Cuban Beef Picadillo is a Latin comfort food that only takes 30 minutes to make. Traditionally this dish is a combination of ground beef, sofrito, spices, tomato sauce, and green olives. It’s extremely flavorful and easy to customize to your liking. You can also use Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken and pair it with brown rice for a delicious meal prep idea.
What is Sofrito
Sofrito is the secret ingredient in many Latin dishes and a guaranteed way to get amazing flavor! It’s usually the first thing that goes into the pan before making a recipe. It’s composed of olive oil, diced onion, diced green bell pepper, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro. Everyone makes their sofrito a little different but this is how my family does it.
What’s in Sofrito?
- Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Garlic
- Cilantro
- Olive Oil
You can blend a big batch and then freeze it until you’re ready to use it. I usually skip the blending part and just dice up the veggies and sauté them in olive oil until they are soft.
Ingredients For Cuban Beef Picadillo
1 Lb. Ground Beef or Turkey or Chicken
1/3 Cup Onion diced
1/4 Cup Green Bell Pepper diced
1/4 Cup Cilantro chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Small Tomato diced
1/4 Cup Spanish Green Olives
1/2 Tbsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Can Tomato Sauce (4 oz)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1-2 Bay leaf
1/4 cup water
How to make Cuban Beef Picadillo
1. Heat olive oil in a pan on low to medium heat. Once the oil is warm add onion, green pepper, cilantro, garlic, and diced tomato to the pan and cook on low until soft.
2. Add ground beef to the pan. Break up the meat and season with salt, pepper, cumin. Then cook until the meat is no longer pink inside. I cover mine with a lid so it cooks faster.
3. Drain the excess liquid and return back to the stove.
4. Then add the tomato sauce, olives, water, and bay leaf to the pan. Stir together. Cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes
5. Serve with rice or a tortilla. You can also use this a base for stuffed peppers or empanadas.
Let’s try planning our meals out so we are more likely to stay on track with our weight loss journey! This meal prep is 407 calories per serving. Use the My Fitness Pal App to keep track! Tag me if you try it and keep following for more easy recipes!
Cuban Beef Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Onion diced
- 1/4 Cup Green Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Roma Tomato diced
- 1/4 Cup Cilantro
- 2 Cloves Garlic mashed
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin
- 4 oz Tomato Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Green Spanish Olives
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1 Bay Leaf
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan on low to medium heat. Once the oil is hot add onion, green pepper, cilantro, diced tomatoes, and garlic to the pan and cook on medium heat until soft. 2-3 minutes. Stirring often so you don't burn the garlic.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and break up the meat. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix together and cook the meat for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Cover with a lid so it can cook faster.
- Once the meat is cooked turn off the stove. Drain the excess liquid and return back to the stove.
- Add the tomato sauce, olives, water, and bay leaf to the pan. Stir together. Cover and cook on low for 25 minutes.
- Serve over rice.
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