Turn an average weeknight meal into a delicacy with our slow cooker carne picada! Slowly cook beef picada to melt-in-your-mouth perfection to use for easy weeknight dinners the whole family will love. Serve carne picada meat in tacos or burritos, over rice, and so much more!
What is carne picada?
In Spanish, carne means “meat” and picada means “chopped”. Typically, packages of carne picada 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”), or Carne Moída (“minced”). Depending on the cut of beef, some also refer to it as steak picada (not to be confused with carne asada). If you’re shopping in an ethnic foods grocery store, you may see all five translations, but you will easily find carne picada at almost any local grocery store, too!
If you would like, 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. This is what we have done for this slow cooker carne picada recipe.
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 slow cooker 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 carne picada:
- 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)
Carne Picada Recipe Step-by-Step
This carne picada 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 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 (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 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 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!
Recipes with Carne Picada
There are so many possibilities for what you can make with this delicious crockpot carne picada! Our recipe for carne picada is full of delicious Mexican flavors and is perfect for making Carne de Tacos, Carne Picada Fajitas, beef rice bowls, beef enchiladas, beef quesadilla, beef burritos and so much more, including beef flatbread!
- 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!
- Beef Tacos with Carne Picada: Carne picada slow cooked with somewhat spicy tomato gravy is perfect for serving a variety of ways, as you can see, and 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, if you prefer them. 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 (pictured below): Our Slow Cooker Carne Picada with slightly spicy tomato sauce is delicious over rice! We top our rice bowls much the same as we do our Carne Picada Tacos, using Cotija cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and fresh cilantro for garnish. The fresh flavors, tender carne picada, and tomato gravy blend perfectly with rice. This carne picada rice bowl comes 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 Carne Picada Breakfast Tacos. These tasty tacos will really spice up your morning routine! The whole family will gather around the breakfast table for Carne Picada Breakfast Tacos!
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.
- Puerto Rican Rice goes really well with this dish!
- 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 Pork Ribs with Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- Easy Slow Cooker Roast Beef Recipe
- Slow Cooker Beef Tips and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Comfort Food Recipes
And, if you are looking for another quick and easy carne picada recipe, we have just the thing! Our Teriyaki Beef Stir-fry made with carne picada is delicious and ready in only 15 minutes.
📌 Pin Slow Cooker Carne Picada to save for later!
How do you like to enjoy your carne picada? Over tacos, in burritos, or in a rice bowl? Let us know in the comments below and with a rating! We love to hear from you!
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!
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.
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from Certified Angus Beef® brand.
This recipe was updated on September 6. 2019.
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!