This easy Mexican picadillo recipe is made with ground beef, potatoes and plenty of seasonings, great over rice or served with tortillas for a full meal. Big on flavor!
Mexican Picadillo Recipe
We're cooking up a Mexican style picadillo recipe in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen today, my friends. Prepare yourself for amazing flavor.
If you've never tried picadillo before, this is a recipe you'll want to add to your recipe collection. Mexican Picadillo is quick and easy to make, it's big on flavor, and you can really customize it with many other potential ingredients.
Picadillo is a dish you'll find in many different countries around the world, particularly in Latin America, where you'll find Puerto Rican picadillo, Cuban picadillo, and many others.
This is a Mexican style picadillo, and I hope you love it.
What is Mexican Picadillo?
Mexican picadillo is a flavorful of dish of meat and potatoes with tomatoes, peppers, and seasonings. There are many variations throughout Mexican, with different regions including different ingredients, and each of them vary wildly.
Some regional versions include like carrots, olives, almonds and raisins, which is similar to Cuban style. Ground meat is used in most recipes, though chicken or seafood are interesting variations.
Guajillo or ancho peppers are another variation, which add a deep, earthy flavor that I love. I sometimes include them.
Some regions include sweet elements, like honey, which change the texture, and make it flavorful in a completely different way. Picadillo is one of those recipes that changes based on your location and on the cook, so feel free to adapt it to your own preference.
It is often served with rice or tortillas, though it is popular stuffed into roasted peppers or stuffed into pastries.
This version is a simple one, focusing on the meat and potatoes aspect, as well as the seasonings, though you can include other ingredients as desired. Consider this a base picadillo recipe.
Let's discuss how to make picadillo, shall we?
Mexican Picadillo Ingredients
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Potatoes. I'm using yellow potatoes.
- Onions, Garlic.
- Peppers. I'm using jalapeno peppers here, but toss in a serrano pepper for extra heat. Use bell peppers for a milder version.
- Ground Beef. You can use other ground meats, like chicken, turkey, or pork.
- Tomatoes. I like to use fresh tomatoes, but tomato sauce is great, too.
- Stock. I'm using beef stock, but chicken stock or vegetable stock are great, too.
- Seasonings. Paprika, Mexican oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper.
- For Serving. Cooked rice or warmed tortillas, sliced peppers for garnish, chili flakes, fresh chopped herbs, lime juice, hot sauce.
How to Make Picadillo (Mexican Style) - the Recipe Method
Potatoes, Onion and Peppers. Heat the oil in a large pan to medium heat. Add the onion, potatoes, and peppers and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
Garlic and Ground Beef. Add the garlic and add ground beef. Break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon and brown it up for 5 minutes. The meat doesn't need to be cooked all the way through.
Add Tomatoes, Stock and Seasonings. Stir in the tomatoes, beef broth, and seasonings. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to simmer.
Simmer the Picadillo. Cook, stirring occasionally at a simmer for 20 minutes to cook through and let the potatoes soften up. Check it at 15 minutes for doneness. Adjust for salt and pepper.
Serve the Picadillo. Serve over cooked white rice or with warmed corn tortillas with extra peppers, spicy chili flakes and lime juice! Don’t forget your favorite hot sauce.
Boom! Done! Looks wonderful, doesn't it? I love a good picadillo. So easy to make, right? I love that.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- The Seasonings. I've used a simple blend of seasonings, but other popular additions include bay leaves or parsley. Try this Homemade Taco Seasoning Blend Recipe that I love.
Picadillo Variations
Customize your picadillo with other ingredients. Some traditional Mexican picadillo recipes include parsley, blanched almonds, raisins, olives, green olives potatoes and carrots, green peas, bay leaf and others.
Make it with ground turkey or chicken for a lighter version of this classic comfort food.
Swap the potatoes for other root vegetables, like rutabaga, yellow beats, or sweet potatoes.
Here is a photo of my variation with ancho peppers added in. I love it!
Serving Suggestions
Serve picadillo as a side dish to many Mexican dishes, but it's also versatile in other dishes. Consider serving your picadillo in the following ways:
- Tacos. Serve it with tortillas and enjoy them taco style.
- Nachos. Serve it over crispy tortilla chips and top with melted cheese. Perfection!
- Stuffed Peppers. Try my picadillo stuffed peppers recipe. I think you'll love it.
Storage Info & Leftovers
Store any leftover picadillo in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To enjoy it again, simple warm it up in a hot pan.
You can also freeze it in vacuum sealed bags or containers for 3 months or longer.
That's it! I hope you LOVE this as much as I do! SO. GOOD! Let me know if you make it. Send pics! I want to hear!! -- Mike H.
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations.
Mexican Picadillo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces yellow potatoes about 3-4 small, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
- 1 serrano pepper chopped (optional, for spicier)
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pound ground beef (you can use other ground meats, like chicken, turkey or pork)
- 2 large tomatoes chopped
- 3/4 cup beef stock (or use chicken or vegetable stock)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- FOR SERVING: Cooked rice or warmed tortillas, sliced peppers, chili flakes, fresh lime juice, hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan to medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion and peppers and cook them down for 5 minutes to soften.
- Stir in the garlic and ground beef. Break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon and brown it up for 5 minutes. The meat doesn't need to be cooked all the way through.
- Stir in the tomatoes, stock, and seasonings and reduce the heat to simmer.
- Simmer for 20 minutes to cook through and let the potatoes soften up.
- Serve over cooked rice or with tortillas with extra peppers, spicy chili flakes and lime juice! Don’t forget your favorite hot sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 5/5/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 4/18/18.
Tracy Lynn Smith says
Do you drain the meat and everythign at all or just let it sit and get all saucy? Either way works, just wanted clarification. You dsidnt say drain so I wasnt going to lol It looks amazing!~
Mike Hultquist says
I let it get saucy, Tracy, but if there is too much oil, you can drain if needed. Enjoy!
Shelley says
I made this for dinner last night and found it to be absolutely delicious! I did add chopped carrots and green olives, which was a nice touch. Served it with flour tortillas and a side of cucumbers from our garden (sprinkled with Tajin). Great summer dinner in Texas! 🙂
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! I love it, Shelley! Thanks for sharing this. Glad you enjoyed it.
Kate Klebanski says
This was absolutely wonderful - super flavorful and easy. I doubled the recipe for three sons and hubby and it was gone in one sitting. This is going on permanent rotation. Thanks!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! I love to hear it, Kate!
Jazz says
How big is a serving ?? This recipe was delicious also!
Mike Hultquist says
Jazz, it's 1/4 of the whole pan, roughly 6-8 ounces. Glad you enjoyed it!
Chris says
I didnt have tomatoes or a jalapeno so I used a can of Rotel. It was really good!
Tino says
This was so awesome! Great flavor and it was so comforting. It was perfect served with corn tortillas.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it, Tino!
Katelyn says
You might find this interesting, my mother is from the Philippines, and made this recipe for our family growing up all the time, with the raisins you mentioned included! Cultural crossover, thanks for the dinner inspo.
Mike Hultquist says
Wow, that's awesome, Katelyn. Thanks for sharing this.
SugarRay says
I made this recipe and it's great. I used it to stuff warm yellow corn tortillas following the guidelines of a recently posted chicken enchilada recipe. Talk about a slap yo' momma meal!
Mike Hultquist says
Boom! I love it! Perfect for enchiladas!
Kevin Scherer says
Can I use canned tomatoes
Mike Hultquist says
You surely can, Kevin. Works great! Enjoy.
Dee says
I made this for dinner last night, adding some dried and soaked chiles to the tomato mixture. I served it with fresh (fried) corn tortillas.
we had a lot left so tonight I softened the corn tortillas in a damp tea towel in the microwave, then added some picadillo to the to the tortillas, and rolles them up like a flauta. I sprayed them all over with avocado oil and cooked them in the air fryer...served with Mexican crema, some cilantro, salsa and shredded cheddar. (And a bit of habanero sauce!)
Both meals were incredible!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Dee!
Ed Moder says
I made this myself and it was delicious. Connie had several suggestions which I did not do. I used my chopper to dice/chop the onions, peppers and potatoes. What an amazing machine. I saved several minutes of chopping. The only substitution was because we had no jalapenos or serranos so I used 1 habanero. It made the dish about 1 to 1.5 alarms, just right for us. Thanks for the recipe!
Mike Hultquist says
Very nice! Glad you enjoyed it as-is, Ed! It's definitely easy to customize, but great the way it is. Maybe I need to get me a chopper. =)
Ed Moder says
Looks like dinner tonight! We will let you know what we think tonight.
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Ed! We love this one! Very customizable. Add other veggies as you like!
Sherry says
Awesome recipe!Made it vegetarian by using ground soy and used a red and yellow pepper instead of the spicer peppers,it was a hit! Leftovers were even better! Trying it as nachos tonight.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Sherry!
Mariam says
Just got a ton of fresh ripe tomatoes and a lot of ground beef to go with it, this is gonna be the perfect recipe for meal prep!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Enjoy, Mariam!
Shannon says
Hi Mike! I have never made Picadillo and excited to try it! I have recently been introduced to Guajillo and Ancho peppers making Birria tacos and LOVE them! Do you have any advice on how many and when to add them in?
Mike Hultquist says
Hi, Shannon. Yes, great peppers! I would rehydrate them first, then puree them with the tomato sauce, stock, and seasonings. Then you can add them in step #3 for simmering. Let me know how it turns out! I have a post on how to rehydrate dried peppers here you can refer to: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/cooking-with-chili-peppers/how-to-rehydrate-dried-chili-peppers/
Rucker Ruth says
do you serve with white rice or mexican rice?
Mike Hultquist says
Either way! Most people do white rice, but I LOVE it with a good Mexican Rice. I have a recipe for that here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/mexican-rice/
Jeanette says
Want to try this recipe for my kids 7&10, but can I replace the jalapeños for something else? I like spicy but not my kids.
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
Jeanette, you can use bell peppers, which have no heat. Cut back on any overly spicy seasonings and you should be fine. You could even use their favorite taco seasoning. Let me know how they enjoy it.
Jill says
We call the bell peppers, salad peppers because no heat
Peter says
This recipe is FANTASTIC! So easy to make yet so tasty!
I make it very often because it is so popular in our household.
Thank you for for it so much!
Mike Hultquist says
Great! Glad you all enjoy it, Peter! Definitely a winner here as well!
Deborah Walker says
Made this a few weeks ago. It was goooood.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent!! Glad you enjoyed it, Deborah! I LOVE this dish.
VECA says
In case you did not get this recipe from a REAL MEXICAN, then you do not know that every time we use ground beef WE ALWAYS add 3/4 the amount of ground pork. The taste is amazingly different and delicious.
Mike Hultquist says
I did, Veca.
Donna says
Can frozen hash brown potatoes be used?
Mike Hultquist says
I've never done that, Donna, but can't see why it wouldn't work. I think it would taste quite good. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it.
Ana says
yuck!
Peyton says
grow up! you type the way a toddler speaks. Have some appreciation for the creativity of others.
Kathleen says
can't wait to try this. love it stuffed into a poblano or hatch chili.
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Kathleen!
Ruth Eggert says
Omg....I just found you on pinterest...love spicy...and every recipe looks delicious...I will have to try several.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Ruth! I hope you find many recipes you enjoy!
Stacy says
Mike
Can I leave the tomatoes out?
Should I substitute something?
Stacy
Mike Hultquist says
Stacy, you can skip the tomatoes. You can add in a bit more stock if you feel it needs more liquid. Enjoy!
Ginger says
yay!! this has to be one of the best and easiest ways to use fridge veggies!! used half jar of Greek peppers with juice and all, 2 Serrano, 3 birds eye and 2 slit jars. a small cam of El Park jalapeño sauce, cut up a can of whole tomatoes and squeezed juice out before, although rotell would've been next choice. added drained can of corn, chopped fresh mushrooms I had, sazon tropical seasoning and cumin. and fresh lime juice along with taters, onions and lean beef as it started with, and it was delish!! served with some Jasmin rice. if I needed to stretch for my big crew would've thinned it and/ added rinsed black, or pinto beans or some refried to can. it made a lot tho, thanks so much for this it was wonderful!!
ginger says
slit japs* jar of El pato*
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome to hear, Ginger! Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate the comments!
May says
I'm going to try this but I want to make burritos out of it. Do I remove the lid after 15-20 minutes so the liquid can evaporate?
Mike Hultquist says
May, you can remove the lid and simmer if it's too thin, absolutely. Enjoy!!
CatG says
If you do not have fresh tomatoes - would you sub one can of diced tomatoes (14oz)? and dump the juice?
Mike Hultquist says
You can use canned tomatoes. I would not dump the juices, but might simmer it a bit longer if needs thickening. You can always reserve the juices and add in as much as you'd like as you go. Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
Amber says
My family and I love this dish. I always add green beans and corn to it and serve with tortillas. Delicious, quick, simple comfort food.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Amber. I love those additions. Outstanding, I'm sure.
Boo says
Very tasty, full of nice spicy flavor, followed some of your suggestions, added serrano chiles and a bit more cumin. Yes, next time I'll add sliced Spanish jalapeno stuffed olives. We liked it a bit more saucy, so added more stock. Always read your tips, very helpful and inspiring.
Thanks Mike for sharing all your fantastic Chile knowledge.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much, Boo. Very happy you enjoyed it.
Susan Rosser says
I made this and it is soooo good! I added some orange, yellow and red bell peppers and some poblanos. I also used a blend of chipotle pepper, garlic and toasted onion from Flatiron Pepper Company. Finally I added corn. I wanted something different from the same old soup, chili or pasta options and this definitely was it! It was a hit!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Nice additions, Susan! I love it! Glad you enjoyed it.
Faye says
I just made this dish. I only changed it by one ingredient. I used a can of chunky Rotel tomatoes. OMG it is delicious. It does make a lot but I will be freezing it to have some goodness later on. Thanks for the recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Faye!
Jen says
I have to say that this is one of the best recipe finds on Pinterest. I will definitely be making this again.
I used 1 jalapeño and one Fresno and added a few handfuls of spinach at the end.
So tasty! Thank you for sharing.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Jen!
Shannon says
Pretty good! I surprised my husband who's mom made this years ago. He said really close. I used one chopped jalapeno & next time I'll add a serrano for a little more kick. Pinning this in my "Recipes actually made from Pinterest" board to make again. Thanks for inspiration to make something new to me.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Shannon!
Adriana says
Should the tomatoes be peeled?
Mike Hultquist says
You can if you'd like, Adriana, but you don't have to. I usually don't.
Mimi says
Thank you so much for this recipe - taste just like my grandma's Picadillo! Our family always added peas to this recipe. Love your suggestions for add-ins like raisins and nuts.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Mimi! Glad you enjoyed it!
Lisa says
I made this after trying to come up with something using whatever I had in my house already. Three words: Oh. My. GAWD! Not only was this recipe easy to prepare, but loaded with flavor. I added olives to mine (because I love them). I served this with basmati rice and corn tortillas. This is going into my meal rotation for sure!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome to hear, Lisa! So good, right? We LOVE this recipe. Glad you enjoyed it!
Tara Ramirez says
My family really loved! I served it over rice the first night then the next day we made it into burritos. This makes a lot!
Thanks for sharing!!
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear! Glad you enjoyed it, Tara!
Peter says
Great recipe!
Simple, fast, yet very tasty! I didn't know this meal before and now I make it several times a month. A big favorite.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Peter!
Fabiola Alvarez says
Great recipe!!!
It turned out really good!!!
I veganized it and no one noticed it was meatless because of the great flavor!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome to hear, Fabiola! I love that you veganized it. Curious for more specifics on that! Glad you enjoyed it. =)
Lisa says
Hi Mike, I’d also like to make this plant-based, by substituting frozen, then thawed firm tofu for the ground meat. (Freezing tofu gives it a whole different texture—chewier, more substantial—that, IMO, makes it work super well when subbing it for ground meat.) I make a quick “taco meat” all the time by crumbling & browning the thawed, pressed tofu in oil, then mixing in one of the Frontera brand skillet sauces. This would be an improved version of that! Thanks.
Mike Hultquist says
I never knew that about tofu, but now I have to try it! Thanks for sharing!
John says
What timing! I have everything already and was wondering what to make with the hamburger. I will add a little heat and some chopped mushrooms, and make burritos out of it.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent idea! This would make GREAT burritos.