Picadillo is a Latin American dish with many different variations based on location but sharing a common base of minced meat (ground beef in this case). This is a tasty Cuban style take on picadillo with olives, peppers, raisins and capers that is so easy to make! You pretty much just cook the ground beef along with onions and peppers before adding the remaining ingredients and simmering for a few more minutes! You can easily make this picadillo in less that 30 minutes meaning that you have plenty of time to steam some rice or cook some pasta to serve it over! The raisins in this dish add a touch of sweetness to an otherwise savoury dish, that also has some heat form the paprika and a tanginess from a splash of cider vinegar all of which forma a magical combination of flavours!
Cuban Picadillo
A quick and easy Cuban style picadillo with capers, olives and raisins!
ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pimento stuffed olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
directions
- Cook the beef, onions and pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the beef apart as it cooks, before draining off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic, paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, olives, raisins, and capers, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and fish sauce.
Option: Serve over steamed rice, quinoa or pasta!
Can you use ground chicken?
The flavour will be a little different, but yes!
This looks absolutely delicious, Kevin! I make something similar with ground pork – the only differences are golden raisins/sultanas, and the zest and juice of an orange and a handful of pine nuts.
My favorite Cuban dish! Love that your recipe includes classics (raisins). New to me, capers and fish sauce. Cooking now. Smells amazing.
I made ist and used cranberries instead of raisins. Ist was soooooo delicious! Thank you very much!
I made this and it came out delicious but mine was fairly light colored not near as dark a sauce as your picture and also mine made less sauce. My seasonings were the same color as yours but your picture almost looks like a beef chili sauce… Is something missing from the ingredients list or is a quantity off?
I have this near recipe for years. My wife who is Cuban loves it. This is the first time using capers. I do add a dash of powered clove.
As always, it’s a success! We loved it! To be added to our family favourites menu. Thanks!
Another winner ! Forgot to add the green peppers ; it was still outstanding.