Caribbean

Serving

Cuban Picadillo

Name: Cuban Picadillo
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20); 1 large yellow onion, finely diced; 1 green bell pepper, finely diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce; 1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced; 1/4 cup raisins; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp dried oregano; 1/4 cup dry white wine

A savory-sweet Cuban ground beef hash simmered with olives, raisins, and tomatoes, served over white rice.

40 minutes

Serves 4

Dinner

14 min prep

22 min cook

No common allergens detected

Based on this recipe's ingredient list. Always verify with your own brands and labels.

Instructions

5 steps

1
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until softened and fragrant.
2
Add the ground beef and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it apart with a spoon, until fully browned with no pink remaining; drain excess fat if needed.
3
Stir in the cumin and oregano, cooking for 1 minute to bloom the spices, then pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half over 2 minutes.
4
Add the tomato sauce, olives, and raisins, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the flavors meld.
5
Season with salt and black pepper to taste and serve hot over fluffy white rice with a side of sweet fried plantains.

Cuban Picadillo — plated and served — Serving moment. How Cuban Picadillo looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

70/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 100

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 65

Pantry-friendly 41

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

565

Calories

45 g

Protein

15 g

Carbs

34 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Picadillo is the everyday ground-beef hash of Cuban home kitchens, where the sofrito base of onion, pepper, and garlic meets the island's love of sweet-salty contrast in olives and raisins. The dish traveled with Spanish colonists across Latin America, but the Cuban version is defined by that olive-and-raisin pairing and a splash of dry wine, served as the heart of a plate with rice and plantains.

Listahan note

This version blooms the cumin and oregano in the rendered beef fat before the wine goes in, so the spice flavor is built into the meat rather than floating in the sauce. It keeps the simmer uncovered for 15 minutes so the tomato sauce reduces into a clingy glaze instead of a soup.

Technique cues

Softening the onion, pepper, and garlic for a full 5 to 6 minutes before the beef goes in builds the sofrito foundation; rushing this step leaves a raw allium bite under everything.
Adding the cumin and oregano to the browned beef and cooking them for a minute toasts the spices in fat, which deepens their flavor far more than stirring them into liquid.
Reducing the white wine by half before the tomato sauce goes in cooks off the alcohol's sharpness while leaving behind acidity that balances the raisins' sweetness.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Dice the onion and pepper and start the rice while the sofrito softens so both finish together.
Make-ahead: The whole picadillo can be cooked a day ahead; the olive and raisin flavors deepen overnight.
Leftover move: Fold cold leftovers into beaten egg for a picadillo tortilla or stuff into empanada dough.
Cleanup rhythm: Deglazing with the wine loosens the fond, so the skillet wipes clean with one soak.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

ground beef (80/20)

Main protein

Purpose: The 20 percent fat carries the spice bloom and keeps the hash moist through the uncovered simmer.

Handling: Break it into small crumbles as it browns so every bit gets surface contact and color.

Adaptation: Ground turkey works but is leaner, so add a tablespoon of oil and watch for dryness.

pimiento-stuffed green olives

Salty accent

Purpose: The briny olives are the signature savory counterpoint to the raisins and the dish's identity marker.

Handling: Slice them so the brine distributes evenly rather than landing in salty pockets.

Adaptation: Castelvetrano olives plus a spoon of the brine give the same salt-acid hit with milder bitterness.

raisins

Sweet accent

Purpose: They plump in the tomato simmer and provide the sweet half of the classic Cuban sweet-salty balance.

Handling: Stir them in with the tomato sauce so they soften over the full 15 minutes.

Adaptation: Chopped dried currants or golden raisins work; currants are smaller and spread more evenly.

tomato sauce

Braising base

Purpose: It binds the beef and aromatics into a cohesive sauce and reduces to a glaze that coats rice.

Handling: Add it after the wine reduces so it concentrates rather than dilutes.

Adaptation: Crushed tomatoes work but are chunkier; simmer a few minutes longer to break them down.

dry white wine

Deglazing acid

Purpose: It lifts the browned fond off the skillet and adds acidity that keeps the rich beef from feeling heavy.

Handling: Pour it in right after the spices bloom and scrape the pan bottom as it reduces.

Adaptation: Dry sherry or a splash of chicken broth with a squeeze of lime covers the same job.

Technique notes

Drain the rendered fat after browning only if it pools more than a tablespoon; a little fat carries the bloomed spices.
Taste for salt at the very end because the olives release brine throughout the simmer and over-salting early is easy.
If the sauce tightens too far before serving, loosen it with a splash of the rice cooking water rather than more wine.

Ingredient swaps

Weeknight shortcut: Use a jarred sofrito base in place of fresh onion, pepper, and garlic to skip the 6-minute saute.
Lower-sodium direction: Rinse the olives and use no-salt-added tomato sauce; you lose some brine punch but control the salt.
Leaner direction: Swap to 90/10 beef and add a teaspoon of oil; the hash is lighter but needs closer watching to stay moist.

Serve alongside

Fluffy white rice
Sweet fried plantains (platanos maduros)
Black beans
Sliced avocado with lime
Cuban-style cafe con leche
Light lager
Sparkling limeade

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days; the flavor improves by day two.
Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water to loosen the reduced sauce.
Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Equipment

Large skillet
Wooden spoon for breaking up the beef
Fine knife for finely dicing the sofrito
Fat-skimming spoon

Make this household-aware

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