Chicken Torta is the kind of food you find at bustling food stands in Mexican markets, filled with mouthwatering chicken, creamy avocado, refried beans, and more.
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This Mexican sandwich is thought to have originated in Puebla but has spread far and wide, becoming a favorite throughout Mexico and beyond.
It’s similar to Torta de Milanesa but not fried. Trust me, though, it’s just as delicious!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chicken cutlet, or chicken breasts
- Lime juice
- Garlic clove
- olive oil
- ground cumin
- ground oregano
- salt
- Black pepper
- Avocado slices
- Telera rolls, bolillo, baguette, or bread of your choice.
- pickled jalapeños slices
- mayonnaise
- lettuce (as desired)
- tomato slices (as desired)
- red onion slices (as desired)
Customize Your Sandwich
The great thing about this torta recipe is that you’re free to change it up- add bacon, guacamole, or even French fries!
To make this your own unique version, use some queso fresco, cotija cheese, or sour cream. Instead of mayonnaise, try Chipotle Mayo Sauce!
Instructions
- In a large glass container, add chicken, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
Notes
Do not skip the marinade. This is what is going to give the chicken an unforgettable rich flavor. Some people will use onion powder and garlic powder but fresh is best.
Instead of chicken thighs, use chicken breast halves and pound between two pieces of wax paper until thin.
- Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. (For extra flavor use a charcoal grill)
- Cook chicken until no longer pink in the center. About 4-5 minutes, for each side.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
Easy cooking tip! Swap out for leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken. Shred the meat and assemble your torta de pollo with the desired toppings.
Pro Tips
- For extra creaminess, spread on a layer of guacamole instead of avocado slices.
- To achieve a perfect crunch, be sure to toast your bolillo rolls until they are golden brown.
- For our vegan friends, substitute grilled portobello mushrooms or tofu for chicken, and use vegan cheese and mayonnaise.
- If you can’t find telera bread, you can use bolillo, a French baguette, or a large roll.
- Slice the bread into two halves on your cutting board.
- Toast the bread on a hot griddle on medium heat.
- Add mayonnaise to the top half of the bread, chicken, avocado, pickled jalapeños, tomatoes, onions, and red onion slices to the bottom half.
- Place the top half to the bottom half.
Making this Ahead of Time: It’s best enjoyed fresh, but you can prep your ingredients in advance.
Storing Instructions:
It’s best to store the ingredients separately so the bread won’t get soggy. If that’s not possible, wrap the sandwiches tightly in plastic cling film and refrigerate. Consume as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
It depends on the ingredients used to make the torta. If it was fried and includes french fries, most likely not. However, generally speaking, they can prove good nutrients from the fresh ingredients and good protein from the meat.
A torta is a Mexican sandwich made with a fresh roll and stuffed with meat, sauce, and other fresh ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avocado, etc.
In Spain and other Latin American countries, torta means cake. In Mexican Spanish, the word torta means sandwich. Some people believe that it evolved from the word “tortilla” or some kind of flat bread.
More Mexican Torta recipes:
Chicken Torta is a yummy Mexican sandwich found in many street markets. Layers of moist chicken, rich avocado, tangy cheese, and fresh veggies in every delicious bite. It tastes amazing!
Pair your torta with a refreshing jamaica drink.
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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!
Chicken Torta
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 4 pieces)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (for the marinade)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 avocado sliced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (to cook the chicken)
- 2 telera bread rolls bolillo, baguette, or bread of your choice.
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños slices
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- lettuce (as desired)
- tomato slices (as desired)
- red onion slices (as desired)
Instructions
- In a large glass container, add chicken, lime juice, garlic, 2 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and refrigerator at least one hour, or overnight.
- Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.
- Cook chicken until no longer pink in the center. About 4-5 minutes, each side.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile, slice bread in half.
- Toast the bread on a hot griddle.
- Add mayonnaise to the top half.
- Add chicken, avocado, pickled jalapeños, tomato, onions, red onions to the bottom half.
- Place the top half to the bottom half.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
This Chicken Torta is so easy to make and delicious. I made this today and my kids love it!
That’s great! Loved hearing that your kids loved it.
Wow! This Chicken Sandwich recipe looks incredibly yummy! Plus we all love Mexican food! They are tasty and very flavorful!
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the chicken torta!
I always just have ham and cheese sandwich, LOL. I’ll have to try this recipe for when I’m craving for something Mexican.
Tortas de jamón, or ham and cheese tortas, are delicious!
I love chicken tortas! Pollo rostizado tortas are also delish 🙂
It may sound funny, but El Chavo reruns are on still on Mexican TV to this day, and my kids love the show, but the kind of tortas he loved were tortas de jamón.
YES! Tortas de jamón were his favorite. I was so sad when he passed away.
I want this for lunch!! Avocado and pickled jalapeño are my favourite!
Love those two as toppings. They’re so yummy! 🙂
This is going to sound crazy, but I’ve never had a pickled Jalapeno. But I love them jalapenos so now I’m totally intrigued. It really is horrible when you have a nice meal to think of all those without. It really makes you thankful for what you have. Especially if you grew up healthy and not hungry.
Yes. I know. In Mexico, we see that all the time.