Cuban Beef Picadillo
by Sommer Collier — last updated on May 20, 2025 
This easy and authentic Cuban Beef Picadillo is loaded with ground beef, cinnamon, raisins, and briny green olives, making it the perfect weeknight dinner!
This Cuban Picadillo Is Your New Favorite Beef Dinner
Picadillo is a hearty dinner dish that’s popular in Latin American countries like Cuba and Mexico, plus many of the southern states of the US.
While there are many recipe variations, versions nearly always include ground meat simmered in a zesty sauce made with tomatoes, raisins, and olives. It’s similar to Tex-Mex spicy taco meat, but has SO much more sweet, tangy, and earthy flavor, thanks to the extra goodies and a generous pinch of cinnamon.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
This Cuban Beef Picadillo recipe is simple to prepare in just one pan, and perfect to enjoy as a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner with rice and sides. Or use it to make flavorful and fun tacos. Either way, from start to finish it takes only a bit over 30 minutes to make!
Why You’ll Love This Cuban Beef Picadillo
- Bold flavors – The sweet and savory flavors from the olives, raisins and spices make this ground beef recipe unforgettable.
- One pan wonder – All you need to make this authentic Cuban dish is a skillet — that means easy cleanup!
- Meal-prep – Make a big batch of this delicious beef picadillo recipe and enjoy it all week long.
This flavor-packed Cuban Beef Picadillo recipe is comfort food done right!
Ingredients and Tips
- Ground beef – I prefer to use ground chuck, but use whatever cut you like.
- Vegetables – You’ll need chopped onion and garlic.
- Serrano peppers – Use seeded and chopped Serrano peppers to get that heat.
- Seasonings – To get that balance of savory flavors you’ll need ground cumin, smoked paprika, ground cinnamon and salt.
- Tomato sauce – You can use either canned or jarred tomato sauce.
- Pimento stuffed green olives – Use either whole and sliced, or save time by purchasing pre-sliced olives.
- Raisins – For that sweet twist, you can use red raisins or golden raisins.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- Potatoes – Add diced potatoes to make this meal even heartier.
- Protein – Swap the ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken for a lighter version.
- Veggies – Mix in spinach, peas, bell peppers or kale for a veggie boost.
- Vegetarian – Replace the ground beef with diced mushrooms or lentils.
How to Make Cuban Beef Picadillo
Make this sweet and savory authentic Cuban Beef Picadillo recipe using just one pan and in under 30 minutes!
Find the full Cuban Beef Picadillo recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing Leftovers – Store cooled down leftovers in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating Leftovers – Reheat in a skillet or microwave and make sure to stir ocassionally.
Serving Suggestions
Typically, this Cuban picadillo recipe is served warm with fluffy white rice and black beans. We also highly recommend enjoying with a side of baked sweet plantains or crispy fried tostones. You can also add a runny fried egg on top!
It’s also delicious to enjoy as a flavorful taco filling! Layer into flour or corn tortillas, and garnish with chopped cilantro, cotija cheese, and your favorite hot sauce.
This is a fabulous dish for meal prepping for weekly lunches. All of the flavors become more intense as they mingle!
Frequently Asked Questions
The name comes from the Spanish word for “hash,” which is a reference to the dish being made with finely minced or ground meat.
Yes, you can skip the olives and the raisins, but it will change the flavor profile of this dish quite a bit.
I like to use ground chuck because it has just enough fat, but you can also use a leaner ground beef.
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Cuban Beef Picadillo
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 serrano peppers seeded and chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 pounds ground beef (I used beef chuck.)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 cup pimento stuffed green olives drained and sliced
- ¾ cup raisins
Instructions
- Set a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, chopped onions, garlic, serrano peppers, and cilantro. Saute for 3-5 minutes to soften.
- Add in the ground beef, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, and salt. Brown the beef, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5-8 minutes.
- Once the meat is cooked, add in the tomato sauce, vinegar, olives, and raisins. Simmer and stir another 5-7 minutes, until the sauce tightens around the meat.
- Serve warm with rice or as a taco filling.
Notes
You can freeze for up to 3 months, but note that the olives and raisins won’t have quite the same great tenderness when frozen, defrosted, and reheated.
After living in Florida for almost 20 years, I lost my handwritten collection of recipes, including a handful of Cuban recipes. Most heartbreaking was the loss of the picadillo recipe given me by my friend Vince’s abuela, who had since passed. I’ve tried several versions but until I found yours, they were lacking. So glad to have this back in my arsenal again. Thank you!
Sweet & spicy. I didn’t have Serrano peppers so I used poblanos & sweet pickled jalapeños. Also didn’t have green olives so I used black.
Delicious. I love when cultural foods naturally incorporate depth of flavor. So much wisdom in the knowledge of our ancestors. Sweet from the raisins, salt from the olives, savory from the sauce. Yum 😋
This was wonderful – thank you!! It was even better the next day :)
It’s all good except for the serrano peppers, thise are not used in Cuban food. They use italian frying Peppers (ie, cubanel peppers.)
This looks incredibly delicious! The perfect meal!!
This surprised me! I was skeptical, I’ll be honest. But I thought I’d go ahead and give it a go anyway. This was so good! I served it up with a side of brown rice. So delicious. So fun to try a new cuisine from a different culture!
This was delicious. Love those olives in there!
holy guacamole! This recipe is unlike anything else and I love all the flavors and textures that are added in. (plus anything with olives seems to be one of my favorite things haha)