Our Cuban Picadillo recipe made with minced beef is super easy to make and tastes so good! It’ll be your next favourite family dinner idea!
Easy recipe for Picadillo
Cuban inspired Picadillo is one of my new favourite family dinner recipes to cook. Although not strictly authentic… I do bang our Picadillo in the oven to cook so I can get on with other things and I think it makes it taste extra nice! Way better than stove top cooking.
A Cuban Picadillo is like a flavoursome more exotic version of a Lancashire Potato Hash. A super easy beef mince recipe, slowly simmered beef mince in a richly fragrant but mild tomato sauce with olives, peppers, onions and potatoes.
It’s a nice cheap family meal, easy to make, packed with flavour and easy to bulk up should you need to feed more people.
Cuban Picadillo Ingredients
To make our easy ground beef recipe idea you will need…
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion – peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic – peeled and diced
- 500g minced beef – choose a lean pack, go for low fat content
- 1 red pepper – diced
- 1 yellow pepper – diced
- 50g raisins
- 100g green olives stuffed with pimentos
- 2 tbs capers
- Knorr stock pot – I use the rich beef variety
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 medium potatoes – peeled and diced into bitesized pieces
- 150ml red wine – an authentic Picadillo recipe contains white wine but I prefer red – you can just suit yourself
- 200ml boiling water
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of salt and black pepper
How to make Cuban Picadillo
To make our Cuban style Picadillo just follow this simple method…
- To make our Cuban Beef Picadillo recipe first heat the oven to 180C.
- Next add the minced beef, onions and garlic to a large oven proof skillet style pan with a lid. Sauté the mince and onions until the mince starts to brown
- Then add the stock pot, ground cumin and dried oregano and stir it into the browned minced beef and onions.
- Next, add the potatoes, tomatoes, capers, diced peppers, olives, raisins and pour over the red wine.
- Mix everything together and pour over 200ml of boiling water. Season with salt and pepper, mix again and then cook in the oven on 180C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
How to thicken a stew with cornflour
When you remove your stew from the oven and stir it up, you may find it needs thickening. You can do this easily using cornflour.
- add 2 tsp of cornflour to a small cup or bowl.
- add in 2 tbs of water and mix the cornflour into a paste
- pour this paste into the stew, mix well and cook for a few minutes until the stew is thicker.
- you can repeat this if required until the stew is as thick as you’d like it to be
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Secrets to making a better Picadillo
As with all recipes, I think the secret to making it taste good is to make sure it has things in that you love to eat! So if there’s an ingredient in our recipe that you don’t like – then leave it out. Want to add a little extra something to the dish – feel free!
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Make Picadillo gluten free
This is a simple recipe to switch to gluten free – just be sure to use gluten free stock cubes, gluten free cornflour and that any products you include are gluten free.
When serving Picadillo opt to serve it with gluten free rice or even baked potatoes.
Loads more delicious, easy beef recipes right here.
Vegetarian Picadillo recipe
You can easily switch up our Picadillo recipe to be vegetarian or vegan. Swap the minced beef for either plant based mince meat substitutes or as I prefer – make it using canned lentils and add an extra can of chopped tomatoes. And omit the beef stock pot – try a vegetarian stock pot in it’s place.
What goes good with Picadillo?
Our Cuban Picadillo with potatoes is one of our family favourite meals and it’s so easy to serve alongside lots of different side dishes – try…
- Plain boiled rice
- French fries
- Stuff the Picadillo into wraps and add some shredded lettuce and cabbage
- Corn cobs
- Mashed potatoes
- Polenta
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Stove top Method for Picadillo
You can make Picadillo in a pan on the hob – I just prefer to oven cook it. However if you make it on the hob it does tend to be ready faster – just follow all the steps in the recipe above and then leave the Picadillo to simmer for around 30-45 minutes with the lid slightly ajar.
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Can I make Picadillo in the slow cooker?
Yes – absolutely you can make Cuban Picadillo slow cooker style. It’s a really easy beef mince recipe to make in the slow cooker.
When cooking this in the slow cooker it’s a dump recipe – you don’t need to brown meat or sauté anything – just add all the ingredients to the slow cooker – with the exception of the water – don’t add that.
Cooking in the slow cooker you won’t need any added water. Cook the Picadillo on low for around 8 hours.
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More great beef mince recipes I think you’ll LOVE!
I’m a mum-cook at heart, and when cooking for a family a beef mince recipe makes an appearance at least once a week on the dinner table!
Get lots more delicious, healthy kid friendly recipes here
- Lancashire Potato Hash – a classic Northern recipe of minced beef, potatoes, carrots and onions in a rich tasty gravy. Serve alongside pickled red cabbage or pickled beetroot and buttered bread for an old school Northern treat!
- Mexican Cottage Pie – oooooohhhhh we gave cottage pie a makeover, mixed it with chilli con carne, topped with CHEESY NACHO MASH and finished it off in the oven. You *need* this on your plate!
- Quick Chilli Con Carne with Baked Beans – kids just LOVE baked beans, and using them in place of kidney beans makes our chilli recipe a whole lot more child-friendly. This tea time favourite can be on the table and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes
- Beef Mince Curry – a flavourful, quick and easy keema mince recipe that’s great for weeknight dinner – ready in just 30 minutes!
Get loads more easy dinner recipes here
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Cuban Picadillo Recipe
Easy, tasty family dinner recipe with a little bit of Cuban flair.
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion - peeled and diced
- 3 cloves of garlic - peeled and finely chopped
- 500g minced beef
- 1 red pepper - diced
- 1 yellow pepper - diced
- 50g raisins
- 100g green olives stuffed with pimentos
- 2 tbs capers
- 1 Knorr stock pot - rich beef variety
- 400g tin tomatoes
- 2 medium potatoes - peeled and diced
- 150ml red wine
- 200ml boiling water
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180C.
- Add the olive oil, minced beef, onions and garlic to a large oven proof skillet style pan with a lid. Sauté the mince and onions until the mince starts to brown
- Then add the stock pot, ground cumin and dried oregano and stir it into the browned minced beef and onions.
- Next add the potatoes, tomatoes, capers, diced peppers, olives, raisins and pour over the red wine.
- Mix everything together and pour over 200ml of boiling water. Season with salt and pepper, mix again and then cook in the oven on 180C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Notes
If the Picadillo needs thickening once cooked do this by mixing a paste from a couple of tsp cornflour mixed with cold water - stirred through the stew and heated through.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 701Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 764mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 7gSugar: 15gProtein: 46g
Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.
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