Vegan Puerto Rican Picadillo (Spiced Ground “Beef”)
Bring BIG flavor to your dinner table with Vegan Puerto Rican Picadillo, or vegan spiced “ground beef.” Made with vegan ground “beef” spices, potatoes, tomato sauce, and Spanish green olives.
1bag Gardein Ground Be'f13.7 ounces, cook from frozen
1russet potatochopped into small pieces
1 ½cupswater
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together sofrito, sazon, adobo, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Set aside.
Warm up the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the sofrito mix to the pan. Saute and cook for about 1 minute. Add the green olives and bay leaf. Stir together and simmer for 1 minute.
Add the vegan ground beef, chopped potato and water. Lower temperature to a simmer and Cover with a lid. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender - about 15 minutes.
Once potatoes are tender, remove the lid from the pan and turn off the heat. Allow everything to simmer for another 2-3 minutes to thicken up the sauce.
Notes
Because the vegan beef crumbles are drier and less fatty than actual ground beef, we’ll need to compensate by introducing more moisture. This is why tomato sauce and some water will be an important addition to this recipe.
If you prefer to use a different vegan ground beef brand, that’s fine. Be sure to find something that isn’t overly salty or flavored. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
I HIGHLY suggest making your own sofrito because the pre-made stuff is not even close to being as good.
Optional: I added a teaspoon of chili powder to add some color.