Cuban Picadillo
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This easy Cuban picadillo recipe is saucy, savory, and packed with flavor, with briny olives and a touch of sweetness from raisins. Serve it over rice for an easy weeknight dinner.
Cuban picadillo is one of those easy, flavor-packed dinners that’s perfect for a busy weeknight. Ground beef simmers in a savory tomato sauce with onions, peppers, warm spices, briny green olives, and raisins, which add little pops of sweetness (trust me on this one!).
My Cuban picadillo recipe uses a method that’s a little different from most: I treat the beef with a touch of baking soda before cooking. It’s a quick extra step, but it makes a big difference in keeping the meat tender and juicy. The result is saucy and deeply flavorful, and the whole thing comes together in one skillet. Spoon it over rice and dinner’s done.
“Fantastic and easy. A keeper!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Cuban Picadillo
- Ground beef: I use 85% lean ground beef, which has enough fat to keep the picadillo tender and flavorful.
- Baking soda & water: A little baking soda mixed with water tenderizes the beef and helps it stay juicy as it simmers in the sauce.
- Olive oil: Used to sauté the vegetables and build the flavor base.
- Onion, green bell pepper & garlic: The aromatic base of the picadillo, adding sweetness and savory depth.
- Spanish-style tomato sauce & beef broth: Tomato sauce forms the base of the sauce, while beef broth thins it to the right consistency and adds savory depth. I use Goya Spanish-style tomato sauce.
- Sazón & cumin: These give the picadillo its warm, savory seasoning. I use Goya Sazón with Coriander and Annatto, but Sazón con Azafrán works too.
- Raisins & green olives: This sweet-and-briny combination is classic in Cuban picadillo. The raisins add little pops of sweetness, while pimento-stuffed green olives provide a salty, briny counterpoint.
- Brown sugar, red wine vinegar & salt: Brown sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes, vinegar brightens the finished sauce, and salt brings all the flavors together.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Cuban Picadillo
Tenderize the beef: Mix the beef with the baking soda and water and let it rest while you prep the remaining ingredients. The baking soda raises the pH of the meat, which helps it retain moisture and stay tender and juicy as it cooks.
Cook the aromatics: Sauté the onion and bell pepper until softened, then add the garlic and cook until frangrant. You want the vegetables tender and aromatic without letting the garlic brown, which can make it bitter.
Simmer the picadillo: Stir in the sauce ingredients, then add the beef in loose clumps rather than breaking it up too finely. This gives the picadillo a nice texture, with tender pieces of beef throughout the sauce. Let everything simmer together, then finish with the red wine vinegar to brighten and balance the savory-sweet flavors.
Serve: Spoon the picadillo over rice and serve hot. It’s even better with a few simple sides, like black beans or a roasted vegetable, to round out the meal.
Make-Ahead Tip: Picadillo is a great make-ahead dish—the flavors deepen as it sits, and it reheats beautifully. It also freezes well, making it handy to have on hand for busy nights.
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
Cuban Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1¼ lbs 85% lean ground beef
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (8-oz) can Spanish-style tomato sauce (such as Goya)
- ½ cup beef broth
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 packets Sazón seasoning (2 heaping teaspoons; see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, baking soda, and water. Mix until evenly combined, then let sit for about 20 minutes—this step helps tenderize the beef.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more; do not brown.
- Add the tomato sauce, broth, raisins, sazon seasoning, salt, cumin, brown sugar, and olives. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Pinch off loose 1-in (2.5-cm) clumps of the beef and scatter them over the sauce. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in the vinegar, then taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve warm over rice.
Notes
- Sazón is a Latin seasoning blend that typically includes salt, garlic, cumin, coriander, and annatto, which gives dishes a warm yellow-orange color and savory depth. It’s widely available in most supermarkets—look for it in the international foods aisle, often near other Latin or Caribbean products. I use Goya Sazón with Coriander and Annatto, but Sazón con Azafran works too.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: Picadillo can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator; reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of water or broth if it thickens. It also freezes beautifully. To freeze, let it cool completely, then transfer to freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and warm on the stovetop before serving.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Can I substitute ground chicken?
Hi Sandy, Chicken won’t give it quite as much flavor, but it should still be good. I’d avoid anything too lean though (and you can skip the baking soda/tenderizing step). Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Another delicious dinner! My family is always confident when I make one of your recipes-which is 99% of the time😆. This did not disappoint!
Another simple and delicious dinner. Thanks Jen! Followed recipe as described. Served with Cuban black beans and rice. Will be making again. And DO NOT be afraid of the raisins- they add a subtle sweet complexity.
Would leftover picadillo meat work as filling for the beef empanada recipe? 🙂 If so, should I add any spices or reduce the sauce at all? Thank you!
That’s a great idea, and I don’t think you need to make any modifications to it.
Excellent as always Jen!
This is so easy and so tasty! Don’t be afraid of adding the raisins, you hardly recognize them as a “raisin” when you’re enjoying this dish. They add a little sweet pop alongside the savory elements. The hubby had 3 servings!
LOVED THE FLAVORS AND SO EASY. KEEP THEM COMING!!
What’s the baking soda for? Never seen that being used in the or recipe in Cuba
The baking soda may seem unconventional, but it raises the beef’s pH and helps it stay juicy as it cooks in the sauce (which is particularly helpful since picadillo simmers rather than browns).
I found the texture of the meat a little disconcerting. Although I think I left it sitting with the baking soda for too long. I also found it a little too sweet . the next time I would either use the sugar or the raisins but I don’t think that I would do both
I made this tonight as written except I made my own sazon seasoning from Jenn’s recipe which is embedded in the comments. I thought it was a very tasty, easy, weeknight meal. I served it with white rice with black beans, garlic powder, cilantro and lime mixed in and an avocado, pickled red onion and cuke salad with a lime juice and olive oil drizzle on top. The 1/2 can black beans, pickled red onions, and cilantro were left over from making nachos for the Superbowl.