Mexican Picadillo is a traditional authentic Mexican dish made with ground beef and diced potatoes simmered in a spicy tomato sauce. It’s packed with flavor that’s meaty, savory, and a tad bit spicy! This easy weeknight meal can be on the table in about 40 minutes.
Jump to:
- What is Mexican Picadillo?
- Why You’ll Love This Mexican Picadillo Recipe
- Ingredients
- Variations
- How to Make Mexican Picadillo
- Recipe Tips
- What to Serve with Mexican Picadillo
- How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Recipe FAQ
- Try This Beef Picadillo Recipe Today!
- More Delicious Mexican Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Mexican Picadillo
When you think of Mexican food, your minds probably goes to tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and enchiladas first. Something you probably don’t think of right off the bat is a spicy mixture of ground beef and potatoes. I know I didn’t.
For years, I associated the idea of beef and potatoes with European and North American dishes. Then, I was introduced to picadillo, and everything changed.
This delicious beef and potato dish takes a classic pairing and then loads it up with Mexican flavors that you won’t be able to stop eating. I love serving it as an unexpected addition to Taco Tuesday or anytime I want a savory dinner dish that’s a little off the beaten path from what people are expecting!
Craving more delicious ground beef recipes? Try my beef and bean enchiladas or fried beef tacos next!
What is Mexican Picadillo?
It’s a Mexican dish that starts with roasted tomatoes, jalapenos, serranos, and garlic. Then, they’re pureed to your personal liking and combined with cooked ground beef and onions.
Finally, the beef and onions simmer with tomatoes and potatoes until the flavors meld together and the potatoes are tender. When it’s all finished, you’ll have a hearty meat and potato dish that’s unlike anything you’ve ever had before.
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Picadillo Recipe
- Quick and Easy Yet Delicious. You can have a great tasting meal on the table in about 40 minutes! It’s super easy to make and tastes so delicious.
- Simple Ingredients. Everything is easy to find at your local grocery store and even better, it’s an ingredient list that’s easy on your wallet.
- Not Your Ordinary Beef and Potatoes. If dinnertime in your house needs some excitement, you’re going to love this recipe.
Ingredients
You’ll only need a quick walk through the produce section and the meat aisle to get everything you need for this recipe. There’s nothing fancy here!
- Ground beef: I use 80/20 ground beef for beef picadillo. The additional fat actually contributes to the flavor and works really well. Even better, it’s usually cheaper than other types of ground meat. If you prefer to use a lower fat ratio beef that’s fine but it won’t be exactly the same.
- Potatoes: You can use any type of potatoes but I usually reach for Russet potatoes which hold up their shape pretty well when cooked.
- Onions and Garlic: Our aromatics which deepen the flavor. I always prefer fresh garlic.
- Roma tomatoes: These tomatoes are perfect for cooking. They’re naturally balanced with texture and juice.
- Chile peppers: We’re using a combination of jalapenos and serrano chiles to layer in those Mexican flavors.
- Vegetable oil: Used to cook the chilies at the start of the recipe.
Variations
- Medium Heat: Make sure to remove the seeds from the peppers before blending if you prefer it a bit less spicy.
- Medium-Mild Heat: If you want it spicy but not quite so spicy omit the serrano pepper.
- Mild Version: Omit the jalapenos and serrano pepper.
- Use Chorizo: Try making this dish with chorizo for even more flavor. You can replace the ground beef with it or use half and half.
- Add Veggies: Add bell pepper and diced carrots for additional flavor. Make sure to chop the carrots very small so they will cook in the same amount of time as the potatoes.
- A Bit Healthier. Ground turkey works great with this recipe and contains less fat than the ground beef.
How to Make Mexican Picadillo
Making this recipe is a snap. It only takes a bit of stovetop cooking, and the entire thing is ready in under and hour. That’s less than an hour for a full, authentic Mexican meal!
Step 1: Roast the Vegetables. Cook the whole tomatoes, jalapenos, serrano pepper, and garlic in a small frying pan with the vegetable oil over medium heat until the skin is charred and blistered.
Step 2: Blend. Place the vegetables in a food processor and pulse until they reach your desired consistency.
Step 3: Cook the Beef. Cook the ground beef, onions, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan or large skillet over medium high heat until the beef is no longer pink.
Step 4: Combine and Simmer. Add the diced potatoes and tomato mixture to the beef and stir together. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
Step 5: Serve and enjoy! Serve with your favorite sides or over rice!
Recipe Tips
- Prepping the Chiles. Never touch your face or eyes and always wash your hands when working with hot peppers.
- Don’t Over Cook the Beef. Cook just until the beef is no longer pink. Overcooked ground beef is bland.
- Cutting the Potatoes. Dice the potatoes no larger than ½-inch cubes. Any bigger and they’ll take too long to cook and be harder to eat.
What to Serve with Mexican Picadillo
This delicious dish pairs perfectly with any of your favorite Mexican foods, especially as part of a larger spread. Here are some of my go-to dishes that I serve with it.
Rice is always a great option and very traditional. You can try it with white rice, Mexican rice, or even Spanish rice. Scoop it up with some corn tortillas or tortilla chips on the side.
Add some condiments like salsa or guacamole! You can even try out a few like my jalapeno salsa, salsa verde, or habanero salsa. This is great when you’ve choose to make the dish mild to please a wide range of tastes! Now everyone can dress it up how they love it!
Planning a Mexican Fiesta? Enjoy your favorite tacos, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, and enchiladas as well! Try these mini chicken tacos, pork quesadillas, or steak enchiladas just to name a few!
If you prefer a less elaborate meal it goes great with a simple salad, green beans, peas, or your favorite vegetables. To stick with the theme, I love elote or elote casserole as a veggie side dish.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store your picadillo for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
To reheat, simply place it in a saucepan over medium-low heat until heated through.
Recipe FAQ
There are versions of picadillo found throughout Latin America and the Philippines. In Cuba, picadillo is called arroz a la cubana. While in the Philippines, it’s called giniling.
Picadillo gets its name from the Spanish word, picar, which translates to mince or chop. Since the dish is literally chopped beef and diced potatoes, it’s a fitting name.
Try This Beef Picadillo Recipe Today!
This Mexican picadillo is hearty, delicious, and so easy. It’s the trifecta! It makes the perfect weeknight meal, addition to any Taco Tuesday spread, or as a potluck item. Rest assured that everyone will love it. I promise, try it just once, and you’ll find yourself making it again and again.
More Delicious Mexican Recipes You’ll Enjoy
If you try this recipe and love it, please be sure to leave a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and comment! You can also pin it to save it for later. Also, you can follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Remember to “like” or “follow” us on all social media.
Mexican Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef, 80/20
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled, diced into ½ inch chunks
- ½ cup onions, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 3 jalapenos, stems removed
- 1 serrano pepper, stem removed
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
- In a small frying pan, add a teaspoon of oil and heat over medium heat.
- Once hot, add whole tomatoes, jalapenos, serrano peppers and garlic.
- Roast in the pan until the skin is charred and blistered.
- Place roasted vegetables in a food processor or chopper and pulse until desired consistency is obtained.
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add ground beef, diced onions, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
- Next, add diced potatoes, tomato mixture, and stir.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- Serve with your favorite sides or over rice
Video
Notes
- Prepping the Chiles. Never touch your face or eyes and always wash your hands when working with hot peppers.
- Don’t Over Cook the Beef. Cook just until the beef is no longer pink. Overcooked ground beef is bland.
- Cutting the Potatoes. Dice the potatoes no larger than ½-inch cubes. Any bigger and they’ll take too long to cook and be harder to eat.
