My Ground Beef Recipe: Filipino and Cuban Style Picadillo, is a Filipino and Cuban fusion beef dish that is healthy and also easy to make. It is also a dish that is good to freeze! So be sure to double this easy ground beef recipe and freeze half of it.
Most Filipino recipes are easy to make and only require simple ingredients and spices such as salt and pepper and Beef Picadillo is one them. This is the reason why this Beef Picadillo is a very common ground beef recipe in the Philippines. The traditional Picadillo recipe has ground beef, potatoes, carrots, green peas, tomato sauce and raisins that give a hint of sweetness to this savory ground beef dish. Not only that, it is also a versatile dish because you can serve Beef Picadillo for breakfast, lunch or for dinner. In fact, this is one of my favorite breakfast dishes.
When I was still living and working in the Philippines, I would typically eat breakfast at the office cafeteria and every time that Beef Picadillo with fried plantain was on the breakfast menu, it seemed that I would always end up ordering it. Then, when I got married, I started to learn how to cook and got exposed to different spices. Since then, I am always on the look out for recipes that are easy to cook and at the same time use different spices. That’s when I came across the Cuban Picadillo recipe.
Cuban Picadillo uses different spices, diced tomatoes, raisins, pimiento stuffed olives (you will not see olives in the traditional Filipino Picadillo) and bell pepper instead of potatoes and carrots. I immediately got interested in this recipe and I decided to combine the Filipino and Cuban Picadillo into one recipe. This way I was able to get the best of both worlds and the results were amazing.
My Filipino and Cuban Style Picadillo became an instant favorite of my husband and my in-laws. I usually serve it with steamed rice and fried plantain, if I have a ripe plantain around. See also, Canned Mackerel Recipe In Thai Red Curry, Asian Rice Porridge and Vegetable Beef Soup for other Filipino inspired recipes.
Do you freeze cooked ground beef? This is also the best recipe for cooked ground beef which makes this recipe even quicker to make. You can fry potatoes and carrots then set aside. Saute onions and garlic, then add the thawed ground beef and toss spices and the remaining ingredients. Then voila, you have Filipino and Cuban Picadillo an easy and healthy recipe. A recipe that’s even tastier the following day.
Try my ground beef recipe so you would know how easy and delicious my Filipino and Cuban Picadillo really is.
Ground Beef Recipe: Filipino and Cuban Style Picadillo
Ingredients
- 2 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1 cup carrots peeled and cut into small cubes
- 2 cups gold potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 whole red onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 15 oz. can whole tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1/4 cup pimiento stuffed olives sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 pc. dried bay leaf
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive brine
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, place olive oil and once simmering , add carrots. Fry for 3 to 6 minutes or until they start to brown and get a little bit tender, stirring occasionally. Then set aside.
- Next, fry the potatoes for 3 to 6 minutes or until they start to brown and get a little bit tender. stirring occasionally. Then set aside.
- Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes or until the onions get translucent. Add the ground beef and season it with salt and pepper. Use your spatula to break the ground beef into pieces as you stir them for about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Toss in cumin, oregano and paprika, stir into the mixture for a minute. Add tomato sauce, crushed whole tomatoes, soy sauce, reserved cooked potato, cooked carrots, olives and olive brine. Stir the mixture for a minute and then reduce the heat to medium.
- Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced, stirring occasionally.
- Best serve with fried plantain and steamed rice. Enjoy!
