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Slow Cooker Picadillo

This Crock Pot Picadillo is a flavorful Cuban dish made with ground beef and a sauce featuring simmering tomatoes, green olives, bell peppers, cumin, and spices. Perfect for a hearty, easy-to-make dinner.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 12 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 27 minutes
Servings: 11
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 120
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients
  • 2.5 lbs 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 cup minced onion
  • 1 cup diced red bell peppers
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 0.25 cup minced cilantro
  • 1 small tomato diced
  • 8 oz tomato sauce can
  • 0.25 cup alcaparrado manzanilla olives, pimientos, capers or green olives
  • 1.5 tsp ground cumin
  • 0.25 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • kosher salt to taste
  • fresh pepper to taste
  • 1.25 cups water

Method
 

Preparation Steps
  1. Brown meat in a large deep skillet on medium-high heat; season generously with salt and a little pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.
  2. When meat is no longer pink, drain all the liquid from the pan. Add the onions, garlic, and bell peppers to the meat and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
  3. 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.
  4. Set slow cooker to HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8.
  5. 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].
  6. Discard the bay leaves and serve over brown rice.
  7. Makes about 5 3/4 cups.

Notes

Picadillo is incredibly versatile! Serve it over brown rice, spaghetti squash, or baby spinach. You can also use leftovers to make stuffed peppers or quesadillas. Feel free to adjust spices to your liking, as slow cookers can sometimes mellow flavors.