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Recipes » Main Dishes » Meat/Poultry » Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls (Giniling)
by Liren Baker on September 17, 2017 updated | 11 Comments This post may contain affiliate links. Please see Affiliate Disclosure in my Terms of Service.
Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls – classic comfort food in the Philippines. My version is lighter and cooks in under 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights! This post is brought to you by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls (Giniling)
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Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls is a classic comfort food in the Philippines — my version is chock-full of bright, colorful vegetables and made in under 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights the whole family will love! This post is brought to you by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
There are certain dishes I turn to when life feels extra busy — dishes that I can make with my eyes closed, that bring about nostalgic flavors, and that I know my family will be happy to run to when I call them to the table.
And with school in full swing, I know I’ll be turning to these kinds of dishes more often than usual!
Picadillo is one of these dishes — it’s quite common in Spanish and Latin American cuisine, and the Philippines has its own version of the comforting ground beef stew. Also known as guisado or ginisang giniling, the kind my mom used to make was full of red bell peppers, potatoes, raisins, and served over white rice. I loved how the stew would mingle with the rice, and all the savory flavors in each bite.
So, now, I always have ground beef at the ready when life gets hectic – it’s so versatile, whether I throw it into a quick pasta dish or for dishes like picadillo!
These days, I’m all about lightening things up and making comfort food more colorful, so I use a leaner ground beef, add an extra dose of bell peppers in all colors of the rainbow, and swap out the potatoes with sunny yellow squash.
Served over brown rice, Filipino-style Picadillo is the kind of meal that I can make in under 30 minutes — which is just about the time I have between getting home from kid activities and dinner time!
Learn more and find more recipe inspiration at: https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipes
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. Thank you for supporting brands that matter to me; sponsored posts such as this help behind the scenes at Kitchen Confidante. All opinions in this post are, as always, my own.
Try one of my other Filipino-style recipes:
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Ginataang Mais: Filipino Coconut Rice Pudding with Corn
Puto: Filipino Steamed Rice Cakes
Arroz Caldo | Filipino Chicken and Rice Soup
Alfajores
Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls (Giniling)
Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls is a classic comfort food in the Philippines, also known as Giniling — my version is chock-full of bright, colorful vegetables and made in under 30 minutes. It's perfect for busy weeknights, and the whole family will love it!
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5 from 2 votes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Filipino
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 30 minutes minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 288kcal
Author Liren Baker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1 lb 93% lean/7% fat ground beef (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 cup water or low sodium beef stock add more if you prefer the stew soupier
- 1 bay leaf
- Dashes of hot sauce or sriracha to taste, plus more for serving
- 1 1/2 cups bell pepper I use a combination of red, orange and green
- 1 cup yellow squash about 1 medium squash, diced
- Brown rice for serving
- Chopped cilantro for serving
Instructions
In a deep sided saute pan or pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring periodically.
When the onions have softened and are translucent (about 3 minutes), stir in the tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef, using a wooden spoon to break it up into crumbles.
Season with soy sauce, fish sauce, and ground pepper.
When the ground beef is no longer pink, stir in the water, bay leaves, hot sauce, and bell peppers, and bring to a simmer. Lower heat, cover, and cook for about 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the yellow squash, and cook for about 3-5 minutes more, or until the squash is fork tender.
Serve picadillo over rice, garnish with cilantro and hot sauce, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
A traditional picadillo, also called Guisado or Ginisang Giniling, usually has potatoes. I leave it out in this version to lighten it up a bit. Some variations also include peas, raisins, and olives. Feel free to play around with what you have available — part of the beauty of this hash is that you can vary it up, based on what you have in the fridge!
To make this even lighter, I use 93% lean/7% fat ground beef, which makes it extra lean, but if you’re craving a little more flavor and wish to use 85% lean/15% fat ground beef, that works just as well and is just how my mom used to make it!
Nutrition
Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 763mg | Potassium: 779mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2320IU | Vitamin C: 88mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3.3mg
Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see! Tag @kitchconfidante on Instagram and hashtag it #kitchenconfidante
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Shannon D
DELICIOUS! Even my husband, who refuses to eat squash, asked for a second helping. Thanks for the delicious recipe :)Liren Baker You’re so very welcome, Shannon! I’m glad your husband approved, too!
Kristine Gurski
Perfect balance of flavors – exactly how I remember this tasted growing up in the Philippines. Thanks Liren!Gina @Running to the Kitchen This is such a great meal! Looks so flavorful!
- See AlsoClassic Chicken Adobo
Brian @ A Thought For Food I’ve been making a lot of rice dishes over the last week. I think I’m finally craving Fall foods. This bowl looks very comforting… just the kind of dish that can be thrown together for a quick, satisfying weeknight meal.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles I just printed this off. From the looks of this recipe, I already know it’s going to be a hit with my family. Thank you!!
Liren Baker Hooray! I hope your family loves it, Brenda!
Alyssa | EverydayMaven Love this – so colorful and the perfect weeknight meal!
Liren Baker Thanks, Alyssa! It’s such a go-to for those crazy weeknights!
Maëva That looks delicious! I’m adding that to my meal plan next week :)
Liren Baker Thank you so much, Maeva! I hope you enjoy it!!
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