Difficulty Level: moderate
If you’re looking for a weeknight-friendly recipe, this one-skillet Cuban-style picadillo should be added to your to-cook list. It’s a recipe inspired by the classic Cuban comfort-food dish, just made for quick cooking.
It packs in all the ingredients, including ground beef, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, green olives, and raisins. This combination gives it that sweet and salty flavor picadillo is known for.
The reason this recipe is great for busy weeknights is because it can be cooked in under an hour, even with a side of rice or fries. Because everything is cooked in one pan, cleanup is super easy. And despite it being flagged as moderate difficulty, it’s actually easy to cook. It just has several steps, so any home cook can make it. Check out the ingredients and cooking steps below.
Cuban-Style Picadillo Recipe Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, 85% lean
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 small red or green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
- 1/2 cup of dry white wine or low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup of pimento-stuffed green olives, whole or sliced
- 2 tablespoons of olive brine from the jar
- 1 tablespoon of capers, drained
- 1/4 cup of raisins
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Cooked white rice, optional for serving
Cuban-Style Picadillo Recipe Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef and cook for 7 minutes, breaking it apart with a spoon, until browned.
- Drain the grease from the skillet.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and potato. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes so the tomato paste deepens.
- Add the diced tomatoes, wine or broth, Worcestershire sauce, olives, olive brine, capers, and raisins. Stir well.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 18 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Remove the lid and cook for 5 more minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Remove the bay leaves.
- Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Once adjusted, top with parsley and serve warm, either on its own or with white rice.