Picadillo Cubano is a simple, but satisfying popular Cuban dish. I like it because it's easy to prepare and tastes brilliant.
What is Picadillo Cubano?
It's one of the most popular Cuban dishes. There are different variations and recipes, but it's basically a dish made with ground beef, vegetables and spices. Some cooks add stuffed olives, capers, potatoes and raisins to their picadillo. I learned to make this dish from my uncle's wife in Miami. She's from Cuba and this is the way her family make it.
What do I Serve with This?
The flavors of this dish are incredibly intense and rich. You'll just have to go and make it yourself to see what I mean. You'll love every bite of this dish, I promise.
I like to serve my picadillo with white rice to soak the delicious sauce, plantains and avocado.
What you Need to Make Picadillo Cubano
You'll find the printable recipe card with exact amounts and directions below.
Oil: I like to use olive oil.
Ground Beef: You can use any ground meat with the fat percentage that you prefer.
Spices: ground cumin, ground oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
Vegetables: onion, green bell pepper and garlic.
Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste: add sweetness and body to the dish.
White wine: Use your favorite or replace it with beef broth if you don't want to use wine.
Stuffed Spanish Olives: they add amazing flavor to this recipe.
Raisins: If you don't like them just omit it.
How to Make this Dish
In a large sauce pan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
Add the beef and brown, stirring occasionally, then add the cumin, oregano, bay leaf, onion, bell pepper, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes more.
Add the tomato sauce, white wine, olives and raisins. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
Remove the bay leaf and serve over plain white rice.
More Beef Dishes to Try
Carne Desmechada (Shredded Beef)
Sudado de Carne de Res (Beef Stew)
Bistec a la Criolla (Creole Steak)
Bistec Encebollado (Steak with Onion Sauce)
Picadillo Cubano Recipe (Cuban Ground Beef Dish)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of ground oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves crushed
- Salt and pepper to your taste
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 cup of white wine
- ½ cup of stuffed Spanish olives cut in half
- ⅓ cup of raisins
Instructions
- Place a large sauce pan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the beef and brown, stirring occasionally, then add the cumin, oregano, bay leaf, onion, bell pepper, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes more.
- Add the tomato sauce, white wine, olives and raisins. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove the bay leaf and serve over plain white rice.
Chris
This may be simple but it sounds so delicious! Great post Erica.
Lori
Not all Cubans put raisins in their Picadillo. It depended on what area of Cuba one was from. Some others would cut up potatoes like french fries & then dice them and fries them.and too the Picadillo & Rice with the Little Fries!
Brian
When is the tomato paste added?
Anonymous
Item 3 10 minutes after item 2
Jenn and Seth (@HomeSkilletCook)
i have some leftover ground beef from our 4th of july party - and now i know what to do with it 🙂 sounds so tasty!
Amber @ The Cook's Sister
What an interesting combination of flavours! I would not have thought to combine olives and raisins in the same dish. Looks fantastic!
Miriam
All of the flavors in this make it magical 🙂
Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
Belinda @zomppa
Brilliant is a great description.
Ana
This is exactly like my mother's recipe.
Brandy
Do you think I could throw all of this in a crockpot for a couple hours & really let the flavors meld? Sounds yummy!
Erica
Great idea!
Ricardo
I think letting the flavors (and textures) meld would detract from all the variety of tart and sweet and spicy and acidic and starchy. Yum!
Juliana
Wow Erica, such a tasty dish...
Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Joanne
I've made a vegetarian version of picadillo before with lentils instead of beef! Love the flavor profile.
Ang
You can also use soyrizo and vegan ground beef
Diane
love this recipe! especially with yellow rice and black beans!
Joanne, thanks for the lentil version
Heydel
Diane, I see people say things like that all the time but, in Cuba we never mix yellow rice with beans. We found that kind of weird. just FYI. thnx
Jen
Made this yesterday. It is TO DIE FOR!!!
Norma-Platanos, Mangoes and Me!
I also use it for empanadas....love your version...
Salazar
Hola Erica - Lo prepare anoche, quedo delicioso. Muchas gracias por estas recetas.
Anne
I learned how to make picadillo from my Cuban college roommate back in the 60s. I'd forgotten how good it is and made it for dinner tonight. Big hit and great recipe.
Veronica
I made it the other day and it was supper good!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
Anonymous
where is the tomato paste in the recipe?
Susan
Ang
Add it with the tomato sauce and wine
Rose
I didn't have raisins or olives but made the recipe with the remaining ingredients. My husband loved it! He had a second helping and then packed the leftovers for lunch the next day. Thank you for sharing!
Ruby Hume
This is delicious. I've made it so many times with Arroz con Coco, avocado and sweet plantains or patacones. Uhmmmm.... just like my Mom's.
Miriam
Hello Erica,
I have been looking for something like this recipe for ages! thank you!
could you please clarify; stuffed olives- what are they stuffed with (is it pimiento rojo) and also the tomato sauce - do you mean ketchup or is it liquidized tomato or tomate frito?
Many thanks and looking forward to trying this recipe
Miriam xx
Erica Dinho
Green olives stuffed with pimento and it's not ketchup.....you can find tomato sauce next to canned tomatoes at the grocery store.
Julie warner
I would like to try this recipe but I don't have the wine can you use beef broth and serve the wine? Thanks Julie
Erica Dinho
Yes.
Ashley
You can also make it all with out white wine. I grew up knowing my grandparents never use white wine in the traditional Cuban style Picadillo good luck with it. 🙂
Richard
Very good, no white wine decided to mix red wine and water. Add 1 tbs of capers . Too good, trop bon
Elizabeth Innaco
I read all the reviews but I was wondering after you saute olive oil with the ground beef do you drain the excess oil out from the
ground beef? If not won't it taste greasy?? Would love to make this
recipe, will wait for your reply first.
Thank you
Richard
I ground my beef so I use only extra lean beef.
Chris
I thought it might as well. It tasted fantastic without draining and I used 80% lean ground beef. Certainly its higher in fat, but its the carbs that get you in trouble no? 😉
Whatever the case it did not seem overly fatty/oily to me, especially when served over rice. Just rich and deeply flavorful with a much subtler meld of tastes than I would expect from ingredients like green olives and raisins.
Victoria
Why raisins?feeding finicky eaters...if they can see the raisins, may get wierd-ed out?
Zandra
I grew up on this since I'm Cuban. But the only thing I leave out are the raisins, Not a fan.
Kristen
This might be stupid but when do I put the tomato paste in?
Richard
Step 3
Chuck
Very delicious meal..thanks for sharing it tool me back to Miami where I used to get this meal frequently from Cuban restaurant's and the taste was spot on!
Ajit
very nice recipe.
great idea!
LKCooker
I found it rather bland and tripled or more the cumin, oregano and pepper. The best bites are the ones with a combo of olives and raisins, so don't skimp.
Sue
Attracted to the recipe because of the green olives which I love and am always looking to use in cooking. I hesitated and decided to cut the recipe in half since I was just cooking for hubby and me. Problem was I forgot to halve the tomato sauce and wine. I left it simmering uncovered until the extra liquid reduced and it was wonderful! We ate it with cauliflower rice (we are watching carbs) and black beans and it was delicious!
Jorge Como
Used to eat it growing up my Cuban born stepfather used to make it sometimes and other times mofongo or black beans and rice mixed or separate
Jakub
Is there a possibility that I could make this and it still turn out great if I skip the wine, and sub the tomato paste for ketchup? I ran it by my food safety & nutrition teacher who said it would probably still be good but she's also never made it.
Jorge Como
Just looked up a meal to make using groundbeef following directions but missing bayleaf and white wine but making up for it except bl put some a shot of hot damn and a corner of Hennessey to make up for wine tastes good and hot waiting for the white rice to get done
Karma
Picadillo is one of my favorite dishes. But I have a question: I’ve looked at the directions and can’t see this anywhere. What is the tablespoon of tomato paste for?
Janice Hull
This was a smashing hit with my family. I omitted the raisins, not much of a raisin person. I shared some with my coworkers and everyone wanted the recipe.
Rosemary
Could you use yellow raisins instead of dark?
Cathy
Delicious recipe and a family hit (kids normally don't eat anything with onions and peppers). This is also a great empanada filling with cheese, ah-mazing!!!
Rocky Butler
Thanks for the recipe, just started cooking because of the covid virus. Can no longer take wife out for Friday night. So I guess it's up to me to make something happen. This meal worked out great, I and everyone else no loved it ...
Vivian
Have someone who cannot have rice. could I sub.
Orzo or egg noodles instead?
Erica Dinho
Yes
K
My friend with Cuban parents got me eating this! Their recipe adds a chopped tart apple and a pinch of thyme. And I add sliced black olives (Kalamata when I can find them. I make nachos, tacos or quesadillas with it. It's always a huge hit!
Thank you!
Amber
This turned out great! I was craving picadillo and this came out exactly like what I was looking for. As for the salt & pepper “to taste” I used 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and it was perfect. My fiancé said it was delicious as well. It’s just the two of us but I am SO glad that we have leftovers haha. Thank you!
Taharra
Can I add diced potatoes to it?
Erica Dinho
Yes
Samantha
Fantastic! I visited Cuba a few years ago and have since dreamed about all the amazing food I had while I was there. I went on a search to find something that might help my cravings and found this recipe! It is now my favorite meal and my family requests it constantly. The flavors are incredible. We use beef broth instead of wine because my son doesn’t love it with the wine (darn kids) and it’s still just as tasty! Thank you for this recipe.
Roxanne Brackley
My family and I are absolutely addicted to this meal! Not one complaint or thought on adding/subtracting an ingredient. This is definitely a keeper and made very often. Thank you so very much for this great recipe!