This Easy Picadillo is a simple dish with bold flavor. It’s a heavenly, comforting, and delicious meal that you can make in one pan!
Welcome to the dish that is SO GOOD Reagan and I both said we’d bathe in it. Gross? Maybe. Delicious? SO MUCH YES. I make my Easy Picadillo with a mix of ground beef and ground turkey in a tomato sauce with olives and tons of flavor. Yeah, it’s my own spin.
Where Does Picadillo Come From?
Honestly? Straight from heaven! But for real, it’s a popular dish in Spain, Latin America, and in the Philippines. “Picar” means “to mince,” which is why there’s ground meat in here! The LL makes a “y” sound, so it’s pronounced “peek-a-dee-yo.” Class dismissed! Now go make some Easy Picadillo!
This actually starts out pretty similarly to my Ground Taco Meat with Homemade Seasoning, but with just a couple simple additions, it turns into something totally new and special. I use my FAVORITE canned green olives from Trader Joe’s. Even though I usually hate olives, I love these ones! So if you aren’t usually an olive lover, give these a try.
How to Serve Picadillo
I really love how versatile this Easy Picadillo is! Just a quick side dish turns this into a complete and tasty meal. Try it…
- Over rice (Coconut Rice would be delicious!)
- With quinoa
- Alongside a pot of couscous
- In lettuce wraps
- Baked in a bell pepper
Easy Picadillo Leftovers
I make a big batch (2 lbs of meat!) because it’s one of the few dishes that makes leftovers I truly love. I’m not usually a leftovers person, but with Easy Picadillo, I say sign me up. It’s so yum as lunch the next day!
More Delicious Main Dishes
- 30-Minute Fettuccine Turkey Bolognese
- Skillet Chicken & Green Beans
- Tuscan Sheet Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Kale
- Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
- Ground Turkey Tostadas
For more easy, delicious dishes like this Picadillo, check out my free 5 Days of Dinner guide that takes the guesswork out of meal planning for a week. You deserve the break!
Easy Picadillo
- Yield: 6–8 1x
Description
This Easy Picadillo is a simple dish with bold flavor. It’s a heavenly, comforting, and delicious meal that you can make in one pan!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground turkey (can use any ground meat you like)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¾ cup marinara sauce (your favorite kind)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 can green olives, halved
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium/high heat. Add the olive oil, ground beef, ground turkey, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and paprika. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat and cook through – about 7-9 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, marinara sauce, cherry tomatoes, olives and chili flakes. Stir to combine and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over rice, quinoa, in lettuce cups or on it’s own!
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Katie
For anyone that doesn’t have access to Trader Joe’s, the Lindsay brand ripe green olives (in a red can) are exactly the same and I find them at both Kroger and Publix!
Life is but a Dish
Good to know!
Amy
do you think I could freeze and re-heat?
Life is but a Dish
Absolutely!
Sarah
This was so good!! I am not a big olive lover but I bought the Lindsay brand listed in a previous comment and they were really mild and tasty. Can’t wait to take the leftovers to work for lunch. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!
★★★★★
Ali
Laney this was so delish! I love when I can find a recipe that I have all the items for already. What I love about your recipes is that they are easy to follow, to the point and even my husband can do it! Lol! I also want to bathe in it, so i don’t think that’s gross at all! I served with rice and lettuce cups on the side. Even my toddler at it all up!
Life is but a Dish
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
Erica
So yummy!
★★★★★
Brianna
A favorite that I make at least every two weeks! Quick to throw together, too. Thanks Laney!
★★★★★
Allison
Love this! I’ve made it twice and it’s always great, especially on top of Laney’s coconut rice!
★★★★★
Life is but a Dish
That’s my favorite way to eat it as well!
Jessica Bamba
I love this recipe so much and will keep this in rotation! Thanks Laney!
★★★★★
Ed lane
I love this recipe. I agree about leftovers the more it sits the better it gets
★★★★★
Donna
Do I need to drain the ground beef?
Life is but a Dish
If there’s a ton of fat you can, I never need to
Donna
Just made it for the first time.
Yummy ! Definitely Will make it again. I served it over spaghetti squash with avocado on top and my husband had it with coconut rice and a salad. Adding this to the dinner rotation. 😊
Mary
So tasty and easy to pull together! Thank you for a stupidly delicious recipe!
★★★★★
TLy
Love this! I’ve been wanting to try this dish but the teaditional recipie was really intimidating me! This is so yummy and so much easier!
TLy
I did use spanish olives not the Trader Joes ones. Those tasted like regular olives to me which wouldnt give the briney kick the Spanish olives do