Instant Pot Picadillo (Cuban)

 A delicious, warm and hearty dish that goes by the name of Cuban Picadillo.  Generously seasoned ground beef hash that is stewed in tomato sauce, sofrito, olives and peppers. Freezer friendly and suitable for bulk batch cooking, if required!

If you're a meat eater, more specifically ground beef, then you do not want to miss out on this Cuban style picadillo.

I remember the first time I tried this Cuban recipe, it was when I visited Cuba a few years ago.

They say the best food to eat is outside of the tourist area and this definitely rings true.

What is Cuban picadillo?

A hash cuisine made from ground meat - pork, beef or turkey. The meat is generously seasoned and slow cooked in tomato sauce, wine with capers, olives and raisins.

The name Picadillo comes from the Spanish word "Picar" which means to mince and this wonderful dish is popular throughout many Spanish colonies including Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, The Philippines, Puerto Rico and of course Cuba.

Similar to the other Caribbean islands, each island has their own version of how to make this wonderful dish.

For example, some include potatoes, white wine, broth, beans, annatto and so fourth.

Regardless of what variation you make, the flavours are bold and unforgettable if I do say so myself, so stick around if you want to make the best version of this dish.

Recipe preparation

My version of picadillo is modified so it strays away from the original (not too much) but keep that in mind.

I originally made this recipe several years ago on the stovetop, so I've decided to adapt the recipe to being more instant pot friendly since so many people are asking for more instant pot recipes.

I like to season the picadillo in advance before searing the ground meat. The reason for this is the flavour is guaranteed to be locked in during the browning stage.

If you want your beef to be more flavoursome I recommend following this step.

I like to use a combination of paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper, onion/garlic powder, chilli and pink salt.

The herbs and spices are commonly associated with adobo seasoning (a popular Latin American seasoning) and very much similar to Sazon one that gives a really good kick.

Although most picadillo recipes tend to use individual herbs and spices as opposed to pre-blended seasoning I found a few tablespoons of the homemade adobo seasoning really helped to deepen the flavour.

Some of the base ingredients such as the onion, garlic, bell peppers and tomatoes are associated what's known as sofrito (a Latin America mixture similar to Green Seasoning and Haitian Epis

It should only take a few minutes for the beef to brown then you'll want to add the rest of the ingredients.

I personally prefer to add these ingredients after the saute function has been cancelled and stir them in using the residual heat.

I do this as a precautionary measure just in case the burn message may come up (hasn't happened).

I also like to add red grape juice rather than red wine as a non alcoholic step.

You can add red wine instead but since I don't drink and always have grape juice in the house I use this instead.

Reasons to make this dish

• Perfect for meat eaters
• A creative dish for people who like ground beef
• It's instant pot friendly
• An ideal weeknight dinner and one to use for batch prep/cooking
• It tastes amazing!

The steps

•  Place the ground beef in a large bowl.
• Season the beef with the paprika, black pepper, onion/garlic granules, cumin, oregano, chill powder and pink salt.
• Switch on the instant pot and select the "saute" button and +/- to 5 minutes and wait for it to display "hot".

• Add the olive oil and proceed to saute the onion, garlic and green bell peppers for a minute.
• Add the ground beef and seal and brown the meat (this should take roughly 3-5 minutes). You want all the juices to evaporate so the flavour is locked into the beef.
• Press the "cancel" button.

• Sprinkle in the cumin, oregano and parsley along with olives and raisins then stir.
• Pour in the red grape juice and chopped tomatoes then stir once again.
• Add the bay leaves.
• Place the lid on and flick the knob to "sealing" then set to high pressure and adjust the "+/-" to 15 minutes.

• Once cooked, leave for a natural release (this should take 10-15 minutes).
• Switch the knob to "venting" to remove any excess steam.
• Remove the lid and stir then do a taste test and add more pink salt, if needed.

Notes and tips

• Feel free to use turkey, pork even a meat alternative i.e tofu chunks instead.
• For best results, I recommend seasoning the meat in advance (you don't have to leave it overnight, but it helps).
• Make sure the meat juices have evaporated as you are sealing the meat as this is guaranteed to make the meat much more flavoursome.
• You can use onion/garlic or granules, I like to use granules because they are more accessible.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated (once cool) for up to 2 days.
• This is a freezer friendly recipe, store in freezer friendly containers for up to 3 months.
• Feel free to add any potatoes, beans or any other vegetables to your picadillo.

Other Cuban recipes to try

• Cuban Mojo Marinade
• Cuban Black Beans
• Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans
• Instant Pot Cuban Black Bean Soup
• Yuca Con Mojo
• Moros y Cristianos
• Air Fried Yuca Fries

Serving ideas and how to use the picadillo

• Cauliflower Rice
• Brown Rice
• Mixed Vegetables
• Oven Baked Plantain
• Pastelon
• Empanadas
• Yuca En Escabeche

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Instant Pot Picadillo (Cuban)

A delicious, warm and hearty dish that goes by the name of Cuban Picadillo.  Generously seasoned ground beef hash that is stewed in tomato sauce, sofrito, olives and peppers. Freezer friendly and suitable for bulk batch cooking, if required!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Entree

Cuisine: Cuban

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

To season the beef

• ▢ 1-1½ lb ground beef (680g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon paprika (14g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon black pepper (4g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon onion granules (4g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon garlic granules (6g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon oregano (4g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon cumin (4g)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon chilli powder (0.5g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon pink salt (12g)

To cook the picadillo

• ▢ 3 tablespoon olive oil (42g)
• ▢ 1 large onion (150g) chopped
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves (12g) minced
• ▢ 1 green bell pepper (1g) chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin (2g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oregano (1g)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon parsley (0.2g)
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ ⅓ cup olives or capers (58g)
• ▢ ½ cup raisins (72g)
• ▢ ¾ cup of red grape juice (188g) see post, can use red wine instead
• ▢ 1¼ cup canned chopped tomatoes (300g)
• ▢ additional pink salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

•  Place the ground beef in a large bowl.
• Season the beef with the paprika, black pepper, onion/garlic granules, cumin, oregano, chill powder and pink salt.
• Switch on the instant pot and select the "saute" button and +/- to 5 minutes and wait for it to display "hot".
• Add the olive and proceed to saute the onion, garlic and green bell peppers for a minute.
• Add the ground beef and seal and brown the meat (this should take roughly 3-5 minutes). You want all the juices to evaporate so the flavour is locked into the beef.
• Press the "cancel" button.
• Sprinkle in the cumin, oregano and parsley along with olives and raisins then stir.
• Pour in the red grape juice and chopped tomatoes then stir once again.
• Add the bay leaves.
• Place the lid on and flick the knob to "sealling" then set to high pressure and adjust the "+/-" to 15 minutes.
• Once cooked, leave for a natural release (this should take 10-15 minutes).
• Switch the knob to "venting" to remove any excess steam.
• Remove the lid and stir then do a taste test and add more pink salt, if needed.

Notes

• Feel free to use turkey, pork even a meat alternative i.e tofu chunks instead.
• For best results, I recommend seasoning the meat in advance (you don't have to leave it overnight, but it helps).
• Make sure the meat juices have evaporated as you are sealing the meat as this is guaranteed to make the meat much more flavoursome.
• You can use onion/garlic or granules, I like to use granules because they are more accessible.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated (once cool) for up to 2 days.
• This is a freezer friendly recipe, store in freezer friendly containers for up to 3 months.
• Feel free to add any potatoes, beans or any other vegetables to your picadillo.

Nutrition

Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 637mg | Potassium: 789mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 4mg

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