Crock Pot Picadillo is a flavorful Cuban dish made with ground beef and a sauce made from simmering tomatoes, green olives, bell peppers, cumin, and spices.
Picadillo is a dish I grew up on and my friends loved eating over whenever my mom made it for dinner. It was probably one of the first recipes I ever learned how to cook and I make it at least once a month, although I usually make this stove-top version. Since so many of you are always asking me for slow cooker recipes, I adapted it and it worked out great.
I knew this would adapt nicely for the slow cooker. In fact, I think it’s even better since the lean beef cooks longer and becomes very tender the longer it simmers. It’s a great recipe to prep-ahead then turn on in the morning when you know you will have a long day ahead. And if you have a pressure cooker, you can also try my Instant Pot Picadillo version.
This makes a lot, so you’ll get several meals out of it. We serve it over rice the first night, then make tacos, empanadas, stuffed peppers, or quesadillas with the leftovers. Don’t you love a recipe that can serve as two different meals!
Helpful Tips
- Anytime you use ground beef in the crock pot, you’ll need to brown it first on the stove. Since the skillet is already out, I also saute the onions, peppers and garlic in with the meat to let the flavors bloom.
- If you want to prep this the night before, the meat is fully cooked, so you can add all the ingredients into the crock pot, then refrigerate. The next morning plug it in and go to work, or go on with your day. When you come home, you’ll just have to make some rice and a salad and dinner is ready!
- By the way, lean beef is the meat of choice for this dish in my house, but you can also use lean bison or ground turkey if desired. 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 up to 5 days.
Can You Freeze Picadillo?
Absolutely! To freeze, let it cool then transfer to freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. You can reheat in the microwave or thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove.
And since so many are asking, although I have and love my Instant Pot, I still love my slow cooker! I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!
More Slow Cooker Recipes You Will Love!
Crock Pot Picadillo
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 3 hrs 12 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 27 mins
Crock Pot Picadillo is a flavorful Cuban dish made with ground beef and a sauce made from simmering tomatoes, green olives, bell peppers, cumin, and spices.
- 2 1/2 lbs 93% lean ground beef
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 cup diced red bell peppers
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup alcaparrado, manzanilla olives, pimientos, capers or green olives
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
- kosher salt and fresh pepper, to taste
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Brown meat in a large deep skillet on medium-high heat; season with generously with salt and a little pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.
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When meat is no longer pink, drain all the liquid from pan. Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the meat and cook an addition 3-4 minutes.
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Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, then add tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce, 1 1/4 cups water, alcaparrado (or olives) [I usually add some of the brine from the jar for added flavor] then add the spices.
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Set slow cooker to HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8.
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After it’s ready, taste for salt and add more as needed [I added a little more cumin and garlic powder at the end as well since the crock pot tends to mute the flavors of herbs and spices].
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Discard the bay leaves and serve over brown rice.
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Makes about 5 3/4 cups.
Serving: 1/2 cup, Calories: 207kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 8.5g, Saturated Fat: 3.5g, Cholesterol: 74mg, Sodium: 477mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g
Freestyle Points: 3
Points: +4
Keywords: crock pot picadillo, low carb, Slow Cooker Picadillo, Slow Cooker Recipes, Whole 30 Recipes
Photo credit: Erin Alvarez