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This quick and easy Mexican Picadillo dinner recipe comes together with minimal ingredients and only 30 minutes. Ground beef and potatoes are simmered in a seasoned tomato sauce. Serve this dish up with some rice and fresh flour tortillas for a complete meal.
What is Mexican Picadillo?
A classic, nostalgia inducing meal with ground beef and potatoes. This is one of those dishes that is so easy to customize, and everyone has their own way of making it. It’s pure comfort food. This recipe is a basic version, with some ideas of ways you can easily customize it to make it just right for you and your family.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tomato Sauce: Swap the canned tomato sauce for 4 Roma tomatoes blended or finely diced.
- Beef Broth: Use a low or no sodium version, you can also use bone broth. Substitute with beef bouillon if you prefer.
- Potatoes: If you want a twist, try our Sweet Potato Picadillo.
- Bell Pepper: For more heat swap this out for a jalapeño or other chili pepper of choice.
- Extra Veggies: Add in peas and carrots or other vegetable of choice to customize for your family.
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
How to Make Mexican Picadillo
- First, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef. Cook over medium heat while breaking up the meat. Cook until mostly browned, drain grease and return to heat. The beef doesn’t need to be cooked completely through at this point.
- Add in diced onion, green bell pepper and potatoes. Continue to cook over medium heat until onion and peppers are softened. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Next, pour in tomato sauce and beef broth. Add in seasonings: salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. Stir to combine. Add the bay leaf.
- Bring this mixture to a simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes.
- Finally, remove the lid, stir, and continue cooking with the lid off for an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are softened and most of the liquid is gone.
Serving
Serve this Mexican Picadillo on tortillas. I love loading this into fresh flour tortillas. But it’s also good in fried corn tortillas. Or served over some cilantro lime rice.
Storage
Store leftover picadillo in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
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Mexican Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 cups potato peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces tomato sauce*
- 1½ cup beef broth
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef. Cook over medium heat while breaking up the meat. Cook until mostly browned, drain grease and return to heat.
- Add in diced onion, green bell pepper and potatoes. Continue to cook over medium heat until onion and peppers are softened. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Pour in tomato sauce and beef broth. Add in seasonings: salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. Stir to combine. Add bay leaf.
- Bring mixture to a simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid, stir, and continue cooking with the lid off for an additional 10 minutes or until potatoes are softened and most of the liquid is gone.
- Serve warm with flour tortillas and rice.
Video
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published April 10, 2020. Updated April 4, 2024.
Photography by @KJandCompany.co
I’ve never commented on a recipe before, but I had to make an exception for this one. It’s so simple but absolute perfection. Makes me cry tears of happiness. God bless!
I have made this 4 times already. It is so good brings me back to my childhood when my dad made it.
Amazing! So much more simple than other picadillo recipes I’ve tried before and so much better. My wife is sick of hearing me talk about how delicious this dish is.Â
I buy raw flour tortillas from HEB to make tacos with this. Add a little refried beans and sour cream…. Perfection!Â
Whoever came up with this recipe, Thank you
PS.. this recipe is perfect for freeze drying.Â
Me and my family LOVE this recipe. It is such an easy recipe and fun to have the kiddos help make. We do both the rice and flour/corn tortillas. I added in Adobo spice, carrots, peas and corn and it all was amazing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
We loved this recipe. Instead of tomato sauce I used El Pato hot tomato sauce. So delicious!
This is a great recipe, very flavorful and easy to make. I did forget to put the potatoes in with the onion and green pepper and was afraid they weren’t going to soften but I did add them with the sauce and still turned out soft after the first 10 minutes. Btw what is the serving size?Â
I have made this twice and both time my kiddos beg me to make it again! It’s super tasty and has all the right flavors. I squeezed extra lime in the mix and served it with Spanish rice and a side of tortillas. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a game changer.
I love this recipe! I made mine with jalapeno instead of bell peppers my boys loved it and they are young 11 12 16
Made this for my wife. It was her first time
eating this and she loved it. I didn’t have everything for this but substituted the green pepper and tomato sauce with a can of Rotel. It turned out mighty tasty. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
So glad I stumbled on this recipe, my mom used to make this in the 1960’s with canned potatoes and canned long green chilis. I haven’t had it since I was a teenager and can’t wait to make this!
Yummmmm! Made last night and it was a hit! Husband had second serving, which is a compliment.
Thank you for your recipe, this one’s a keeper!