Crock Pot Picadillo is a tasty Cuban dish made with ground beef and a sauce made from boiling tomatoes, green olives, peppers, cumin and spices.
Picadillo is a dish
I
grew up with and my friends loved to eat every time my mother prepared it for dinner. It was probably one of the first recipes I learned to cook and I make it at least once a month, although I usually make this stove version. Since many of you always ask me for slow cooker recipes, I adapted it and it worked very well. A delicious way to use ground beef, and if you need more ideas, check out my other ground beef recipes.
I knew this would suit the slow cooker very well. In fact, I think it’s even better since lean meat cooks longer and becomes very tender the longer it simmers. It’s a great recipe to prepare ahead of time and then light up in the morning when you know you’ll have a long day ahead of you. And if you have a pressure cooker, you can also try my Instant Pot Picadillo version.
This does a lot, so you will get several meals from it. We serve it over rice the first night, then we make tacos, empanadas, stuffed peppers or quesadillas with leftovers. You don’t love a recipe that can serve as two different meals!
Every
- time you use ground beef in the clay pot, you will need to brown it on the stove first. Since the pan is already out, I also sauté the onions, peppers and garlic with the meat to make the flavors bloom.
- If you want to prepare this the night before, the meat is fully cooked, so you can add all the ingredients in the clay pot and then refrigerate. The next morning, plug it in and go to work, or get on with your day. When you get home, you will only have to make some rice and a salad and dinner is ready.
- By the way, lean meat is the meat of choice for this dish in my house. But you can also use lean bison or ground turkey if you want. Raisins are commonly added to this dish, but we prefer this without.
- Freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Can you freeze Picadillo?
Absolutely! To freeze, let it cool and then transfer it to safe containers for freezing and freezing for up to 3 months. You can reheat in the microwave or thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove.
And as many ask, even though I have and love my Instant Pot, I still love my slow cooker! I have the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget 6-quart programmable slow cooker (affiliate link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically heats up when it’s ready. It also has a meat probe that automatically turns off when finished. I hated my old clay pot, burned everything, and my food tasted strange. This slow cooker is so cool that I actually have several.
More slow cooker recipes you’ll love!
- Slow cooker Santa Fe
- Taco Chili
- Sesame Honey Chicken Crock Pot
- Maple Dijon Chicken
- Slow Cooker
Chicken Crock Pot Chicken
Slow Cooker Harrisa Chicken Crock Pot
<img src="https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Crock-Pot-Picadillo.png" alt="
Cuban Picadillo Recipe” />
Photo credit: Erin Alvarez
