Cubano French Bread Pizza
Cubano French Bread Pizza has all the delicious flavors of a Cubano sandwich but in a quick and easy French bread pizza form.
In April, I made this pork. For some reason, I was just dying to make some Cuban pork in my slow cooker. I mean, I love Cubano sandwiches. The mojo criollo alone just sounded amazing and I couldn’t wait to try it! If you haven’t made this recipe, you really should. It’s super easy and OH MY GOODNESS fantabulous!
Yes. I like making up new words for my delicious recipes. Deal!
Considering it was a large pork roast that we made for ourselves, we had quite a bit left over. I froze about half of it for use later. Initially, I thought about making sandwiches, but then the hubs and I had that conversation about sandwiches. So, that pretty much nixed that idea.
But then – now be prepared to be surprised – I was wandering around on Pinterest – I know, but I warned you – and saw a recipe for Cubano pizza. Bingo! Except, my dough making skills are lacking. How about French bread pizza?
Now comes the dilemma. What’s the sauce? Considering nothing about Cubanos leads me to think a regular pizza sauce base would be good, I was trying to figure out what to use. I knew the hubs wouldn’t deal with mustard. Because, well, I know him. But I did want to incorporate mustard into the base. But how?
Then it hit me! You simply take the mojo criollo and mix it with mustard! BINGO!
It was a total stroke of genius. I must say. The result of these two flavors truly do capture the essence of the Cubano sandwich. All in all, it has the mustard flavor, the fruit tones, and then that lovely garlic flavor in the marinade for this pork. You’ll feel like you’re sitting in Little Havana in Miami chowing down on one of these delicious sandwiches.
Now, I know I’ve said it before. There are just some dishes where I truly do surprise myself. Consequently, this is one of those dishes. Honestly. I could have eaten all four servings. It.was.that.good.
I took my first bite, and just sat back in my chair relishing every bite. The complex flavors of this dish was amazing considering this was pretty simple to prepare. I just closed my eyes and pictured myself in Miami; hearing the sounds of the people and the aromas of the food. I was there, in my head of course. This dish really did take me out of my kitchen to Miami.
Have you ever been transported to another place with your cooking?
Cubano French Bread Pizza
Cubano French Bread Pizza has all the delicious flavors of a Cubano sandwich but in a quick and easy French bread pizza form.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 loaf French bread, sliced in half lengthwise
- 3 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
- 5 ounces shredded Cuban pork
- 6 ounces deli ham, thinly sliced
- 2 ounces Genoa salami
- 1/2 cup diced pickles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Combine the first seven ingredients (lime juice through black pepper) in a small mixing bowl.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the mixture over the top of the French bread halves.
- Sprinkle a handful of Swiss cheese on each half. Top with the ham, more cheese, salami, onions, Cuban pork, the rest of the cheese, and the pickles.
- Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the Cuban pork begins to get crisp and brown. Remove from the oven and cut each half into six slices.
Hi,
You listed garlic twice in the ingredients for the sauce, so I’m assuming it’s either a TBS of garlic or 2 cloves? Also, you mention onions in the instructions but not in the ingredient list. I made the sauce for this (using just the 2 cloves of garlic) and it’s really, really good. Thanks!
I must really love garlic! Thanks for letting me know. I’m of the mindset that you can’t have too much garlic, bit I think 1 tablespoon or 2 cloves are enough. Glad you liked it! It’s one of my fave French bread pizzas.
Whenever I am eating out, if a Cuban sandwich is on the menu, that’s what I order. Love the flavors! Your pizza looks amazing, and is definitely going on my “must make” list!
I hope you try it. It’s one of my favorites!
I’ve been wanting to make a cubano since seeing the movie Chef and this is such a creative spin on it! Thanks for linking up to #SaucySaturdays.
Thank you! And it was OH SO GOOD! It’s #onthemenu to make again soon!
This sounds delicious! I am such a sucker for french bread pizza too. Every time I see a good loaf of French bread on the discount bakery rack, I have to make some pizza with it that evening. 😉
Thank you, Carrie! It honestly was my BEST French bread pizza EVER! I hope you like it.
I make large portions of pork quite frequently and I love to freeze some for burritos and bbq pizza. But now I am going to use some to try out this Cubano Bread. Looks great!
Thank you! I honestly could have eaten the whole pizza it was OH SO delicious.
What a fun and delicious treat for the whole family. This is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. xo, Catherine
Thank you! It definitely could be for either lunch or dinner. OR sliced in thin strips and be an appetizer or snack. It’s versatile.
I’d looove to make this tonight for dinner with some leftover pork! Is there any other sauce mixture I could use (such as garlic butter) for the bread halves? Just don’t have any juice ATM.
Without the juice it won’t quite have the Cubano flavor, but you can use garlic butter to make the base for the pizza. I mean, it’s your dinner at this point. Change it up and see how it turns out! I’m sure it will be delicious.