Juicy ground beef studded with bell peppers, potatoes and generously spiced. It’s meaty, slightly spicy and so irresistibly comforting. Serve with some rice and tortillas for a complete meal.
This quick and easy dinner comes together with minimal ingredients. It’s super hearty and bursts with flavor. A dish that’s certain to please everyone at the table. Plus, it’s truly versatile, it tastes just as great spooned over a bowl of cauliflower rice or tucked inside wraps. You’ll love it!
It’s fast and simple, made in one skillet, and is very comforting. On top of all that, it uses pantry staples, which makes it a budget-friendly dinner option.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
WHAT DO YOU SERVE PICADILLO WITH?
Picadillo recipes are often served with white or brown rice, but also with a side of warm tortillas.
If you want to keep this low carb or grain free, you can serve it with cauliflower rice.
We love to eat it with a carrot salad or a creamy cucumber salad on the side.
Everything You’ll Need to Make Picadillo
- Ground Beef: I used lean ground beef. If you’re not into beef or don’t have it on hand, use ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Bell peppers: We use two different kinds, red and green.
- Potatoes: You can use any type of starchy potato. But for best result, Russets are the way to go. They’re dry, soft, fluffy and don’t fall apart. If you don’t have Russet potatoes replace them with Yukon or red potatoes.
- Onion and Garlic: Can you even cook anything without onions and garlic?
- Corn kernels: I love the sweet bite of corn kernels, but you can omit them or swap for beans.
- Seasoning: Generously spiced with cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, sweet paprika and smoky chipotle peppers.
- Tomato paste: Creates the base for our sauce.
- Beef broth: You can substitute it with chicken broth.
RECIPE NOTES
- Toppings: fresh cilantro leaves, jalapeños, scallions.
- You can swap tomato paste for chopped fresh tomatoes.
- Add more veggies like carrots.
- Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
- Make ahead: You can easily make it 2 days ahead of serving.
- Freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
TRY THESE NEXT
Cooking Video
Easy Beef Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 bell peppers, red and green
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.1 pounds/500 g ground beef
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 ounces/140 g corn kernels
- 13 ounces/360 g potatoes, diced
- 2 cups500 ml beef broth
Spices
- 1 tsp each: salt, black pepper, dried oregano, ground coriander, sweet paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp chipotle pepper flakes, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Get your prep done before you start cooking. Peel and dice the potatoes. Deseed and chop the bell peppers. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic cloves.
- Heat oil and butter over medium in a large heavy bottomed pot or skillet. Add bell peppers, cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir in spices.
- Add ground beef and break up into pieces. Cook until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, then add corn kernels and potatoes. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil. Cook for about 2O minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through. Taste and season with more black pepper and salt.
- Top with jalapeños, serve with rice and warm tortillas. Enjoy!
Notes
Calories Per Serving: 486 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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