Add a Pinch | Recipe Index | Main Dishes

Cuban Sandwich Recipe

Robyn Stone

Updated Nov 23, 2021

Cuban sandwiches makes a quick sandwich recipe. Pork, cheese, and pickles make this Cuban sandwich a favorite.

A while back, there was a restaurant in our hometown that served great Cuban sandwiches. My husband and I would love to sneak away there for lunch to share a Cuban and a plate of sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, when that restaurant changed ownership, so did the way they made that sandwich. It just wasn’t the same.

So, recently I started making them for my husband myself. Who knew they were so simple to make?

All this time I’ve wasted!

Basically, I sliced a pork tenderloin into about 1-inch thick slices and cooked in a cast iron skillet for about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes on each side until they were done. While my pork tenderloin was cooking, I prepared my baguette (or you could use Cuban bread as well) with a spread of yellow mustard, slices of Swiss cheese, and thinly sliced dill pickles.

Note that my husband prefers a little bit of mayonnaise in his Cuban so, well… I add mayonnaise. I believe that traditional Cuban sandwiches didn’t have mayonnaise in them, but feel free to tinker with the spread to make it how YOU like it the best.

While the pork tenderloin was still warm, I placed a few pieces on the bread, topped it with the other piece of bread and quickly heated it in cast iron skillet with a little bit of melted butter. I used another cast iron skillet as my weight to “smush” my sandwich as flat as possible without totally squishing out all of the ingredients.

Don’t you like that I used smush and squish in the same sentence?

I’m so technical!

In less than 15 minutes, we had a delicious, hot, meal that we absolutely loved.

This Cuban sandwich would be great for game day, a rainy day, or really just any day.

I think you’ll love it.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

▢ 2 teaspoons olive oil
▢ 1 pork tenderloin , sliced into about 12 1-inch thick slices
▢ butter
▢ Cuban bread
▢ yellow mustard
▢ Swiss cheese slices
▢ dill pickles , sliced

Instructions

Drizzle one teaspoon of olive oil into a cast iron skillet.
Slice pork tenderloin and place into heated cast iron skillet. Cook about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
While pork is cooking, slice Cuban bread in half lengthwise.
Spread one half of bread with yellow mustard.
Place warm slices of pork tenderloin over mustard, then layer with cheese and pickles.
Top with second half of bread and then slice into sandwich slices, about 2 – 3 inches thick.
Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet.
Place sandwiches in the cast iron skillet and place another cast iron skillet (or another weight) on top of the sandwich to use as a press. Cook just until cheese has melted.
Remove and serve.
Repeat until all sandwiches have been heated.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Join today & start saving your favorite recipes

Create an account to easily save your favorite recipes.

I hope you enjoy this sandwich as much as we do!

Enjoy! Robyn xo