This Mexican Picadillo Recipe is comfort food, fast. Beef, potatoes, and a rich tomato sauce all simmered into one cozy skillet dinner.
Author’s notes
My Brother in Law’s Favorite Picadillo!
This recipe actually started because of my brother-in-law. He served a church mission in Latin America, and when he got back and married my sister, he was always telling me I needed to learn some of the dishes he loved from his mission days. It wasn’t a dish I’d made before, but I told him I’d love to learn and put my own spin on it.
He told me his all-time favorite was picadillo and walked me through how he remembered it being made. As he described it, I felt like I had a really solid place to start. After a few rounds of testing, tweaking the spices, and leaning more into a Mexican-inspired version, I finally landed on one that felt just right.
Of course, I had to give it to the real taste tester first. He loved it and so did the rest of the family. Since then, it’s become one of those dinners that gets requested all the time. I actually look forward to making it because it’s so simple, so comforting, and always a hit.
Mexican Picadillo Recipe Ingredients
| Ingredient | Tip or Swap |
|---|---|
| Lean ground beef | I use 93/7, but ground turkey works great too |
| Gold potatoes | No peeling needed, just dice small and even |
| Tomato paste | Cook it for a few minutes to deepen flavor |
| Crushed tomatoes | I love the flavor that fire-roasted tomatoes bring |
| Beef bouillon powder | Adds a great beefy flavor without extra broth |
| Jalapeño | Remove seeds for mild heat or keep them for more kick |
How To Make Picadillo (Tips)
- Season as you go: Salt makes the flavors pop, so season at every step.
- Spice: I start with less jalapeño, taste as it cooks, and add more later if needed.
- Cut potatoes small: They’ll cook faster and give that crispy outside, fluffy inside.
- Add broth if needed: If the dish starts to dry out before the potatoes are tender, add 1/4 cup more broth and lower the heat.
Variations
Switch Up Mexican Picadillo Recipe
- Change the potatoes: Swap gold potatoes for diced sweet potatoes (peel first!).
- Add more veggies: Toss in a cup of frozen sweet peas right at the end.
Chelsea’s Tip
My Favorite Ways To Enjoy This Recipe!
I love loading Picadillo on a plate and scooping it up with a warm, ripped tortilla.
Other ways me and my family have enjoyed it:
- Scoop with corn tortilla chips for a fun dip.
- Serve over Mexican rice, cilantro-lime rice, or white rice.
- Stuff into tacos, gorditas, or empanadas.
Storage
Keep leftovers of this Mexican Picadillo recipe in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Warm it up in a pan over low heat. Add a little broth if it looks dry.
More Easy Dinner Recipes:
Picadillo
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion 1 onion
- 1 cup finely diced carrot 2-3 large carrots
- 1 cup finely diced green bell pepper 1 green pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef 93/7, or use ground turkey
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups diced baby gold potatoes see note 1
- 1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeño add to taste
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- Serving suggestions see note 2
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, onion, carrot, pepper, and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring often, until veggies start to soften, about 8 minutes. Push veggies to the sides and add beef in the center. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat, until mostly browned.
- Add tomato paste, diced potatoes, jalapeño, garlic, and all seasonings. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
- Lower heat to low. Pour in undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, and add the bay leaf. Scrape the bottom to release any browned bits. Press potatoes under the liquid, cover with a lid, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid, stir, and increase heat to medium. Cook uncovered for another 10 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (see note 3). Remove bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve hot with flour tortillas and/or rice. Add lime wedges and fresh cilantro if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was tasty. I found it to be more tomato-forward than I like, perhaps next time I would use just the tomato paste OR the canned tomatoes, and then thin with the chicken stock. I also like the potatoes to be a little smaller dice. I am excited to have a healthier picadillo recipe that I can tweak to my tastes, thank you for sharing!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!! You absolutely can do that to lessen the tomato taste! Thanks for your comment Kimberly! 🙂
Delicious. Made as written and it was sooooo good. I can’t Remember the last time I cooked with ground turkey and it was so great in this recipe. I served it with rice. My daughter who normally doesn’t eat cooked veggies ate this and requested leftovers for lunch tomorrow. She has celiac disease so this is such a great nutritious meal for her and our family. Thank you.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks Christina! 🙂