Filipino-style Picadillo Bowls (Giniling)
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 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)
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
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
DELICIOUS! Even my husband, who refuses to eat squash, asked for a second helping. Thanks for the delicious recipe :)
You’re so very welcome, Shannon! I’m glad your husband approved, too!
Perfect balance of flavors – exactly how I remember this tasted growing up in the Philippines. Thanks Liren!
This is such a great meal! Looks so flavorful!
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.
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!!
Hooray! I hope your family loves it, Brenda!
Love this – so colorful and the perfect weeknight meal!
Thanks, Alyssa! It’s such a go-to for those crazy weeknights!
That looks delicious! I’m adding that to my meal plan next week :)
Thank you so much, Maeva! I hope you enjoy it!!