Picadillo Croquetas

Name: Picadillo Croquetas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 can tomato sauce (8 oz can); 1/4 cup green olives, chopped; 2 tbsp raisins; 1/4 tsp ground cumin; 4 oz potato, boiled and mashed; 1 tbsp butter; 4 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup whole milk; 1 egg, beaten; 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs; 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying); to taste salt

Golden crispy croquettes filled with spiced ground beef picadillo. A beloved Cuban appetizer with a savory, tender interior.

50 minMediumServes 12180 cal/serving

CubanAppetizerStovetopStandard

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can tomato sauce (8 oz can)
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
2 tbsp raisins
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 oz potato, boiled and mashed
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
to taste salt

Instructions

1

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and cook 1 lb ground beef over medium-high heat until browned, breaking it up as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2

Add 1/2 medium finely diced yellow onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
3

Stir in 1/2 can tomato sauce (8 oz can), 1/4 cup green olives, chopped, 2 tbsp raisins, and 1/4 tsp ground cumin. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Let cool.
4

Make a béchamel sauce: melt 1 tbsp butter in a small pot, whisk in 4 tbsp all-purpose flour, then slowly add 1/2 cup whole milk while stirring. Cook until thick, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
5

Mix the cooled beef mixture with 4 oz potato, boiled and mashed and the béchamel sauce. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6

Shape into 12 oval croquettes. Dip each into 1 beaten egg, then coat with 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs.
7

Heat 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying) to 350°F in a deep skillet. Fry croquettes in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
8

Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with to taste salt. Serve hot.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

The Cuban Kitchen 30 recipes from this kitchen in one printable PDF. $5, no account.

Questions

How hot should the oil be for Picadillo Croquetas?

For Picadillo Croquetas, the frying oil is held at 350 F (about 175 C) in step 7. Hotter scorches the outside before the inside cooks, and cooler turns it greasy.

Can I skip the searing in Picadillo Croquetas?

Step 7 reads: "Fry croquettes in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown." You can, but you give up flavor. The browning in step 7 builds the savory base the rest of the dish is seasoned against. Give the pieces room so the pan stays hot.

What can I use instead of panko in Picadillo Croquetas?

The entry for Picadillo Croquetas calls for 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs. In its place: Coarse dry breadcrumbs, crushed cornflakes or crushed crackers all work. Fine breadcrumbs coat more densely, so use a little less.

Can I use ground turkey instead of ground beef in Picadillo Croquetas?

Yes. Choose turkey that is not extra-lean and add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, because turkey has less fat and browns more slowly. Season it a little harder than you would beef. As written, the entry for Picadillo Croquetas uses 1 lb ground beef.

Can I make Picadillo Croquetas dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in Picadillo Croquetas is 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 cup whole milk. Swap the butter for olive oil where it melts, or a plant-based block butter where it is creamed; the milk for unsweetened oat or soy milk. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Does Picadillo Croquetas contain eggs?

Yes: 1 egg, beaten. The full allergen list for this entry is gluten, dairy and eggs. Packaged ingredients vary by brand, so check labels if the allergy is serious.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.