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Tacos de picadillo

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Taco type
Also known as: Picadillo tacos, Tacos dorados de picadillo

Tacos de picadillo are tacos filled with picadillo, a hash of minced or ground meat cooked with tomato, onion and garlic and often enriched with diced vegetables, raisins, almonds and olives. Picadillo is a versatile home filling used in soft tacos, flautas, chiles rellenos and many other dishes.

Contents
  1. Picadillo
  2. In tacos
  3. Variations
  4. Serving
  5. Recipe
  6. Where to try it
  7. Reviews
  8. See also
  9. References

Picadillo

Larousse's culinary dictionary defines picadillo generally as a mixture of meat, fish or vegetables cut into very small pieces and used as the base of fillings, and in everyday cooking as a mince often made from leftover meat. In Mexican cooking specifically, it says, picadillo is usually chopped or ground pork or beef cooked with onion, garlic, tomato, parsley, raisins, almonds and olives, among other ingredients. Mexican picadillo is served alone or with rice or beans and is widely used to fill empanadas, quesadillas, enchiladas, tamales, chiles, calabacitas, chayotes and cheeses.

Everyday home versions are often simpler, built on ground beef, tomato and onion with diced potato and carrot, while festive versions lean toward the sweet-savory profile of raisins, almonds and olives described by Larousse.

In tacos

Picadillo is a natural taco filling because it is cooked fairly dry and holds together. Larousse names seasoned ground beef among the most common fillings of flautas, and El Diario NY lists picadillo among the fillings used for fried tacos. Soft tacos of picadillo are a frequent family meal, and the Larousse entry for quesadillas lists picadillo among standard quesadilla fillings as well. Picadillo is also the classic alternative to cheese inside a chile relleno, which in turn is one of the stars of the guisado taco.

Variations

The ratio of meat to vegetables varies with budget: potatoes and carrots stretch a small amount of beef, and chayote or squash may be added. Some cooks season with cumin, oregano or a little chipotle; others add peas. Larousse also notes the much older European use of the word for minced meat bound into croquettes, meatballs and gratins, a reminder that the Mexican dish grew from Spanish and broader European kitchen practice before acquiring local chiles and tomatoes. For tacos, the key is texture: a picadillo cooked until it is moist but not soupy will sit neatly in a soft tortilla, while a drier batch is needed for rolling and frying.

Serving

Picadillo tacos are usually eaten soft, with a spoonful of red salsa and sometimes a little shredded lettuce or a slice of avocado. Larousse notes that Mexican picadillo is also eaten as a dish on its own with rice or beans, so a single batch often serves for a plated meal one day and tacos, quesadillas or stuffed chiles the next.

Recipe

Makes 12 tacos · Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500 g ground beef (or half beef, half pork)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, blended or grated
  • 1 medium potato, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green olives (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • Salsa roja

Steps

  1. Brown the meat in the oil over high heat, breaking it up, and pour off excess fat.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes.
  3. Add the potato and carrot, then the tomato and a pinch of salt; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add raisins and olives if using and cook uncovered until the mixture is moist but not soupy, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
  5. Spoon into warm tortillas and serve with salsa.

For flautas or tacos dorados, cook the picadillo until quite dry, roll in tortillas and fry until crisp.

Where to try it

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Picadillo". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "Flauta". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "¡El auténtico sabor mexicano! Irresistibles tacos de papa con chorizo". El Diario NY. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  4. "Quesadilla". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Beef tacos Guisados Home cooking Taco types