One of our absolute favorite weeknight meals is our slow cooker carne picada recipe! It is so incredibly tasty and SO easy to prepare using your crockpot.
Slowly cook beef picada to melt-in-your-mouth perfection to use for easy weeknight dinners the whole family will love. We love to serve Carne picada meat in tacos or burritos, over white rice.
It is perfect for a celebration dinner because you can make it ahead of time and let everyone build their own tacos for fun taco night. Our other favorite holiday meal celebration is our Instant Pot Prime Rib. You seriously can’t go wrong if you want to impress your guests or enjoy an easy Taco Tuesday!
What is carne picada?
In Spanish, carne means “meat” and picada means “chopped”. Typically, packages of meat in the market are small pieces of beef either cut into thin slices or cubes.
Some also refer to this cut of beef as Carne Picado (“bitten”), Carne Molida (“ground”), Carne Moída (“minced”) or even minced meat. Depending on the cut of beef, some also refer to it as Steak Picado (not to be confused with carne asada).
You can also prepare your own carne picada meat at home, or have your butcher do it for you. Simply purchase bottom round roast and cut it into 1/2″ cubes.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Carne Picada
Very few ingredients are necessary for making carne picada at home. Aside from the beef, all you will need is a mix of common seasonings, in addition to fire-roasted tomatoes.
This crockpot stew is very tender when you cook it with the tomatoes, and so delicious, too! Here are the ingredients you will need for slow cooker minced meat:
- 2 lbs. bottom round roast cut in 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes (14.5oz cans)
How to Make Carne Picada
This recipe truly could not be more simple! It’s so easy to make this slow cooker beef recipe in just a few steps using your slow cooker. Follow these instructions:
- Dry the beef by patting with paper towels. Combine flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sear beef over medium-high heat in batches until browned. Transfer seared beef to slow cooker.
- Stir in reserved flour blend and the fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Cook for 3 hours on high. Garnish with fresh cilantro (optional), and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Carne Picada Recipe Tips
Our recipe for slow cooker carne picada beef is super easy to make, but here are a few tips to ensure the best results every time:
- It’s important to sear the beef for the best flavor, so don’t skip that step. The beef sears quickly and easily as it is already cut into small chunks.
- Want a longer cook time? Cook the beef on low until very tender, about 5 hours.
- We always recommend using Certified Angus Beef® brand beef to maximize flavor and tenderness.
Busy Mom Tip: We make our slow cooker carne picada on the weekends along with a big batch of Portuguese rice or pasta. We’re ready to simply assemble, heat, and eat on those busy nights during the week when we don’t feel like cooking! This makes a great rice bowl to take to work for lunch, too!
What to Make with Carne Picada
There are so many possibilities for what you can make with this delicious crock pot carne picada! Our recipe for carne picada is full of delicious Mexican flavors and is perfect for making so many delicious meals
Mexican Pizza Beef Flatbread
Hands down, slow cooker carne picada is the best topping for a delicious Mexican pizza. It’s similar to Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, only so much more delicious.
Top it with a poached or fried egg. When the combination of the runny egg and spicy carne picada come together… wow!
Carne Picada Tacos
Carne picada slow-cooked with somewhat spicy tomato gravy is perfect for serving a variety of ways. In addition to Mexican pizza, one of our favorite ways to enjoy it is in carne picada tacos. We use flour tortillas, but corn tortillas would be great too.
Top the carne picada tacos with shredded lettuce, a Mexican crumbling cheese such as Cotija cheese, along with sour cream and guacamole. Garnish with fresh cilantro for an easy family dinner recipe everyone will gobble up and ask for more!
Beef Carne Picada Rice Bowls
Our Slow Cooker Carne Picada with slightly spicy tomato sauce is delicious over rice! We top our rice bowls with Cotija cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and fresh cilantro for garnish.
The fresh flavors, tender carne picada, and tomato gravy blend perfectly with rice. These rice bowls come together easily for a quick dinner any night of the week!
Beef Carne Picada Breakfast Tacos
Another ideal serving suggestion for our slow cooker carne picada beef is breakfast tacos! What could be better than scrambled eggs and carne picada? These tasty tacos will really spice up your morning routine!
Next, we are ready to try Steak Picado and Picadas Veracruz! Stay tuned for these recipes!
One of our other quick and easy meals for the family is our Garlic Butter Steak Bites. These tasty nuggets are super quick to whip up and packed with amazing flavor!
What to Serve with Spicy Carne Picada
- Our favorite side dish for Mexican Carne Picada is an Elotes Recipe (Elotes Mexicanos)!
- This spicy ground beef recipe is also so delicious over baked crispy potato wedges.
- This dish is delicious when you serve it simply over pasta for a spicy beef tomato sauce pasta!
- And don’t forget the most delicious Mexican dessert to end your meal: Caramel Apple Empanadas. If you love Taco Bell empanadas and are sad they’re gone, you are going to go crazy for our apple empanadas!
Easy Weeknight Crockpot Meals
Super easy slow cooker recipes are perfect for easy family dinners any night of the week. We love how you can set it and forget it when using a slow cooker.
Check out some of our other favorite easy weeknight dinners using your slow cooker! Perfect for weeknight meals as well as Sunday dinners:
- Slow Cooker Chuck Roast
- Slow Cooker Pork Ribs with Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- Easy Slow Cooker Roast Beef Recipe
- Slow Cooker Beef Tips and Gravy
And, if you are looking for another quick and easy carne picada recipe, we have just the thing! Our Teriyaki Beef Stir-fry is delicious and ready in only 15 minutes.
If you love this easy recipe, you need to try our Authentic Carne Asada recipe! It is so good and also easy to prepare. You are going to love this recipe.
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Slow Cooker Carne Picada
🥘 Ingredients
- 2 pounds Bottom round roast cut in 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes 14.5oz
🔪 Instructions
- Dry the beef by patting with paper towels. Combine flour, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder, and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in heavy-bottom pan. Sear beef over medium-high heat in batches until browned. Transfer seared beef to slow cooker.
- Stir in reserved flour blend and the fire roasted tomatoes.
- Cook for 3 hours on high. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- It’s important to sear the beef for best flavor, so don’t skip that step. The beef sears quickly and easily as it is already cut into small chunks.
- Want a longer cook time? Cook the beef on low until very tender, about 5 hours.
- We always recommend using Certified Angus Beef® brand beef to maximize flavor and tenderness.
- If you prefer a milder flavor, use regular canned diced tomatoes.
- If you want more sauce to top over rice or pasta, use 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes. If you want a drier beef for tacos, use 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes.
therusticfoodie says
This looks delicious – Super easy and flavorful!
Laura says
I fixed this last night for my Grandchildren, they loved it🤗 I used Ribeye Roast in the crock pot & shredded it with 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes & the flour & spices, it turned out really good, my Hubby loved it
💙I’lldefinitelymakeit againsometime , I’ve never used Fire Roasted Tomatoes before, they’re my favorite now👍
Em Beitel says
That is awesome! Thanks so much for letting us know, Laura! We’re so glad you all loved it!