This vegan picadillo is made with spiced lentils and walnuts simmered up with juicy tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet raisins and pimento-stuffed green olives. Serve over rice for a comforting, delicious and healthy meal!
Sometimes, okay usually, when I learn about some new-to -e food item, my reaction is to get really excited and want to veganize it. This can happen even if I know nothing about the dish. I just really like playing with new flavor combinations and ingredients, and if somebody likes it, there's usually something I can work with.
That was pretty much my reaction when I first learned about picadillo, and once I investigated, I wanted to make a vegan version even more. It's basically a Latin American stew of ground beef with spices, olives and raisins.
I decided to create my vegan picadillo using a mix of lentils and walnuts in place of meat, and as expected, it was delicious. The mix of flavors and textures in this one was magnificent. It's easy to make, versatile, and great for meal prep.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Lentils. We're using brown lentils. Green should work too, but will need slightly longer to cook. I don't recommend using red lentils, which don't have quite the right texture for this dish.
- Olive oil. Use another high heat oil if you'd like, though olive will give your picadillo the best flavor.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Red bell pepper.
- Chopped walnuts. You can leave these out if you prefer or have a nut allergy. They add a nice texture, but I have made the dish without them and it was just fine.
- Spices. You'll need ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, cinnamon and cloves. Don't skimp on anything, as the flavor combination is magical!
- Canned diced tomatoes.
- Tomato sauce.
- Red wine vinegar.
- Soy sauce. Feel free to use gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos instead.
- Pimento-stuffed green olives.
- Raisins.
- Salt and pepper.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Lime wedges. These are optional, but a squeeze of lime juice will enhance the flavor of your vegan picadillo.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by cooking your lentils. You want them to be slightly undercooked. You can prep the remaining ingredients while the lentils simmer.
Heat your oil in a skillet and add diced onion and bell pepper. Sweat the veggies just until they soften up.
Add the walnuts, garlic and spices to the skillet. Sauté the mixture for just about a minute, stirring the whole time and watching it like a hawk to avoid burning anything.
Stir in the cooked lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, and soy sauce. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, which should be just enough time for the lentils to finish cooking and the sauce to thicken up.
Take the skillet off of heat and stir in the olives and raisins. Season the mixture with some salt and pepper to taste.
Your vegan picadillo is ready to serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice!
Meal-Prep Tips
- The lentils can be cooked in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The onion and bell pepper can be diced in advance and stored together in an airtight container in the fridge.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan picadillo keeps very well and can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Picadillo can be served so many ways! Pair it up with some cooked rice or quinoa, stuff it into tacos, or bake it in empanadas.
It can be! Simply use gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos instead of soy sauce.
No. This dish is has a complex flavor profile with many spices, but it's very mild.
More Vegan Latin American Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch cloves
- 1 (14 ounce/400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce/236 ml) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- â…” cup pimento-stuffed green olives
- ½ cup raisins
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place the lentils into a small saucepan and cover them with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil.
- Lower the heat and allow the lentils to simmer until they're almost fully cooked, but still a bit firm at their centers, about 20 minutes.
- Drain the lentils into a colander.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper.
- Sweat the onion and pepper for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, walnuts, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cinnamon and cloves. Sauté the mixture for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the cooked lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook everything just until the lentils are tender and the sauce thickens up a bit, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the olives and raisins. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide onto plates and serve with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
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I thought this was wonderful. And easy. This being the holidays I had everything in my cabinets. This would be very good in stuffed peppers.
This was so freakin' delicious!
This is genius! Picadillo (cuban) is one of my favorites, but I haven't had it in forever b/c we don't eat very much meat anymore. I think the recipe is good as is, but it's lacking that deep (umami?) flavor you get from beef. I added quite a bit of tomato paste to get the depth I was looking for and it made a noticeable difference. I can't wait to try out more of your recipes! Those ethopian lentils are next on my list!!
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you like the Ethiopian stew as well!
Hmmm... maybe that umami flavor can come from miso paste? Thanks for the info on your modifications
Just made this in my pressure cooker though I didn't use oil because I cook salt-oil-sugar (SOS) free. To reduce the salt load, I soaked the olives in water to leech out some of the salt. I added some saffron. Delicious!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Ralph!
Hi ! I am Mexican and we usually don’t put olives or raisins in our picadillo. We add carrots , zucchini and other seasonal veggies ( like chayote , celery or potatoe )
I made this recipe and added the veggies to keep it lower in calories and it came out really good. If you like spicy food you can always add canned chipotle.
Thank you for the idea !
Chipotle sounds like a delicious addition! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Claudia!
So excited that I found your page! And so stoked to give this a try!! Would green lentils work as well? I have so much of these on hand!
Thank you :)
I think green lentils would work just fine! Enjoy!
What about red lentils? I happen to have those on hand
The texture would be different, but I think it would still be delicious. :) They'd also cook up quicker than brown. I'd love to hear how it works out if you try!
Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I've been enjoying your recipes! Amazing that you try to veganize things you haven't even eaten! Very creative! I'm going to try this and serve it with rice the way you did. I'm not so sure about the amount of cumin though. Is there a particular brand of cumin that tastes better than others?
Thanks so much Sylvia! It is heavy on the cumin flavor. If you're sensitive to it I'd suggest starting with half or so, then adding to your taste. I'm not really partial to any particular brand though - I think right now I've got a bottle of McCormick in the pantry.
I make a Mexican version of picadillo with lentils all the time and use it as a sope filling.. I've only had cuban style picadillo once, inside empanadas. It was so good! I think I'll be trying that with this version very soon :)
Oh yum! Empanadas are on my "to make" list. I never even thought to stuff them with this, but it sounds delicious. :)
How can any dish with olives not be wonderful?
I could probably eat a plate full of olives for dinner myself. :)
Just wanted to let you know how much I look forward to your posts. The recipes always look like ones I would (and will!) love to try. Thanks! :)
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying them. :)