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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. 

Plate with rice and ground beef picadillo with a flour tortilla.


 

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

Ingredients needed to make Mexican picadillo.
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
Ground beef and potatoes cooking in a skillet.
  1. Next, pour in tomato sauce and beef broth. Add in seasonings: salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. Stir to combine. Add the bay leaf. 
  2. Bring this mixture to a simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes. 
  3. 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.
Mexican picadillo with ground beef and potatoes in a skillet topped with bay leaves.

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. 

Skillet filled with Mexican picadillo.

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

4.86 from 74 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Serene
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. 
Plate with rice and ground beef picadillo with a flour tortilla.

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

Additional Vegetables: if adding additional veggies (peas, carrots, etc.) add them in with the tomato sauce and beef broth. Let simmer to soften and absorb flavor. 
Tomatoes: can use fresh Roma tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Either finely dice the tomatoes and saute with the potatoes, onion and pepper to release juices, or blend the tomatoes and add with the beef broth. 
Potatoes: can use russet or gold potatoes. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Recipe first published April 10, 2020. Updated April 4, 2024.

Photography by @KJandCompany.co

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Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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100 Comments

    1. This recipe is so easy and always turns out great. I’ve also added corn on occasion. This recipe is a great filler for any Mexican dish. I can imagine you can put it on top of beans or in quesadillas and tacos. Great for penny pinchers.

      Reply

  2. Made this tonight and I love it! It has a great warm spiced, slow cooked flavor. For a Mexican dish I was expecting a little a kick and I didn’t see anything in the ingredients that would offer that. I would have chosen a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce diced up in there, maybe a little of the sauce too. I didn’t have that so I used some chipotle hot sauce on top which gave it just enough heat without overpowering it. I might add some Mexican oregano and top with cilantro next time. Like others I simmered it longer to cook the potatoes through. 5* keeper!

    Reply

    1. Serve with rice AND tortillas? Now thats alot carbs, lol!
      Potatoes take forever to get tender(I diced em small).
      Simple and tasty with a salad and tortillas.
      I added jalapenos, also like it on the spicy side.

      Reply

  4. Easy and delicious! I added chopped carrots and I did have to simmer for an additional 10 minutes past the 20 mins suggested in the recipe. Over all the whole family loved it! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    1. I LOVE this this recipe. It’s tasty and straight to the point! Only thing I change is I use el pato spicy tomato sauce instead of normal tomato sauce! I like it a bit spicy.

      Reply

  6. This is a staple in my house, it reminds me of when I was a kid. Great flavor and instructions are easy to follow. I follow the recipe to a T but I make mine with ground turkey and honestly can’t tell the difference! 

    Reply

  7. Made tonight and followed the directions with a few twist. Thank you for sharing and will look forward to your other recipes . Very good!!

    Reply