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This picadillo recipe is an easy, warm, and comforting Mexican dish made from ground beef, potatoes, and vegetables cooked in a flavorful tomato-based sauce. Great in tacos, gorditas, or served with rice and beans!
On nights when I’m unsure what to make for dinner, this picadillo recipe comes to the rescue!
What Is Picadillo?
Picadillo is a Latin American dish made from ground beef, potatoes, and a tomato sauce mixture. Every country and region has its own unique variation on the meal (for example, the very popular Cuban picadillo is made with olives and raisins), but today I’m going to share the way my family has always made it!
For context, my family is from the central/northern part of Mexico in the state of Zacatecas.
Ingredients in Picadillo
- Meat: Ground beef is what is traditionally used, but you could also use ground chicken or turkey if you prefer.
- Vegetables: You’ll need carrots, frozen peas, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes.
- Pepper: I used a jalapeño for a milder spice level, but you could also use a serrano pepper for more heat.
- Seasonings: I used a mix of dried Mexican oregano, kosher salt, ground cumin, and garlic.
How to Make Picadillo
Make the sauce. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeño pepper, oregano, cumin, salt, and some water to a large blender, then puree until smooth and set aside.
Cook the meat and veggies. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet with some diced onions until the meat is lightly browned. Add the diced potatoes, diced carrots, and cook for 5 minutes, then add the blended tomato sauce mixture, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
Thicken and serve. Uncover, cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the frozen peas. It’s ready when the potatoes and carrots are tender and soft!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t be afraid of salt. The salt helps bring out the flavors of the tomato sauce mixture and makes the meat and potatoes one big happy family.
- Taste as you go. Add another jalapeño or more salt in the sauce if needed. The spice level of jalapeños can vary from not spicy to extremely fiery, so take a small bite and test it out.
- If the meat starts to dry out during the cooking process, add ¼ cup of water to keep it moist and continue cooking.
Serving Suggestions
I recently served this beef picadillo with some leftover cilantro lime rice I had in the fridge, but there are plenty of other ways to eat it. Here are a few suggestions:
Variations
- Give it a healthy twist by substituting ground turkey or chicken for ground beef.
- Use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes to add a subtle sweetness.
- Try green beans in place of peas to switch things up!
Storage
Leftover picadillo can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can also store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat from either method, simply toss it in a pan and heat it!
More Easy Dinners
Mexican Picadillo
Ingredients
- 4 small-medium Roma tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño pepper stemmed*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium russet potato, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- ½ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the tomatoes, ½ of the diced onion, water, garlic, jalapeño pepper, ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt, Mexican oregano, cumin, and water. Blend until completely smooth.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining ½ of the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the ground beef and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Cook for 6 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain and discard any excess grease if necessary.
- Stir in the potatoes and carrots and cook for 5 more minutes. Pour in the pureed tomato mixture and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender. If the meat starts to get dry, add in ¼ cup of water and continue cooking.
- Taste and season with more salt as needed.
Video
Notes
- Jalapeño: You can remove the seeds if you don’t want it spicy, or you can completely omit the jalapeño for no spice at all.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photos by Erin Jensen of The Wooden Skillet.
Just like my dad used to make it! And I am old so that is saying something! My family inhales this when I make it! I used lots of onions, tomatos, veggies, 3 potatoes, and garlic salt! It comes out chunky over white rice with peas and carrots.
I make my picadillo completely different is more like soup and I use tomillo instead and with some Mexican rice, I will try yours and probably be another recipe more in my menu.
Thank you for sharing
I just lost my paternal grandmother last week and my maternal grandmother about two years ago. My maternal grandmother used to make piccadilly like this – except she added picked instead of the carrots! Yum…thank you for sharing this recipe. I have this sudden urge to make all the dishes both grandmothers used to make.
Loved this version of picadillo. The carrots and peas gave a nice twist added additional jalapeno for extra kick YUM
I’m so happy you loved it, Todd. Thank you!
I loved this recipe! It turned out as delicious as my mother’s picadillo! I highly recommend it!
BTW, I’m very picky when it comes to Mexican recipes since I grew up in Mexico and my mom is an excellent cook.
I’m so happy you liked it. Thank you so much!
I made this recipe last night! It was YUM!!
I made a few substitutions because I did not want to go to the grocery store after work…
Instead of the fresh tomatoes and jalapeno (picky eaters at my house, so not a lot of fresh veggies live in my frig), I used a can of rotel and then added spice with ground red cayenne pepper, and I did not add the carrots or peas. I am not one to measure, but I know I added way more cumin than the recipe called for as I love cumin!!
I did over salt a little, but I am known to do that 🙁
My husband liked it, but I LOVED it!! We are empty-nesters, so no kid-tested approval yet!!
Great recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Aw I’m so happy you two loved it! And it’s good to know that it’s still good with rotel – it also works in a pinch!
I made this for dinner tonight and my 2 picky eaters loved it. They are generally suspicious of vegetables, so I blended the carrot in with the sauce and left out the peas. It was delicious! Thank you!
Blending the carrots in is such a great idea. Genius! So happy you liked it 🙂
What can be used to flavor this besides cumin. I don’t like the taste of just cumin. Would a pkg of taco seasoning mix work? This looks very delicious!
I would just leave the cumin out, but taco seasoning could worth. It’s worth a shot!
Hi, I made this recipe and everyone loved it! My son ate it 3 nights in a row. It’s a keeper!
Yes! That’s so great to hear!
I learned to make this in Northern Mexico when we lived in Monterrey. This is nearly the same as my friend taught me, but we used leftover salsa or pico de gallo for the tomato sauce. And no peas, so I’ll have to try that timeouts when I make it! Picadillo is my favorite comfort food from Mexico, and I use it now back in Michigan for tacos, grilled burritos, and even as the base layer for shepherds pie!
Timeouts =tomorrow, sorry.
Nice! Yep, I love it as the base of so many foods like tacos and gorditas too 🙂