Filipino-style Picadillo with two delicious versions! With ground beef and potatoes cooked in tomato sauce, this Spanish-inspired dish is hearty and tasty comfort food you’ll love with steamed rice.
I first published this Picadillo with potatoes in April 2015, and I am re-posting it to include another delicious version of the recipe.
A few years ago, I shared my photo of picadillo with chayote on KP’s Facebook page, and one reader commented, “Oh what an interesting spin on picadillo. I’ve never had it like this before.” Then a week after, I shared my giniling na baboy recipe and another reader commented, “We call this picadillo at home.”
Growing up, I knew Filipino-style picadillo as a soup made of minced beef, tomatoes, and potatoes or chayote, so I didn’t understand the reference to giniling. Naturally, I was a bit confused and had to do a little research on the etymology of the dish.
What is Picadillo
Influence of Spanish colonization, picadillo is a dish popular in the Philippines as well as other Latin countries. Its name is from the Spanish word “picar” which means “to mince.”
It is traditionally made of ground beef, fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce, and other ingredients abundant in the region such as potatoes, carrots, green peas, olives, and capers.
From further readings, I learned that our local picadillo indeed has two types. One is the “soupy” version with chayote or potatoes (pictured above), and the other is a hash-like stew we know as giniling na baka or arroz a la cubana.
As you can see from the recipe card below, both versions are pretty similar other than decreasing the amount of water/broth, using tomato sauce, and adding carrots and raisins in the stew version.
Both ways are delicious and choosing one or the other depends on what you’re in the mood for. I like the soupy variety when the weather is cold and chilly while the dry version is perfect for potlucks or as packed lunch to work.
How do you cook picadillo? Let me know in the comments below. Enjoy!
Filipino-style Picadillo with Potatoes
Ingredients
Picadillo Soup Version
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cups water or beef broth
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Picadillo Stew Version
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water or beef broth
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Picadillo Soup Version
- In a pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until limp.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking to pieces with the back of a spoon, until lightly browned. Drain excess fat, if any.
- Add fish sauce and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook, mashing with the back of a spoon until softened and release juice.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until beef is cooked through.
- Add potatoes. Cover and continue to simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Picadillo Stew Version
- In a pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until limp.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking to pieces with the back of a spoon, until lightly browned. Drain excess fat, if any.
- Add fish sauce and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until beef is cooked through.
- Add potatoes, carrots, raisins. Cover and continue to simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes or until tender.
- Continue to cook until sauce is reduced and thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
The stew version was known as “Arroz a la Cubana” in our family, and was served with fried bananas, and a fried egg on a mound of steamed rice. There was no water involved, just the juice from the tomatos served for moisture, and I remember Mom adding peas. The rice was formed into mounds by shaping in a cup with olive oil.
Thank for sharing your food memories. I am going to try that olive oil trick.
I do the stew version but will definitely give the soup version a try. Thanks, Lalaine!
Enjoy, Suzane 🙂
Looks like menudo!.. Yum yum!
Yes, it’s very similar to menudo. 🙂
My family cooks it 2 different ways – your recipe and my mom’s “red picadillo” which is basically with carrots, peas and instead of beef broth, it’s cooked with tomato paste. I like the former with rice and the latter in a pamdesal or dinner roll. Both pretty yummy. Some add raisins to the red picadillo but it was never my thing.
Hi David, please email me your different recipes for picadillo. Thank you very much. – Peachy
The word “Picadillo” comes from “Picada” as in “carne picada” or chopped meat. In Mexico at least, Picadillo is used for the dish that uses ground meat to make a dish (other than meatballs (albondigas) or burgers or meatloaf). The dish itself can be quite soupy or quite dry, it matters not (for the name). It might have just potatoes and tomatoes, or dozens of things in it. You could walk into ten houses in the same street and ask them for their Picadillo recipe and you will receive ten different recipes. If you would like to try a very weird dry picadillo (has mustard, maggi sauce, worchestershire sauce) shoot me an e-mail and I’ll give you the specifics.
Thank you for the information, David. I’ll surely email you for the recipe as it sounds very intriguing.
Made this last night 🙂 It was great and tasty but I think I would’ve needed more than 2 cups of water/broth. Also I think I’ll still call this giniling as my boyfriend and I have never heard of the dish picadillo before.
Hello Ruby
I like mine more on the soupy side but please, yes, adjust the amount of liquid to best fit your taste. I believe some regions in the Philippines call this picadillo which basically means “chopped meat”. 🙂
What do you eat with picadillo?
Thank you,
Shirley
Hi Shirly,
I like to eat the picadillo with steamed rice. 🙂
I usually make rice and maybe beans to go with it…either, or. Depending on how soupy or dry I make it, I’ve even made nachos and burritos with it.
Thanks for the tip!