Easy Cuban Sandwich Recipe: Authentic Pressed Cubano in 30 Minutes

This easy Cuban sandwich recipe brings the flavors of Miami right to your kitchen! In just 30 minutes, you’ll be biting into crispy, buttery Cuban bread stuffed with tender mojo pork, ham, Swiss cheese, tangy pickles, and zesty mustard. Whether you call it a Cubano or a Cuban sandwich, this authentic pressed sandwich is the perfect lunch or dinner that the whole family will love.

We truly believe that this is the best Cuban sandwich. It is a complete meal between two slices of bread. It’s sweet, tangy, eggy, and everything that I could want in a Miami Cuban Sandwich Recipe.

The best sandwich that’s ever come out of my kitchen was the reason for that beautiful Cuban bread recipe.

Our son lives in Southern Florida and we had our first experience with Miami Cuban food shortly after he moved there.

We fell in love with their authentic Cubano sandwich, and I set out on a quest to make a Miami Cuban sandwich recipe from my own kitchen. (If you are looking at a local menu, Cuban restaurants generally call this sandwich a Cubano Sandwich.)

Since first making my Cuban Sandwich recipe I’ve learned that there is also a Cuban sandwich called a Cuban Medianoche sandwich. The recipe that we used is featured in the cookbook “Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban by “The Three Guys” from Miami.

They use the Medianoche bread and call it a Cuban Sandwich but technically it could be a Medianoche. After much debate, we made our Cuban Sandwich on Cuban bread instead of Medianoche rolls. I’m just the cook so if you’re passionate about the difference, take it up with the pros!

In the meantime, you’ll need to make the bread to build the best Cuban Sandwich ever.

What is the difference between a Cuban sandwich and a Medianoche?

A Medianoche consists of roast pork, ham, mustard, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles. It is a close cousin to the Cuban sandwich. The chief difference is that a medianoche is made on soft, sweet egg dough bread similar to Challah rather than on crustier Cuban bread. It can also substitute dill pickles for sweet pickles.

You can make our Cuban sandwich on Medianoche bread. I highly recommend it!

Cuban bread is a fairly simple white bread, similar to French bread and Italian bread.

What Makes a Cuban Sandwich Authentic?

An authentic Cuban sandwich always includes Cuban bread, roasted pork (mojo pork), ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. The sandwich must be pressed until the bread is crispy and the cheese melts. Some regions add salami, but the classic Miami version sticks to these core ingredients.

How to Make a Cuban Sandwich

Cuban Sandwich Ingredients

• Bread Rolls made from our Cuban Bread recipe.
• Cuban Roast Pork – Marinated Pork Shoulder or Butt Roast. You could use a pork tenderloin but we love the texture of the roast. We share our baking method here but you can also make Instant Pot Mojo Pork!
• Thinly sliced Ham – We love using our Honey Baked Ham recipe.
• Swiss Cheese
• Dill Pickles
• Mustard – tangy yellow mustard is traditional but we put a spin on ours. See the recipe card for the details.

NOTE: You only need 1 pound of the pork for 4 sandwiches, but we baked the entire pork roast and then freeze our leftover pork for a future dinner, making a delicious no-fuss meal when we are too busy to cook or just don’t feel like it.

Mojo Pork Recipe

The pork that’s layered on our sandwich is called mojo pork. It’s a marinated pork butt (shoulder).

Step 1: Mash the garlic, salt, and peppercorns into a paste, using a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

Step 2: Make “sour orange juice”, which is a combination of orange juice, lemon, and lime. Combine the sour orange juice with the garlic paste, onion, and oregano. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Heat oil in a saucepan until hot. Remove the oil from the heat and quickly AND CAREFULLY whisk the garlic-orange juice mixture until well blended. Let cool before using it as a marinade.

Step 4: Place the pork butt into a roaster and pierce the pork butt several times with a large fork or knife. Pour the marinade over the pork butt. Cover the pan and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the lid from the pork and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 225ºF and roast until the pork can easily be pulled apart with a fork. Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes. I roasted my pork until it reached an internal temperature of 175°F. Let rest for 10 minutes. Pull the pork or slice it.

How to assemble this Miami Cuban Sandwich

There is only one way to build this sandwich!

“The Three Guys” from Miami state there is only one way to build this sandwich. On buttered Cuban bread, place the pickles, roasted pork, ham, and then cheese in that order. Mustard is optional. We combined Dijon mustard with a little sriracha sauce. The difference is amazing.

Tips for this Amazing Authentic Cuban Sandwich Recipe

To make this sandwich less time-consuming, bake the bread and prepare and slice (or shred) the pork roast on the day before you want your Cuban sandwiches. Assemble and press right before serving.

Four sandwiches only take one pound of meat. I freeze what I don’t use so we always have Cubanos without having to roast the pork each time. You can freeze the meat in sandwich portions in plastic freezer bags or vacuum-sealing bags.

Cooking time depends on the size of your roast.

The Three Guys from Miami recommend that you let your meat and cheese come to room temperature so the bread doesn’t get over toasted before the cheese melts.

We recommend that you toast the inside of the bread so the pickles don’t make your bread soggy.

I add a little Sriracha to Dijon mustard. It adds a delicious little kick to the sandwich and I recommend that you spread the mustard evenly over the entire inside of each piece of bread so every bite is perfect.

How Long Does a Cuban Sandwich Take to Make?

Once you have your mojo pork ready, assembling and pressing a Cuban sandwich takes just 30 minutes! The sandwich itself only needs 3-5 minutes in the press or pan. If you’re making the pork fresh, plan for an additional 3 hours for marinating and roasting.

FAQ’s

1. What is a Cuban Sandwich? A sandwich made by CUBANS! The ingredients inside a Cuban sandwich are simple: ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, and if you’re in Tampa, salami.
2. Where did the Cubano sandwich originate? Since I posted this recipe, I found out there’s been a rivalry between the folks with Cuban ancestry about where this sandwich originated. Some say Miami, Tampa Cubans, or one article on its history states it was created by an influx of immigrants.
3. Is a Cuban sandwich served hot or cold? We serve our Cuban sandwiches hot and immediately after pressing (panini style). They can also be served at room temperature but the bread will become hard if pressed and allowed to get cold. If you choose to serve cold, don’t press the bread.
4. What is the best bread for a Cuban Sandwich? You can find Cuban bread in a Cuban bakery. We chose to serve our Cubanos on our Pan Cubano Bread. You could also substitute our slightly sweet eggy Media noche Bread Recipe or with a long, soft baguette, or French or Italian breads as long as they’re not crusty.
5. What is the best ham for a Cuban sandwich? Sweet cured or smoked ham, Serrano, or bolo ham. I used honey ham, which contrasted nicely with the tangy mustard and pickles and the sweet Cuban bread.

Can You Make Cuban Sandwiches Without a Press?

Yes! If you don’t have a panini press, you can use:

A regular skillet, pressing down with a spatula and flipping halfway through The key is applying even pressure while the sandwich cooks for 2-3 minutes per side.

Two cast-iron skillets (heat both, sandwich in one, press with the other)

One skillet with a foil-wrapped brick on top

What to Serve with Cuban Sandwiches

Rice and beans, Cuban Black Beans, fried plantains, or french fries. Not vegetables or a lettuce salad! Oh and a Cuban Rum Cake.

Cuban Sandwich Storage and Reheating Tips

Storage: Wrap assembled (but not pressed) sandwiches tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheating: For best results, reheat in a panini press or skillet over medium heat until crispy and cheese melts. Avoid the microwave – it makes the bread soggy. Freezing: Freeze the mojo pork in portion sizes for quick sandwiches anytime. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to rate it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars. Your feedback helps other readers and makes my day!

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My mother-in-law gave me a panini press/grill. We’d been wanting one and she never used hers so we were the beneficiary!

Now that we had a panini press, we could make them without a foil-covered brick or a cast iron skillet…or so we thought.

We squished the bread until the whole thing slid apart as you can see. The ham slid to the back and the cheese and pork to the front.

You asked me to post some less-than-perfect results. My perfectionist self is doing it under duress.

Even though the first attempt tasted amazing, our Panini skills needed some work as you can see! Like anything, practice makes perfect.

This post was updated from 2019 to improve readers’ experience. New images were added to show the Best Bread to use when making a Cubano Sandwich. No changes were made to the recipe.