Pambazos are Mexican sandwiches famous for their signature red-colored bread, made by dipping the bread in a flavorful red chile sauce. This popular street food is filled with a potato and chorizo mixture and is often topped with lettuce, Mexican crema, salsa, and pickled red onions. All these ingredients combined make for an incredibly mouthwatering recipe!
What Are Pambazos?
Pambazos are a savory Mexican sandwich made from telera bread that is dipped in a rich red guajillo chile sauce, pan-fried until crispy, and filled with a mixture of potatoes and chorizo.
The red chile sauce that coats the bread gives this sandwich its signature red color and adds flavor to every bite.
The filling is made from highly seasoned and flavorful Mexican chorizo, diced potatoes, and toppings like lettuce, salsa, Mexican crema, and red onions.
Adding too many toppings to a sandwich can make it difficult to eat because it falls apart, or you don’t get a taste of all the ingredients in every bite. On the other hand, Pambazos are designed to ensure that each bite contains a bit of every ingredient, including the delectable chile rojo, which is one of the reasons why I love them!
Pambazos vs Tortas
A pambazo is a Mexican sandwich similar to a torta, more specifically tortas ahogadas. The most significant difference between the two is the type of bread and the filling used.
Pambazos are always made with telera bread, which has a unique flat and oval/round shape. It’s also always filled with a chorizo and potato mixture.
Tortas, on the other hand, can be made with telera, birote, or bolillo bread. The fillings in tortas vary, from ham and other deli meats to carnitas, chorizo, or steak like a torta de milanesa.
Ingredients in Pambazos
- Bread: Telera bread rolls are needed for this recipe and can be found in most Hispanic grocery stores.
- Potatoes: Russet or Yukon gold potatoes are perfect for this recipe.
- Chorizo: I recommend making your own Mexican chorizo. If using store-bought chorizo, remove the casing before cooking.
- Chiles: I used guajillo and chile de árbol peppers to make the signature red sauce. Feel free to leave out the chile de árbol if you don’t want it spicy.
- Tomato and onion: Roma tomatoes and white onions balance the heat of the red sauce.
How to Make Pambazos
Make the guajillo chile sauce: Rehydrate and soak the guajillo and árbol chiles in boiling water. When softened, blend them with a Roma tomato, garlic, salt, onion, and a bit of water. The sauce should be smooth. I like to strain it to remove any little solids, but if you have a very powerful blender, you may be able to skip that step.
Make the filling: Boil the diced potatoes in water over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes until fork-tender. Then, cook the chorizo in a skillet, stir in the cooked potatoes, and set aside.
Fry the telera bread: Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush the chile sauce all over the top and bottom of the bread. Place it in the hot oil, crust side down, and fry for 1 minute. Flip and fry the inside of the bread for 1 more minute.
Assemble the pambazos: Fill the telera bread with a scoop of the papas con chorizo filling, a drizzle of your favorite salsa, some shredded lettuce, a sprinkle of cotija cheese, some pickled red onions, and a little Mexican crema. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- I recommend only brushing the top and bottom crust of the telera bread with the sauce, not the inside. Otherwise, it may get too soggy.
- After boiling the potatoes, you can lightly fry them for extra flavor and crispiness.
- Telera bread rolls are easy to find in most Hispanic grocery stores.
- If you can’t find Mexican crema, consider making your own using my Mexican crema recipe. Alternatively, I’ve also been known to thinning out some regular sour cream with a bit of lime juice until it’s a pourable consistency that can be drizzled on the sandwich.
Suggested Toppings
While you can serve your pambazos with only the chorizo and potato mixture, I love adding more toppings and fillings. Here are some of my favorites:
- Thinly shredded lettuce
- Crumbled cotija cheese
- Pickled red onion
- Salsa roja or verde
- Mexican crema or sour cream
Storing and Reheating
I recommend storing the filling and the guajillo chile sauce separately and assembling the sandwiches when ready.
You can store the meat and potato filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
The red sauce can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days and reheated when coating the telera bread.
More Mexican Recipes
Pambazo
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 9 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 2 árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed, optional*
- Water, as needed
- 1 Roma tomato
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ medium white onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
For the Pambazo
- 2 ½ cups peeled and diced russet or yukon gold potatoes (about 3 medium-sized potatoes)
- Water, as needed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound Mexican chorizo*
- 6 telera bread rolls, halved lengthwise
Toppings
- Thinly shredded lettuce
- Crumbled cotija cheese
- Pickled red onion
- Salsa roja or verde
- Mexican crema or sour cream
Instructions
- Make the sauce. Add the guajillo chiles, árbol chiles, and enough water to completely cover them in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes to soften.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a blender. Add ½ cup fresh water, the tomato, garlic, onion, and salt. Blend until completely smooth. If the sauce is not smooth, strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Make the filling. Add the diced potatoes and enough water to completely cover them in a small pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. They should be tender and easily pricked with a fork. Carefully drain the water and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking it up into chunks and stirring occasionally until fully cooked through.
- Add the cooked potatoes to the skillet and lightly stir to combine. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, remove from heat, and set aside.
- Fry the telera bread. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush a generous amount of the chile sauce all over the top and bottom crust of the telera bread. Place it in the hot oil crust side down and fry for 1 minute, until crispy. Flip and fry the inside of the bread for 1 more minute until crispy. Repeat this process with the remaining bread rolls, adding more oil when needed.
- Assemble the pambazos. Fill the telera bread with a scoop of the papas con chorizo filling, a drizzle of your favorite salsa, some shredded lettuce, a sprinkle of cotija cheese, some pickled red onions, and a little Mexican crema. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I recommend making your own Mexican chorizo. If using store-bought chorizo, remove the casing before cooking.
- I recommend only brushing the top and bottom crust of the telera bread with the sauce, not the inside. Otherwise, it may get too soggy.
- After boiling them, you can lightly fry the potatoes for extra flavor and crispiness.
Nutrition Information
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
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