After escaping a dictatorship, my grandparents immigrated to the United States from Cuba and opened a Hispanic market in Southern California. Known as just “The Market”, my Papi built an empire around food; a place where fresh Cuban bread was baked every morning, lechon made once a week and the Cuban sandwich was always in demand. Even if you go to the island today, I bet you won’t find a traditional Cuban Sandwich Recipe better than my grandfather’s. Needless to say, I’ve eaten my fair share of la Cubana sandwich.

Cuban Sandwich

So what’s in a Cuban sandwich? An authentic Cuban sandwich has to start with the Cuban bread. After which, a Cuban sandwich is a pressed masterpiece of salty pork and pickles, tangy mustard all smothered in Swiss cheese. I’ve got tips on a Cuban bread recipe below, but when you don’t have the time, Mexican bolillo roll sandwich bread is a decent alternative.

Cuban Sandwich recipes call for two types of pork – roasted lechon and cured ham. After my family enjoyed my Slow Cooker Cuban Pork (Lechon Asado made in the crockpot – super easy and yummy!), I used the leftovers to make a traditional Cuban sandwich. This Cuban pork sandwich is filling and makes for a delicious late lunch/early dinner meal.

Related: My Cuban People: Images of Cuba Today

La Cubana Sandwich Recipe

Unless you plan on making your own bread, this can be an easy Cuban sandwich recipe if you had pork roast the night before! With just a few ingredients, you can be enjoying the flavors of the Carribean…

• 1 loaf of Cuban bread (See below for recipe. Bolillo, French or Italian could work too.)
• Yellow mustard
• 5-8 ounces of cured ham, high-quality deli ham works great
• 5-8 ounces of Lechon Asado (roasted pork)
• 1-2 slices of Swiss Cheese
• Dill pickles, usually whole pickles sliced lengthwise but rounds work fine too
• Butter (enough to coat outsides of bread)

Cuban Sandwich Recipe

Slice loaf of bread lengthwise. Assemble sandwich by slathering mustard per your taste, deli ham, roasted pork, pickles, slices of Swiss cheese. Spread one side of the bread with butter and place on grill pan or panini press. Cook until cheese has started to melt and bread has toasted. Flip, spreading butter outside again, and cook until golden brown.

Cuban sandwiches are pressed, so get that Cubano nice and flat. Enjoy!

Cuban Bread Recipe

Knowing where to buy Cuban bread can be tricky. If you can find a Cuban bakery near you like my Papi’s market that would be wonderful, but if you can’t, making homemade Cuban bread might be the best way to get your authentic Cuban sandwich. Cuban bread has a crisp, crunchy crust on the outside and a light, airy texture on the inside. It’s savory yet sweet, crunchy and soft, all the most beautiful contradictions you’d expect from my culture!

If you ever travel to Cuba, you’ll be able to find this delicious low card bread everywhere too. We took the kids on a heritage trip last year and they enjoyed it every morning, with fruit y queso, for breakfast.

One day I’ll document my family’s exact Cuban bread recipe, but for those of you looking to master the Cuban sandwich, I’m linking a basic Cuban Bread Recipe. The video above is also a great visual on how the process works. The trick is to not skip on the lard – that flavor is essential to Cuban bread.

Cuban Ham Sandwich

The Cuban Ham Sandwich makes a regular Saturday afternoon extra special and the little bit of additional time to put this together was all worth it when my kids devour it with pride. Sharing a food culture with kids also gives you the opportunity to talk about your family legacy, and I was happy to spend the afternoon talking to my kids about their great-grandfather who left his little island for a better life in America.

Our Papi loved to make Cuban Sandwiches, and now her great uncle (my Tio) continues that tradition, making the best Cuban Sandwich in all over LA… At least according to me!

Cuban Sandwich

Yield: 1 Cubana Sandwich

From a homemade Cuban bread recipe to crockpot Cuban pork roast (which we call Lechon Asado), this post on my family's traditional Cuban Sandwich Recipe has EVERYTHING you need to bring a piece of the island into your kitchen.

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Ingredients

• 1 loaf of Cuban bread (See post for recipe. Bolillo, French or Italian could work too.)
• Yellow mustard
• 5-8 ounces of cured ham, high-quality deli ham works great
• 5-8 ounces of Lechon Asado (roasted pork)
• 1-2 slices of Swiss Cheese
• Dill pickles, usually whole pickles sliced lengthwise but rounds work fine too
• Butter (enough to coat outsides of bread)

Instructions

Slice loaf of bread lengthwise.

Assemble sandwich by slathering mustard per your taste, deli ham, roasted pork, pickles, slices of Swiss cheese. Spread one side of the bread with butter and place on grill pan or panini press.

Cook until cheese has started to melt and bread has toasted. Flip, spreading butter outside again, and cook until golden brown.

Cuban sandwiches are pressed, so get that Cubana sandwich nice and flat.

Enjoy!

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