A Mexican sandwich recipe made with shredded chicken, served on torta bread rolls and topped with a creamy, tangy ancho-lime sauce.
We're cooking up a Homemade Mexican Torta tonight, my friends. Would you care for one?
Have you ever had a torta? A torta is a Mexican sandwich made with different types of highly seasoned, chopped or shredded meats, along with various toppings, like refried beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream or crema, and of course, plenty of hot sauce.
No matter how many different Mexican restaurants you visit, you'll find a unique variation at each place. And they're ALL freaking good to me.
This is a version unique to the Chili Pepper Madness household. They aren't hard to make at all. Quite easy, in fact.
The longest part of the recipe is cooking down the chicken so you can shred it.
You can do it quickly, but I suggest taking your time a bit with the recipe. Let the chicken absorb all those wonderful flavors you're working with.
The resulting torta sandwich will be that much better for it.
Instead of adding a simple crema or sour cream, I like to bring in a bit more flavor, with an ancho-lime cream sauce made with Mexican crema, though you can use sour cream instead of crema.
I LOVE the tanginess of the sauce. Top everything off with roasted jalapeno peppers and your most very favorite hot sauce in the world, and you're good to go.
Of course, feel free to add other toppings, like diced avocado, shredded lettuce, cheese, but hey, this is how we like it.
Let's talk about how to make this Mexican Torta with Chicken, shall we?
Mexican Torta with Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken Breast. Use boneless, skinless. You can also use chicken thighs.
- Seasonings. Taco seasoning, garlic powder, salt. Try my homemade taco seasoning blend.
- Ancho Peppers.
- Garlic.
- Onion.
- Chicken Broth. Or use your favorite Mexican lager.
- Torta Buns (Bolillo Rolls).
- FOR THE ANCHO-LIME CREAM SAUCE
- Ancho Paste. Reserved from above.
- Mexican Crema.
- Lime Juice.
- For Serving. Roasted jalapeno peppers, hot sauce, your favorite toppings.
Mexican Torta with Chicken - the Recipe Method
Season and Sear the Chicken. Heat a pan to medium heat and hit it with some olive oil. Seasoning the chicken breasts with garlic powder, taco seasoning and salt. Sear each side a couple minutes, then reduce heat.
Braise the Chicken. Add chicken broth or beer and let it sizzle up. Cover and cook it nice and slow about 30 minutes or so. If it dries out, just add a bit more broth or beer.
Soften the Ancho Peppers. While the chicken is cooking, add the ancho peppers to a small pot with about a cup of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let it steep about 20 minutes or so.
Make Ancho Paste. Seed and stem the anchos and add to a food processor with the garlic, onion, and a couple tablespoons of the ancho water. Process to a thin paste.
Add to Chicken. Add the paste to the pan with the chicken, but reserve a couple tablespoons.
Make Ancho-Lime Crema Sauce. Add the reserved ancho paste with crema and lime juice. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
Layer and Serve Your Mexican Tortas. When the chicken is ready, shred it with a fork and set onto toasted buns. Top with your ancho-lime cream sauce (crema), sliced jalapeno peppers and your favorite hot sauce.
Boom! Done! Looks wonderful, doesn't it? I can't wait to dig into these!
Recipe Tips & Notes
You can find bolillo rolls in your local Mexican grocery store, or use other soft rolls, like telera rolls, ciabatta buns, French bread or Cuban bread.
Topping Ideas
Try any of these for topping your Mexican tortas!
Try Some of My Other Popular Sandwich Recipes
- Cochinita Pibil
- Mexican Torta de Cochinita Pibil (Mexican Pulled Pork Sandwiches)
- Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Mexi Cheesesteak Sandwiches
- Pulled Pork Mexican Torta
- Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
- Or try this Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork)
Mexican Torta Recipe with Chicken and Ancho-Lime Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoons taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 ancho peppers
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ small onion chopped
- ½ cup chicken broth or Mexican style beer
- 4 torta buns toasted (if you can't find torta buns, you can use other bread rolls)
FOR THE ANCHO-LIME CREAM SAUCE
- 1-2 tablespoons reserved ancho paste recipe below
- 4 tablespoons crema
- Juice from half a lime
- Roasted jalapeno peppers for topping
- Hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Heat a pan to medium heat and hit it with some olive oil.
- Seasoning the chicken breasts with garlic powder, taco seasoning and salt. Sear each side a couple minutes, then reduce heat.
- Add chicken broth or beer and let it sizzle up. Cover and cook it nice and slow about 30 minutes or so. If it dries out, just add a bit more broth or beer.
- While the chicken is cooking, add the ancho peppers to a small pot with about a cup of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let it steep about 20 minutes or so.
- Seed and stem the anchos and add to a food processor with the garlic, onion, and a couple tablespoons of the ancho water. Process to a thin paste.
- Add the paste to the pan with the chicken, but reserve a couple tablespoons.
- Add the reserved ancho paste with crema and lime juice. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
- When the chicken is ready, shred it with a fork and set onto toasted buns.
- Top with your ancho-lime cream sauce (crema), sliced jalapeno peppers and your favorite hot sauce.
Nutrition Information
DC says
I couldn't find whole Ancho peppers so I used powdered Ancho.
Method; Mix 2 tbs Ancho powder with 1/4c of hot water. Let sit 10-15min to
re-hydrate into a paste. Add more water if desired.
Audriellecdub says
Currently making this for the second time.
I’m making homemade torta rolls also.
Thanks for sharing this!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Wish I was there to have some! =)
Carley says
Question... After you add the paste back to the pot with the chicken do you let it cook for awhile? Or is it just to coat the chicken with the ancho paste?
REPLY: Carley, swirl the past into the liquid and let it simmer a couple minutes more. Then shred the chicken. -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness
Tj Hade says
I have gotten some unbelievable recipes off your outstanding newsletter, but this one sets the bar, and I haven't even made it yet.
Chicken or pork or beef, just a tad bit of tweaking and the result is making my mouth water at the very thought of it.
An what a beautiful dish for a pot luck, buy Torta's or some other excellent roll, take a pot full of the meat, others with the trimmings and toppings
and form the lines Can you say great tailgating meal as well?? Chilly weather, these would heat you right up, you would just have to beat off the
poachers 😀