This Mexican picadillo recipe is an easy, warm and comforting Mexican dish made from ground beef and potatoes cooked in a flavorful tomato based sauce. Great in tacos, gorditas and tostadas!
Table of Contents
On nights when I’m not quite sure what to make for dinner, this picadillo recipe comes to the rescue!
What is picadillo?
Picadillo is a Latin American dish made from ground beef, potatoes and some type of tomato sauce mixture. Every country and region has its own unique variation on the meal (for example, the very popular Cuban picadillo is made with olives and raisins), but today I’m going to share the way my family has always made it!
(Just for context, my family is from the central/northern part of Mexico in the state of Zacatecas.)
How to make Picadillo
1. Make the sauce: Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, a jalapeno pepper, oregano, cumin, salt and some water to a large blender, then puree until smooth and set aside.
2. Cook the meat and vegetables: Cook the ground beef in a large skillet with some diced onions until the meat is lightly browned. Add the potatoes, carrots, and peas and cook for 5 minutes, then add the pureed tomato sauce mixture, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Reduce and thicken: Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes to help the sauce reduce a bit and get the flavors concentrated. When the potatoes and carrots and tender and soft, it’s ready!
Variations and substitutions
- Give it a healthy twist by substituting ground turkey for the ground beef.
- Use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes to add a subtle sweetness.
- Try green beans in place of the peas to switch things up!
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t be afraid of salt. The salt helps to bring out the flavors of the tomato sauce mixture and really makes the meat and potatoes one big happy family.
- Taste as you go. Add another jalapeno or more salt in the sauce if needed. The spice level of jalapenos can vary so much, from not spicy at all to insanely fiery, so take a little teeny bite and testing it out. Also make sure you don’t over-salt – your tastebuds will thank you for that.
- If the meat starts to get dry during the cooking process (when the lid is removed), add 1/4 cup of water to keep it moist and continue cooking.
Serving Suggestions
Recently I served this beef picadillo with some white rice that I had in the fridge, but there are plenty of other ways to eat it. Here are a few suggestions:
- with mexican rice
- in homemade beef empanadas or air fryer beef empanadas
- stuffed inside gorditas
- served on top of sopes or huaraches
- with homemade flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or tortilla chips
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 4 plum tomatoes, quartered
- ½ medium onion (white or yellow)
- ½ cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, stem removed (seeds if you don't want it spicy)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
For the meat
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ medium onion, diced (white or yellow)
- 1 pound ground beef
- salt, to taste
- 1 medium white potato, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- ¼ cup frozen peas
Instructions
For the sauce
- Add all sauce ingredients in a large blender and puree until smooth. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Set aside.At this point, I also like to make sure the spice level is to my liking. If it's not spicy enough for me, I'll half a jalapeno, blend and adjust until it's perfect.
For the meat
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cooking oil, onion, ground beef and a generous pinch of salt. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into smaller chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, until beef is lightly browned.
- Add the potatoes, carrots and peas. Mix together with the meat and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the pureed sauce to the skillet, mix together and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are soft and tender. If the meat starts to get dry, add in 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking.
- Remove from heat, taste and season with more salt if necessary. (I always tend to add another generous pinch or two of salt at this step.)
- Serve with mexican rice, in tacos, gorditas, sopes, on tostadas or on it's own in a bowl.
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
I love this recipe and so easy to make alway make my Mexican rice to go with it thank you.
My mom has made picadillo for our family as we grew up and still prepares it now in her nineties! It’s always been a favorite. Same recipe except she adds one bay leaf. Delicious with homemade flour tortillas 👍
Thank you so much for sharing!
Tried this recipe and kinda felt lost after adding the carrots and potatoes I felt that the cook time for the potatoes and carrots left them undercooked. Had I had known that I would have followed them in a separate pan before adding them to the meat. :/
You can try using the canned veggies 🙂 I haven’t made this in a while but I used canned and that’s how my mom made it for me when I was younger. Less to prep and ready to eat!
Thank you for the tip Rocio!
I kick this recipe up a notch. Instead of hamburger I used chorizo. I also substituted frozen peas for corn and I took out the carrots. Any leftovers I made burritos. It really turn out great my husband loves this recipe.