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My Carne Picada Recipe cooks low and slow for the most delicious beef to use in tacos, fajitas, rice bowls, and more! Richly flavorful and tender, this picada slow cooker recipe will quickly become one of your favorite weeknight meals. It's so easy to make and is completely hands-off!
Carne Picada Recipes FAQs
Carne Picada literally translates to "minced meat" in Spanish, and can typically be found sold in packages as cubed, thinly sliced, or shaved beef. You can find it in packages literally labeled as carne picada meat. It's perfect for recipes like tacos, fajitas, burrito bowls, and even Mexican pizza! If you can't find packaged carne picada, you can also cube your own beef to use from chuck roast or bottom round roast.
Most often it is cut from bottom round, chuck roast or chuck steak, which are both budget-friendly beef cuts that cook best slowly.
There are two main differences between the two that make them completely separate recipes: the way the beef is cut, and the cooking method used to prepare each dish. Carne picada is minced beef that you braise (cook in a liquid), while carne asada is slices of steak typically cooked on a grill. Carne asada literally translates to "grilled meat". You may have also heard of steak picado, carne molida, carne moída, or carne guisada. All of these refer to the same thing: ground or minced meat, like carne picada!
Carne Picada Ingredients
- Bottom round roast or chuck roast cut into cubes or carne picada meat
- All-purpose flour
- Paprika
- Sea salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Olive oil
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes
- Optional: cilantro for garnish
How to Make Carne Picada
- Cube bottom round roast. Dry the beef by patting with paper towels. Combine flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl or on a plate, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Sear cubed beef over medium-high heat in batches as necessary until it browns. Transfer beef to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the flour and seasoning blend and add the fire roasted tomatoes.
- Cook for 3 hours on high. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired, and that's it! Enjoy making your recipes with carne picada!
Carne Picada Recipes Tips
- Don't skip out on searing the beef. It adds a ton of flavor to carne picada meat!
- Cook the beef for longer, if you have the time. Slow cook for 5 hours and you will have the most tender and delicious crockpot meal.
- If you like a more mild flavor, use regular canned diced tomatoes instead of fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Additionally, if you want more sauce, you can use two cans of diced tomatoes instead of one.
Best Picada Recipes
I love making a big batch of picada and using it throughout the week in so many different recipes! Here are some of my favorite uses:
- Carne Picada Tacos Tacos are one of the most delicious ways to eat slow-cooked carne picada. Add your favorite taco toppings, like sour cream, cotija cheese, and guacamole. Serve in soft taco shells for the most delicious carne picada tacos!
- Breakfast Beef Tacos You can even make breakfast tacos using the meat from this recipe! Scrambled eggs, Mexican white cheese, and avocado crema would make an amazing breakfast taco.
- Carne Picada Fajitas Try making carne picada fajitas using tortillas and sauteed peppers and onions! A side of guacamole, beans, and rice are perfect choices for serving with carne picada fajitas.
- Picada Rice Bowls A classic choice for recipes with carne picada meat is to make rice bowls. Beef rice bowls are so delicious! Try this Portuguese Rice recipe.
- Picada Mexican PizzaTop a Mexican pizza with carne picada beef! Cotija cheese, queso fresco, or a Mexican cheese blend are perfect choices for the cheese. Use a flatbread for the dough - even better if you make it a grilled flatbread! For a little extra spice, add sliced jalapenos. Smoked brisket also works really well when making a delicious flatbread pizza.
Don't forget dessert! Give Mexican Strawberries and Cream a try. It's so delicious!
Mexican Beef Recipes
- Birria Recipe
- Carne Asada Tacos made with this amazing Carne Asada Seasoning
- Crockpot Taco Meat
- Carne Asada Seasoning
- Taco Casserole
- Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
Try more of our best Mexican Beef Recipes!
Try more of my Best Beef Recipes!
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Carne Picada Recipe (Slow Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bottom round roast cut in ½-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes 14.5 oz cans
Instructions
- Cube bottom round roast. Dry the beef by patting with paper towels. Combine flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl or on a plate, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Sear cubed beef over medium-high heat in batches as necessary until it browns. Transfer beef to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the flour and seasoning blend and add the fire roasted tomatoes.
- Cook for 3 hours on high. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired, and that’s it! Enjoy making your recipes with carne picada!
Video
Notes
- Serve over rice, with tortillas, or even on a Mexican beef pizza!
- If you want, add 2 more hours to the cooking time. Slow cooking for 5 hours will give you the most tender carne picada meat.
- Don't skip searing the beef! This important step adds so much flavor to the dish.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on Sunday Supper with the title Slow Cooker Carne Picada. Photos by Marion Myers.
Cecelia L says
Excellent flavor and oh-so-tender beef! I made this with the plain tomatoes, added 1/2 chopped onion and because I had 2.59lb of beef, I added 1/2c vegetable broth and 2 beef bouillon cubes. Made enough to fill 8 beef enchiladas and still have half the batch to turn into something else—probably rice bowls! When I make again, I will decrease the paprika by 1/2 tsp.
Em Beitel says
Cecelia, we're so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your comment!
Anna says
If i decide to follow your tip on cooking for 5 hours, would i reduce temp to LOW or keep at high?
Em Beitel says
Hi Anna! It would be reduced to low. Thank you!
Juli F says
This was such a great recipe! Thank you for sharing it! I altered the recipe from 2- 14.5oz fire roasted diced tomatoes to 2- 10oz ones and added 10oz of vegetable broth!!! So good!! So much flavor, so tender! I put it over rice and it was restaurant worthy! This will be added to my dinner repertoire!
Em Beitel says
Juli, thank you so much! We're so glad you enjoyed it!
Anna says
Hi There,
I would like to try this recipe, but in an instant pot. How might I alter the cooking time in an instant pot?
Thank you,
Anna
Em Beitel says
Hi Anna! Thank you for the suggestion. We don't have an Instant Pot version at the moment, but will work on it and get back to you. We always want to make sure our recipes are accurate!
Amanda says
Any luck on the instant pot recipe?
Krista Anthony says
The instant pot has a slow cook function. Very easy and delicious!
Em Beitel says
That's a great suggestion, Krista. Thank you and we're glad you enjoy it!
Crystal Z says
Came out delicious and hubby loved it. Thank you so much! I wound up using my pressure cooker since it has a searing function and that was one less pan to clean up. I pressure cooked for it 8 minutes. Came out so tender and delicious!
Em Beitel says
That's awesome! Thank you so much, Crystal! Great tip, too.
T. Kitchen says
Thank you for the instant pot conversion!