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Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and filled with a delicious and savoury filling, these Picadillo Arepas are a must try combination. The Picadillo is high-protein, super easy to make, can be prepared in advance and tastes even better the next day. The arepas are equally fuss-free and an amazing gluten-free option. Serve them together with some sliced avocado and crumbled queso blanco and you’ve got a match made in heaven.
Why You’ll Love these Picadillo Arepas
- Easy: The picadillo is very easy to prepare and requires only a few, easy to find ingrediens.
- Make Ahead: Prepare the picadillo and arepas ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve.
- Delicious: Crispy and fluffy arepas stuffed with a delicious, savoury and perfectly seasoned beef filling is a hard thing to beat.
- Gluten-Free: Arepas are made with corn flour so they’re a great gluten-free option or bead substitute.
- Customizable: Feel free to substitute ground turkey or chicken, play with the picadillo seasonings or serve the arepas on the side instead of stuffing them with the filling.
Ingredients You Need for the Picadillo Arepas
- Ground Beef: Feel free to use any blend of ground beef you like here. I personally prefer a fattier grind, something like 80/20 because it has more flavour and the meat is more tender. You can also use ground turkey or ground chicken for a leaner option.
- Aromatics: A combination of diced onion, red bell pepper and garlic form the aromatic base for this picadillo.
- Seasoning: I kept things fairly simple this time with some smoked paprika, dry oregano, and ground cumin. For a more complex flavour profile, substitute your favourite Adobo seasoning, like this one from Primal Palate, or use the recipe for homemade adobo seasoning in my cookbook.
- Bay Leaves: I always add a couple of bay leaves to the picadillo for some extra flavour.
- Crushed Tomatoes: This recipe calls for crushed tomatoes. I find it gives the picadillo a good amount of tomato flavour without overpowering the other seasonings. I also sometimes use a combination of tomato paste and tomato passata. It really depends on what I have in my pantry at the time.
- Chicken Broth: Cooking the picadillo with a bit of chicken broth will not only boost the flavour but will also prevent it from drying out or burning in the pan. If you don’t have chicken broth, you can use water and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Olives: This is an absolute key ingredient to any picadillo in my opinion. I like to use stuffed Manzanilla olives because they have a delicious briney and slightly bitter flavour that helps cut through the richness of the fatty beef. They also give the picadillo a beautiful presentation.
Ingredients You Need for the Arepas
- Masarepa: This naturally gluten-free flour is made of corn that has been precooked with lime (calcium hydroxide) before being ground into a fine flour. It’s the main ingredient in making Arepas, but also makes for incredible emapanada dough.
- Salt: The arepa dough needs to be seasoned with a bit of salt, otherwise it won’t taste that great.
- Water: Using lukewarm water will help soften the masarepa and make it easier to work with.
- Avocado Oil: I like to shallow fry the arepas in avocado oil because it’s neutral-flavoured and has a high smoke point. Another heart-healthy option is to fry them in coconut oil, though this will impart some flavour. I sometimes add a bit of butter to the pan as well for extra flavour.
- Avocado: I like to serve the Picadillo Arepas with some sliced avocado. It gives them a delicious creamy texture and pop of colour.
- Queso Blanco: Finish the Picadillo Arepas with some crumbled queso blanco, queso fresco or your favourite cheese.
What are Arepas?
Arepas are a staple item, similar to a flatbread, made from pre-cooked cornmeal. They’re most popular in countries such as Venezuela and Colombia. They can be cooked on the grill, baked in the oven, fried in a pan with oil, or even boiled. Arepas are typically split open and stuffed with a variety of fillings, such as cheese, shredded meat, chicken, beans, eggs, or avocado.
When making arepas, it’s very important to use the correct type of cornmeal. Look for one that says fine-ground and pre-cooked masarepa. Doñarepa and P. A. N. are probably the two most common brands you’ll find in North American markets. The flour is usually labeled masarepa, which is not to be confused with masa harina – used to make tortillas. Masarepa comes in both white and yellow cornflour varieties, giving the arepas a different colour and slightly different flavour profile.
What is the Difference Between Masarepa and Masa Harina?
Masarepa, as mentioned earlier, is made from corn that has been precooked with lime (calcium hydroxide) before being ground into a fine flour. This precooking process, known as nixtamalization, gives masarepa its distinctive flavor and texture. It’s most commonly used to make arepas, empanadas, and other dishes in Colombian and Venezuelan cuisine.
Masa harina, on the other hand, is made from dried corn that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, often lime, then ground into a fine flour. This process is also a form of nixtamalization. Masa harina is used primarily in Mexican cuisine to make dishes such as tamales, tortillas, and tamales.
Make the Picadillo Arepas In Advance!
You can absolutely make the beef picadillo and arepas in advance. In fact, making the beef picadillo ahead of time is ideal because the flavours will get even better the next day and be more easier to work with when it’s time to serve the arepas.
If you make the arepas ahead of time, you can reheat them in a pan over medium-low heat with a bit of oil until crispy on the outside and warmed through. Or you can reheat them in an oven or toaster oven at 375F for around 8 minutes or until slightly crispy and warmed through.
What is Beef Picadillo?
Picadillo in general is a traditional Latin American dish that typically consists of ground meat (such as beef, pork, turkey or a combination thereof) cooked with various ingredients including onions, garlic, tomatoes, and a variety of seasonings. The dish often incorporates ingredients like diced potatoes, carrots, raisins, olives, and sometimes even hard-boiled eggs, depending on regional variations and personal preferences.
The exact recipe for picadillo can vary widely depending on the country or region where it is prepared. For example, in Mexico, picadillo might include ingredients like diced potatoes and carrots cooked with ground beef in a tomato-based sauce, seasoned with spices like cumin and cinnamon. In Cuba, picadillo often includes olives, raisins, and capers, giving it a sweet and savory flavor profile.
It’s an incredibly easy, delicious and versatile way to prepare any type of ground meat. It can be enjoyed as a main course with rice, beans, fried plantains and vegetables, or as a filling for tacos, empanadas, stuffed peppers, or served over rice or alongside beans as a main course.
Is the Picadillo Whole30 and Paleo?
While the arepas are not, the Beef Picadillo is in fact both Whole30 and Paleo so feel free to enjoy the recipe on its own for a quick and easy way to prepare ground meat. Serve it with cauliflower rice, plantains, baked potato, roasted sweet potatoes or sautéed vegetables.
Picadillo Arepas
Ingredients
For the Picadillo:
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup stuffed Manzanilla olives
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
For the Arepas:
- 2 cups yellow or white masarepa, fine-ground, pre-cooked cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups warm water, plus more as needed
- ¼ cup avocado oil, plus extra as needed, for frying
- 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter, optional
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup crumbled queso blanco, optional
Instructions
For the Picadillo:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent, around 8 minutes. Add the beef and cook, using a spatula to crumble it into small pieces, until it is no longer pink, around 8 minutes. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, oregano, and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring, until incorporated. Add half of the chicken broth and use a spatula to lift any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining chicken broth, olives and bay leaves and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a simmer, lower the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is tender, around 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has almost fully evaporated, around 20 more minutes. Cover and set aside until ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
For the Arepas:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water and salt and stir until dissolved. Slowly add the masarepa while stirring with a spoon. Continue stirring until no longer clumpy and a dough forms. The dough should be dry enough that it doesn’t stick to your hands, yet tacky and wet enough that the edges don’t crack when you flatten it. Adjust with more masarepa or water as needed.
- Shape the dough into a large ball, place it back in the bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the dough to hydrate.
- Separate the dough into 4 equal-sized portions for large arepas, or 8 portions for small arepas, and form them into balls. Using the palms of your hands, gently flatten the balls into discs approximately ¾-inches thick.
- Line a plate with a kitchen towel and set aside. Add half of the avocado oil and half of the butter, if using, to a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat until shimmering and the butter has melted. Working in batches, carefully add the arepas to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until golden brown, around 4 to 5 more minutes. Add more oil to the pan as needed. Transfer the arepas to the prepared towel-lined plate and set them aside as you fry the remaining arepas. If making the arepas ahead of time, they can be reheated in a 375F oven until warmed through, around 10 minutes.
- To assemble the arepas, use a sharp paring knife and make a horizontal incision along half of the arepa to create a pocket. Stuff the pocket with the picadillo, avocado and crumbled queso blanco.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
