Cuban Picadillo With Ground Beef (Picadillo Santiaguero)

Cuban Picadillo With Ground Beef (Picadillo Santiaguero)

The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

This recipe is for a traditional Cuban-style picadillo made with ground beef and known as picadillo santiaguero.

Picadillo is a Cuban-style hash made with ground meat (beef or pork or both), olives, onions and sometimes potatoes as in this recipe.

The name picadillo comes from the Spanish verb picar​, which means to mince into small pieces. Picadillo is common across Latin cultures with variations.​

You can serve any variety of picadillo with rice or use it as a filling for empanadas and papas rellenas.

"The picadillo flavors were very good and it was great with rice and beans." —Diana Rattray

Cuban Picadillo with Ground Beef Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef

  • 1 teaspoon oregano

  • 1 teaspoon cumin

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 medium white onion, finely chopped

  • 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 cup beef stock

  • 3/4 cup tomato sauce

  • 2 small potatoes, peeled and diced

  • 8 to 10 pitted green olives

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Cuban Picadillo With Ground Beef (Picadillo Santiaguero) ingredients

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper until well mixed.

    combine the ground beef, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  3. In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil (or more if necessary). Sauté the onions, green pepper, and garlic until soft.

    Sauté the onions, green pepper, and garlic in a pan

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  4. Add the ground beef mixture, beef stock, and tomato sauce and mix well. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

    Add the ground beef mixture, beef stock, and tomato sauce to the mixture in the pan

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  5. Add the diced potatoes and mix well. Cover and cook another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

    add diced potatoes to the meat mixture in the pan

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  6. Remove the cover. Add the olives and cook uncovered 15 minutes or until the liquid is fully evaporated, but the meat is still moist.

    add olives to the beef mixture in the pan

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  7. Serve the picadillo warm with rice or let it cool and use as a filling for empanadas and papas rellenas.

    Cuban Picadillo With Ground Beef (Picadillo Santiaguero) served with rice

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Other Types of Picadillo

Mexican picadillo is made with raisins, jalapenos or guajillo chiles, and brown sugar known as piloncillo along with the traditional ingredients.

Another type is spicy Spanish pork picadillo made with cubes of pork that are marinated overnight in a mixture of paprika, garlic, and white wine. Then the pork is quickly stir-fried and served with bread and/or fried potatoes.

Costa Rican versions are meat optional. Vegetables like potatoes, ayote squash, bell peppers, and onions are chopped and cooked with stock, herbs, and spices and the resulting picadillo is often served with tortillas or rice.

In the Dominican Republic, picadillo is made with peppers, red onions, garlic, tomato paste, stock, olives, capers, raisins, hard-cooked egg, vinegar, and spices and served with white or brown rice.

Puerto Rican varieties are made with ground meat, annatto oil, ham, recaito (a type of base made with greens and spices), tomato sauce, olives, capers, potatoes, spices, and sometimes raisins that have been soaked in rum. They are used as a filling for empanadas and other fritters, or just served simply with rice and beans.

Picadillo in the Philippines is a soupy concoction made with ground beef and potatoes or chayote squash, raisins, and tomatoes, but without green olives and capers. It is frequently served with white rice, fried plantains, and hard-cooked or fried eggs.

Recipe Variations

  • For more complex flavor, add a bay leaf to the mixture along with the tomato sauce and beef stock.
  • For extra tangy, salty flavor, add 2 tablespoons of drained capers with the olives.
  • Contrast the briny flavor of the olives with 1/4 cup of raisins.
  • Garnish the picadillo with 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro.



How to Store and Freeze

  • Refrigerate leftover picadillo in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
  • To freeze picadillo, transfer it to airtight containers or zip-close bags and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Reheat leftover or defrosted picadillo in the microwave or on the stovetop to 165 F, the minimum safe temperature for leftovers.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
304 Calories
16g Fat
16g Carbs
23g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 304
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 21%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 67mg 22%
Sodium 363mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 23g
Vitamin C 22mg 111%
Calcium 57mg 4%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 742mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)