Medianoche
intro
A beloved Cuban-American pressed sandwich stacked with roast pork, ham, melted Swiss, tangy pickles, and mustard on sweet egg bread, crisped to golden, gooey perfection.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep bread base
Lay all 8 slices of Medianoche sweet egg bread on a clean wooden cutting board. Spread 7.5ml (1.5 tsp) of yellow mustard evenly across one full side of each slice, creating a moisture barrier to prevent sogginess from fillings.
Layer sandwich fillings
On 4 of the mustard-coated bread slices, layer ingredients in order for even melting: 1 slice Swiss cheese, 85g thinly sliced roast pork, 2 slices (56.5g) deli ham, 30g drained dill pickle chips, and a second slice of Swiss cheese. Top each stack with the remaining 4 bread slices, mustard-side facing down toward fillings.
Butter bread exteriors
Spread 3.75g (roughly 3/4 tsp) of softened unsalted butter evenly across the top outer surface of each assembled sandwich, then flip each sandwich and spread the remaining butter across the opposite outer surface, coating all edges for uniform crisping.
Preheat cooking surface
Heat a panini press to medium heat (175°C / 350°F). If using a stovetop cast-iron skillet instead, preheat it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, and keep a second heavy, foil-wrapped cast-iron pan nearby to weigh down sandwiches.
Press and cook sandwiches
Place 2 sandwiches at a time on the preheated cooking surface to avoid overcrowding. If using a panini press, close the lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, until bread is deep golden and crisp and cheese is fully melted. If using a stovetop pan, set the weighted pan on top of the sandwiches, cook 2.5 minutes per side, pressing gently halfway through to compress evenly.
Rest and serve sandwiches
Transfer cooked sandwiches to a cutting board and let rest for 2 minutes to allow melted cheese to set and prevent fillings from sliding out when cut. Slice each sandwich diagonally into two triangular halves and serve warm.
Tips
2.If traditional Medianoche sweet egg bread is hard to find, substitute 2.5cm (1 inch) thick slices of challah or brioche, as their soft, sweet, eggy crumb closely matches the authentic bread’s texture and flavor.
3.Avoid pressing down too hard on sandwiches while cooking, as this will squeeze out melted cheese and compress the bread excessively, resulting in a dry, dense sandwich rather than a light, crisp, gooey final product.
OMG this Medianoche recipe is such a game changer! I made it for our family game night last weekend and everyone went back for seconds. The sweet bread paired with the ham and pickles? *Chef’s kiss* So easy to throw together too, didn’t even take the full 25 minutes honestly. 10/10 will be making this for our next potluck!
Made these for a quick weeknight dinner when my kid had friends over after soccer practice. Every single one of the teens devoured them and asked for the recipe! I added a little extra mustard per my usual sandwich preference and it slapped. Super straightforward, no fancy steps, perfect for busy nights.
SO good! I prepped a batch of these on Sunday for weekday lunches and they held up perfectly all week. I wrapped them individually in foil and just popped them in the oven for 5 minutes at work to reheat, tasted just as fresh as the day I made them. Absolute new staple in my meal prep rotation!
As someone who grew up eating Medianoches at my abuela’s house in PR, I was skeptical a quick online recipe would hit right, but wow — this tasted exactly like home. I did add a thin slice of roasted pork like she used to, but even following the base recipe it was spot on. My partner who never had Cuban sandwiches before is now obsessed.
Super easy recipe for a college student with basically zero cooking skills! I only have a tiny countertop griddle in my dorm and these turned out perfect. Used deli ham and Swiss from the campus grocery store, didn’t even mess up the press part. Way cheaper than ordering takeout sandwiches from the spot down the street. Only giving 4 stars because I forgot to add pickles and I know they would’ve made it even better!
Brought these to our neighborhood block party last weekend and they were the first dish gone! I cut them into smaller slider-sized portions so people could grab them easily, and I must have gotten asked for the recipe at least 8 times. Who knew such a simple sandwich would be such a crowd pleaser?
I tried making this with gluten free Hawaiian rolls since I can’t have regular wheat bread, and it was SO good! I was worried the GF bread would get too mushy when I pressed it, but I toasted it a little first and it held up perfectly. Such a win for me since I thought I’d never get to enjoy these again!
Name checks out — made this at 1am after getting home from a concert and it was the best late night meal I’ve ever made. Didn’t even have all the ingredients, used turkey instead of ham and it still slapped. So quick to make even when you’re half asleep, 10/10 drunchie approved.
My kids are so picky when it comes to sandwiches, they usually turn their nose up at anything that isn’t plain peanut butter and jelly, but they LOVED these! I skipped the pickles at first because I thought they’d complain, but my oldest snuck a bite with pickle and now asks for extra pickles every time. Total mom win.