Picadillo is one of my favorite Puerto Rican dishes I've learned from my husband's family. We eat Puerto Rican food often, but this is one dish my husband always makes the best. This is his family recipe, and it's my favorite version of picadillo.

I love serving this with tostones! They're so yummy, and fun to scoop it up with!
Bonus: If you're on this blog for the paleo and gluten free foods, this recipe naturally fits the bill! It's also soy free and Whole30 compatible!
Why is Picadillo called Picadillo?
Picadillo is a meat mixture from Latin American cuisine. The literal definition is a spicy Latin American has or stew of meat vegetables often with raisins and olives.
Different cultures have different variations. Within different cultures even, different families put their own spin on it. You'll never find a picadillo that's exactly the same as another!
This one is exactly how my in-laws make it!
Ingredients Needed
- Ground Beef
- Sofrito
- Sazon
- Adobo
- Spanish Olives
- Cilantro
- Tomato Sauce
- Annotto Oil (see below)
- Water
Instructions
First, in a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and break it up while it cooks.
When the meat is about halfway or so cooked, add the sofrito and mix it in thoroughly as the meat continues to cook.
Next, add in the sazon and adobo seasonings and mix completely.
Take the jar of olives, and drain it. Add them to the meat mixture, and continue to break up the meat as it cooks while also breaking up the olives.
Prep the cilantro. Chop off any dirty ends. Add it little by little for the rest of the recipe. Break the pieces with your hands and drop them in, but be sure to stir the mixture to let them wilt before adding more.
Next, add in the tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly. Continue to keep adding in cilantro.
Finally, mix in the *annatto oil and the water. Stir everything together. Most likely the meat is fully cooked by now, but you can be sure by testing with a thermometer to make sure it reads 165F degrees. If you don't have one, make sure there is no longer any pink on the ground beef.
Let everything simmer on low for about another 5-10 minutes, to let the flavors completely mix. You can continue to break down the meat and olives and finish adding the cilantro. Enjoy!
*Note: If you need to make annatto oil, here are the steps:
In a small or medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium-low heat and add the annatto seeds.
Almost immediately, the seeds will start to color the oil to a yellow color. Keep heating the mixture, stirring occasionally, until an orange-reddish color is reached.
When the deeper color is reached, strain the oil, and you're ready to add it into this recipe!
Whole Foods Picadillo Recipe Sourcing
When it comes to the sofrito, at least here in CT, almost all of the store bought varieties contain soy, unsafe food coloring, and sometime more questionable ingredients. The best option is to get it homemade.
There are many recipes online you could make. Personally, my husband's abuela taught us to make it, and we make our own in large quantities and freeze it.
Where I live in a very diverse area, there are some small Hispanic stores where I could buy it made fresh and authentic and homemade, without additives and unclean ingredients.
You could also buy it in person from someone in the Hispanic community. Especially around the holiday season, I see some of my Puerto Rican friends and family making a selling sofrito along with other Puerto Rican food items. (Hello pasteles!!!)
If you're not sure where to look, check Facebook Marketplace as I've seen some sold on there, or ask in a local facebook group.
For the Annotto seed oil, this is something Hispanic cooks have ready for regular cooking, but if you're new to Hispanic recipes you may not be familiar with it. My husband loves the color this adds to foods.
The instructions are above to make the annatto oil.
What to Serve with Puerto Rican Picadillo
There are SO many uses for Puerto Rican Picadillo! My husband and I love to let it be the star of the meal.
- Typically, we serve it over white rice. The rice is perfect for soaking up the sauce and absorbing the flavors!
- When I used to do Whole30, my favorite way to keep this recipe Whole30 compatible was to serve it on top of yucca. Boil the frozen yucca according to package instructions, remove the woody stems, and serve.
So yummy! It's one of my favorite Whole30 meals, and quite filling! - Picadillo can also be stuffed inside of foods such as empanadas, papas rellenas, or arepas. If you're using this recipe to stuff something, reduce the amount of liquid used. Specifically, reduce the tomato sauce, water, and oil. That way your mixture isn't soaking the empanada dough or whatever you're stuffing.
- As mentioned above, these are great with with homemade tostones! They are also clean and healthy, and the perfect way to scoop that picadillo straight to your mouth!
Storage instructions
Once cooled or mostly cooled, store it in an air tight container in the fridge.
It will keep up to 3 days safely.
To reheat, either place it in the oven until warm, or reheat it on the stove top.
Can you freeze Picadillo?
Yes, you can freeze picadillo! It freezes well.
Freeze it in a reusable air tight container.
To thaw, either defrost it in the fridge, or monitor it under running water.
Puerto Rican Picadillo Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Large Skillet or Dutch Oven
- 1 wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb ground beef
- ¼ cup sofrito
- 2 teaspoon sazon
- 2 teaspoon adobo
- 2.5 oz jar of spanish olives
- ½ to ¾ bunch cilantro
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 4 tablespoon annatto oil see above in post
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add ground beef and break up while it cooks.
- When the beef is halfway cooked, add the sofrito and mix in, then add the sazon and adobo and mix in.
- Drain the olives and add to the beef, and as it all continues to cook, break up the olives along with the beef.
- Chop off any dirty ends of the cilantro, and break into half pieces with your hands. Throughout the remainder of cooking, add pieces of the cilantro in and mix, letting them mix in and wilt before adding more.
- Add the tomato sauce in and mix, adding more cilantro.
- Mix in the annatto oil and water.
- Let everything simmer for about 5-10 minutes, continuing to break up beef and olives, and adding more cilantro. Serve!
Notes
More Yummy Dinners to Try
Did you make this recipe? What were your thoughts? Let me know below!
Post a picture on Instagram and tag me @thecleanhappylife! I'd love to see how you served it too!
Note-this post contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission, but at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your support!
Amie says
I love that this meal freezes well too! Delicious and convenient!
Rachel Rivera says
Yes, I love that it's freezer friendly! Perfect for meal prepping!
Melissa says
I added sautéed onions, green peppers and garlic, along with a bit of coriander. Those additions made this recipe perfection.
Thanks for posting it!
Rachel Rivera says
So glad you tried and enjoyed it, and even experimented with it a bit! Sounds delicious!
Melissa says
I added sautéed onions, green peppers and garlic, along with a bit or coriander. Those additions made this recipe perfection.
Thanks for posting it!
Lauren says
You need a 'jump to recipe' link.
Jeanine says
Wow what a great recipe, I can't wait to try this out... thank you so much
Rachel Rivera says
My pleasure, it's really such delicious picadillo! I hope you enjoy it!
Monika says
Oooh this looks (and sounds 😉) delicious! I love cooking and trying new things, this recipe is definitely going on my to do list. Thank you!
Rachel Rivera says
Awesome, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy it! I love making this for movie snacks or get togethers!
Shoshana says
Can you please clarify the ingredients? You have sofrito listed twice, but the link goes to sazon, not sofrito. Just want to be sure I get what I need; I have a TON of frozen yuca (purchased to make New Year's sancocho) and would love to try this recipe with Beyond Beef.
Thank you!
Rachel Rivera says
Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I've updated the post and the recipe. You do want both sofrito and sazon. Any questions let me know! 🙂 Enjoy!
Rachel Rivera says
Also, I LOVE sancocho! That was the first Puerto Rican meal I ever had, made my my husband's abuela when I first met her. So yummy!
Tamara says
I need to try this!
thecleanhappylife says
Sure do! Hope you enjoy it!
Mike Worley says
Me gusta picadillo tan mucho. Gracias por todo.
thecleanhappylife says
De nada mi amigo, yo tambien!
Laia says
This looks SO good, I can’t wait to try it!!! I am always looking for new exciting recipes and this one is getting printed right this very second. Thanks for sharing!!
thecleanhappylife says
Aww that makes me happy, thank you soooo much!! Enjoy 🥰
Annie says
Looks delicious! Could you make this with other than beef or would that be an abomination to the recipe?
thecleanhappylife says
😂😂 haha I won't tell if you don't! Lol jk I believe it is traditionally made with beef, however I know some vegans will make it with plant based "meat", so try whatever you'd like and see how it comes out!
The Hollapinos says
That looks so delicious! Now I’m hungry! Thank you!
thecleanhappylife says
It's so delicious, you'll have to try it!!
Naia says
This looks amazing! I’ve been trying to find new recipes to try and this looks amazing! Do you think it’s possible to do some vegetarian twist on this recipe? Thank you so much!
thecleanhappylife says
Thank you!! I'm personally not sure how that would work since I've never tried it, but I would try that meat substitute Beyond Meat. I know I've seen it at Target and my local grocery store! It looks just like regular ground beef, so worth a shot!
Naia says
Haha, okay, great! Thank you so much!