Picadillo Recipe

Picadillo is a dish with ground meat, tomato, potato, and carrots as basic ingredients. This is usually cooked using ground beef and/or ground pork, depending on the country of origin of the recipe. This Picadillo version that I am sharing today makes use of the basic ingredients. I also added green peas and Manzanilla olives to make it look and taste better.

I have been enjoying Filipino Picadillo since I was a child. It is simple and delicious. As I was growing-up, I learned that it is also easy to cook.

There are  several ways to enjoy it. The most common is to eat Picadillo with warm white rice. You can have a small saucer with patis (fish sauce) and crushed chili on the side to even boost your appetite. This can also be used as a stuffing for empanadas. I just shared a recipe for pork emapanda, and the stuffing looks similar to this dish. Another way is to have the leftover for breakfast, with toast.

Sometimes, it is practical to cook a large amount of Picadillo and keep it in the fridge or freezer for future use. If you are bringing your own lunch to work, or your kids prefer home-cooked meals for lunch at school, then I suggest to make enough portions in advance. It also works best when you suddenly get hungry, there will always be something sitting in the fridge to devour-on.

Try this Picadillo Recipe. Let me know what you think.

Ground meat, potatoes, carrots, olives, and peas come together to form beef picadillo –– a hearty, filling, and absolutely delicious dish you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home! 

What is Picadillo?

You might notice that Picadillo looks similar to giniling –– and you’d be right. Seeing as giniling’s direct translation is actually ground meat of any kind, you wouldn’t be wrong in saying that giniling plays a primary role in making picadillo. However, the giniling we’re familiar with tends to make use of pork rather than beef –– wherein in picadillo, we use the latter. You can also view picadillo as a slightly drier version of the saucy giniling we’re used to.

When we’re kids, most of us prefer going out and dining in at restaurants to enjoying meals at home. But as we grow older we start to appreciate a nice warm home-cooked meal more and more. This happens especially when we start living alone, or away from our parents. By cooking dishes like beef picadillo, you’re able to bring back memories of warmth, comfort, and family. Simple but delicious, picadillo can invoke a number of different emotions that you can savor in one perfect bite.

How to Cook Picadillo

Let’s cook beef picadillo together! Beforehand, let’s prepare all of our ingredients. Mince 1 medium sized yellow onion, as well as 4 cloves of garlic. Cube 1 medium baking potato, and 2 medium sized carrots. Be sure to thaw your frozen peas –– you’ll need ¾ cup of those. 

Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of cooking oil in a cooking pot. Once it heats up, add in the onion and garlic you minced prior. Sauté both of these ingredients in your pot until the latter softens and becomes semi translucent. Around this time, add in 1 ½ lbs. of ground beef, but pour it in at a gradual pace. Sauté and stir your dish around until you have a light brown color on your beef.

Then, it’s time to pour in your diced tomato, 1 cup of beef broth, and half a cup of raisins. Stir your beef picadillo mix until you’ve brought it to a boil –– at which point you should cover it and let it cook on its own. This should take about 15 minutes.

Once your 15 minutes are up, add your other ingredients: olives, carrots, potatoes, and green peas. Stir your beef picadillo to ensure that you’ve incorporated all of the scrumptious ingredients. When you’re satisfied, cover the pot once more and let it cook for an additional 12 minutes.

Season your beef picadillo with salt and ground black pepper to taste; then, cook it 3 minutes longer. Once that time is up, turn the heat off the stove and transfer your dish to a serving plate. With a nice plate of veggies and warm, steamed rice beside it, you’ve created the perfect comfort meal!

Serve the beef picadillo to the rest of your family, and share and enjoy! Let us know what you think of this great recipe.

More easy ground meat recipes for you

If you enjoyed cooking with ground beef in this picadillo, you’ll definitely enjoy these other recipes. Try them out and let us know what you think, too.

Sauteed Green Beans with Ground Beef

Beef Picadillo has proven that you don’t need an overly fancy or frilly meal in order to enjoy eating. With just the right and freshest ingredients, you can make something great in little to no time. This is a lesson you may also learn when you cook these sauteed green beans with ground beef! Simple but delightful, ground beef is a helpful addition to the nutritious and refreshing flavors of fresh green beans. While this recipe calls for Napa cabbage, you may also add oyster mushrooms or tofu in order to diversify your flavor palate. Different kinds of cabbage, like the regular green or Savoy cabbage, will also do.

Ground Beef Omelet

Are you a morning person? Breakfast is arguably one of the most important meals of the day, as it’s meant to fill you up and energize you for the day to come. While some people enjoy a light breakfast, if you’re like me you’d want something a little more filling. Enter this ground beef omelet –– savory and hearty, it’s enough to power you through the first parts of your day! The best thing about an omelet is that its recipe is completely according to your preference. Whether you want just the ground beef or to add additional ingredients (cheese, tomatoes –– maybe even bacon?) is wholly up to you! What matters is that you have a great breakfast to kickstart your morning. And the best part? –– you can actually have ground beef omelet any time of day, too!

Misua with Ground Beef and Zucchini Soup

Once summer is over, the rainy season will come in once again and we’ll be spending many cold nights at home, curling up with a book and a cardigan. During days like these, we tend to start craving soup dishes to warm up our systems. The first “ah” that leaves our mouths after taking that first bite or sip? Truly divine. For the upcoming windy and rainy season, I recommend this Misua with Ground Beef and Zucchini Soup. 

For those who aren’t familiar, Misua refers to a kind of noodles –– Chinese vermicelli, to be more specific. The great thing about misua is that it is a meal on its own, without the need for rice or any other carb. Quail eggs, zucchini, green onions, and of course ground beef come together to form an altogether soothing soup for the soul. This misua is wonderful with kids and adults alike, and will be a surefire hit at your dining table.