Best Mexican Pambazos Recipe | Just as Made in Mexico City

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Mexico is such a large and diverse country that its culinary traditions vary widely from one region to another. As a Mexican woman from the north, I was surprised to discover what a Pambazo was when I married a man from Mexico City.

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Pambazo mexicano is a beloved part of traditional Mexican fritangas—those delicious dishes reserved for special occasions because of their calorie content. But who cares about calories when you’re enjoying these mouthwatering Mexican sandwiches? The pambazo bread is dipped in a rich guajillo chile sauce, filled with savory potatoes and chorizo (papas con chorizo), and garnished with fresh salsa verde cruda, Mexican crema, and queso fresco or cotija.

For authentic Mexican recipes like those famous in Mexico City, I always invite my comadre, Sandra Navarro, who was born and raised in Mexico City and is a fantastic cook. So, we gathered on a Saturday morning to prepare the traditional pambazos, salsa verde, and finely chopped lettuce to garnish this Mexican delight. The happiest with all this? My Mexican husband, who is always up for a traditional pambazo sandwich.

Ingredients and Substitutes:

Pambazo Bread: The traditional bread used for pambazos is called telera bread. It resembles bolillo bread but has less crumb. You can find it in Mexican bakeries or supermarkets. If you can’t find telera, substitute it with bolillo bread; just remove some of the crumb from the inside.

• Chorizo: Look for Mexican chorizo. While there are chorizos from Argentina and Spain, they differ from Mexican chorizo. You can find various types of chorizo, with pork being the traditional choice. However, I prefer beef chorizo, and now the V&V Supremo brand even offers delicious chicken chorizo that is lower in fat. You can even use vegan chorizo, to make vegan pambazos!
• Potatoes: The potatoes used in Mexico are yellow gold potatoes use any potatoes good for mashing potatoes.
• Sauce: The sauce is made with guajillo chiles, salt, and garlic. Guajillo can be substituted with Mirasol chiles, though Mirasol can sometimes be a bit spicier.
• Lard: Pambazos are traditionally fried in lard or cooking oil, so use whatever you have handy.
• Garnish: Pambazos are garnished with shredded lettuce, Mexican sour cream,  salsa verde, queso fresco, or cotija cheese.
• Salsa: Authentic pambazos in Mexico City are served with salsa verde cruda. Here is the recipe.

Start by inserting the cloves into the potatoes; this will help infuse them with more flavor. Boil the potatoes in hot water for about 15 minutes or until they are tender inside. Remove the cloves and peel the potatoes.

Cook the chorizo and place it in a pot with the boiled potatoes. Mash until you have a puree, then add salt to taste. We will fill the bread with this potato mixture.

For the guajillo salsa, boil enough water to submerge ten guajillo chiles until softened. Place the guajillos in a blender with one teaspoon of salt and one garlic clove. Blend the mixture.

Place a pot over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of lard. Once the lard melts, strain the sauce and fry it in the pot.

Cut the bread lengthwise without cutting through; you want it to remain connected like a hot dog bun. Authentic pambazos are not sandwiches and should stay connected at one end.

Fill the lower half of the bread with the potato and chorizo mixture.

Heat lard or oil on a large skillet until it is very hot. Using kitchen tongs, submerge the stuffed bread in the guajillo sauce. Then, place it on the griddle to fry.

Once one side is toasted, flip the pambazo so that all parts of the bread are fried in the oil or lard.

Open the pambazo and fill it with lettuce, crema, cotija or fresco cheese, and salsa verde.

A disfrutar amigos!

That Saturday, my comadre Sandra, an expert in Mexican cooking, and I had so much fun making pambazos at home. The results were delicious. If you have any questions about this or other Mexican dishes, leave them in the comments. I am always ready to help you prepare traditional Mexican dishes.

By the way, my comadre Sandra has a beautiful online artisanal candle shop. Be sure to visit Mejor Sana Shop

Make this Vegan!

Substitute pork chorizo for vegan chorizo, my friend Ale has a recipe for Vegan Mexican Crema and use vegetable lard for frying!