Cuban Style Picadillo

This Cuban Style Picadillo will take you to the islands with its sweet, tangy, and savory flavors wrapped up in one dish! One bite of this traditional Latin American dish will keep you wanting more and more. Packed with savory flavor from the meat, tomatoes, and onions, tanginess from the red wine vinegar, brininess from Spanish olives, and that touch of sweetness from raisins! Serve this with rice and black beans and a side of fried plantains or bananas for an authentic meal you and your family and friends will love!

What Is Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional Latin American dish that varies a bit from place to place depending on the local ingredients. It typically uses ground beef, tomatoes, and spices such as cumin and others. You pretty much will always find Spanish olives and raisins in it as well, and some vinegar, usually red wine vinegar. You’ll find other ingredients depending on the different variations, regional ingredients, and family traditions.

Picadillo is very popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The main difference between the two is the Puerto Rican version uses sofrito, a common sauce purée used in Caribbean food that consists of tomatoes, pepper, onions, garlic, cilantro, and various seasonings.

My Cuban Style Picadillo

Living here in Florida there are thousands of different versions of all sorts of Cuban food. I’ve had some amazing Picadillos and I’ve see some unique versions as well, with some out of the ordinary ingredients. But, hey! If everything was the same, that would just be boring. We need variety. It is the spice of life!

This Cuban Style Picadillo that I make is so delicious! There’s a really awesome Cuban place near me that has this amazing lunch buffet. And, of course, they have Picadillo. One of my favorites, actually. So I tried to mimic theirs with my own spin. Mine is close, and I believe (and so does my family) that this one is better!

Picadillo Ingredients

The ingredients for my Cuban Style Picadillo are mostly regular pantry items most people have on hand and are easy to find at standard grocery stores.

• Ground Beef
• Olive Oil
• Sweet Onion
• Garlic Cloves
• Bay Leaves
• Petite Diced Tomatoes
• Spanish Olives
• Raisins
• Tomato Paste
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Ground Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Meat: I absolutely love making this with ground chicken and turkey! So don’t be afraid to try something different!

Sweet Onion: a Vidalia would work best or you can use  a regular yellow onion

Diced Tomatoes: you can certainly use fresh tomatoes

Olives and Raisins: I like more olives and less raisins, but you can play around with the measurements on those. Many times I make it without raisins.

Cooking Instructions for Cuban Style Picadillo

Cooking this Cuban Style Picadillo couldn’t be easier. Here’s what to do:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they are translucent. This is called “sweating”. You don’t want them to turn brown.
2. Add the ground beef and cook through until there is no more pink. Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef while cooking. Drain the excess grease.
3. Stir in the garlic and bay leaves. Cook for about 2 more minutes to cook the garlic.
4. Next, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often. Season with a pinch of salt. Cooking tomato paste will make it taste sweeter.
5. Add the red wine vinegar, cumin, and chili powder and stir in. Add in the diced tomatoes and warm through, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir in the olives and raisins and heat them up, about 2 minutes.
7. Serve with black beans and rice. You can either remove the bay leaves prior to serving, or just be watchful and remove them as you serve the individual portions.

Picadillo Empanadas

I often use this Picadillo recipe as my empanada filling. It is so amazing! I will usually leave out, or even pick out, the raisins. I think the sweetness is a little much, but my wife and kids love it as is. So try it out!

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Other Amazing Recipes That You’ll Love!

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5 from 1 vote

Print

Cuban Style Picadillo

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Caribbean, Cuban, Puerto Rican

Keyword Cuban, latin food, picadillo, puerto rican

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 large Sweet Onion, diced
• 8 cloves Garlic, minced
• 6-8 Bay Leaves
• 1 14.5 ounce Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 1 cup Spanish Olives, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup Raisins
• 1/4 cup Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they are translucent.

2. Add the ground beef and cook through until there is no more pink. Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef while cooking. Drain the excess grease.

3. Stir in the garlic and bay leaves. Cook for about 2 more minutes to cook the garlic.

4. Next, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Season with a pinch of salt. Cooking tomato paste will make it taste sweeter.

5. Add the red wine vinegar, cumin, and chili powder and stir in. Add in the diced tomatoes and warm through, about 2-3 minutes.

6. Stir in the olives and raisins and heat them up, about 2 minutes.

7. Serve with black beans and rice. You can either remove the bay leaves prior to serving, or just be watchful and remove them as you serve the individual portions.