Black Bean Picadillo Skillet
4.0
(1)
Classic picadillo—be it the Mexican version studded with potatoes, the Cuban variety speckled with sweet raisins, or the Filipino style bolstered with diced carrots—is a comfort food classic. While no two picadillos are alike and the components vary among regions, the common thread is ground beef cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. This recipe, which mixes and matches the flavors of various picadillos, swaps out the beef for a heap of black beans and tops it with shredded cheese, turning the meaty classic into a fully vegetarian meal.
Think of this as picadillo meets cheesy black bean bake—a one-pan, no-fuss dinner that will please both vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Black beans swim in a simple-yet-flavorful sauce with tender potatoes, sliced green olives, and plump golden raisins—components borrowed from both the Mexican and Cuban variations of picadillo. It’s fiery, stewy, and ripe for topping with shredded cheese and baking until bubbling.
Make sure to sauté your potatoes until they are just about cooked before adding any additional ingredients. The oven will help carry the potatoes to the finish line, but they need a head start to become perfectly tender. A final flourish of cilantro leaves brightens the whole thing up and it’s ready to eat. Dig in with chips or warm tortillas and dinner is done.
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What you’ll need
9-Inch Cast-Iron Skillet
$27 At Amazon
Ground Coriander
$6 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°. Heat 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add 1 small green bell pepper, halved, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped, 1 small onion, finely chopped, and 8 oz. russet potatoes (1 very large or 2 small), peeled, cut into ½" pieces, and cook, stirring often, until pepper and onion are softened and starting to brown slightly and potatoes are tender enough you can smash but not so soft that they are falling apart, 12–16 minutes.
Step 2
Add 6 garlic cloves, finely grated, ⅓ cup tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated, 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp. ground coriander, 1 Tbsp. ground cumin, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt; cook, stirring often, until tomato paste coats vegetables and starts to stick to bottom of pan, about 4 minutes. Add two 15.5-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained, 1 cup finely chopped cilantro, ½ cup sliced pitted green olives, ½ cup golden raisins, 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Tabasco, and 1½ cups water; stir until evenly combined. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in 2 oz. Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (about ¼ cup).
Step 3
Evenly cover surface of bean mixture with remaining 6 oz. Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (about 1 cup) and place skillet on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any spills). Bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 23–28 minutes. (If cheese is not browning after 32 minutes, heat broiler and broil until browned, 1–3 minutes, depending on your broiler.)
Step 4
Remove black bean bake from oven and top with cilantro leaves. Serve with tortilla chips or warm tortillas.
Recipe notes
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