Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Catrina
This carne asada torta is packed with delicious Mexican flavors like beans, cheese, meat, avocado, and chile peppers, for a hearty and portable meal! Plus, this Mexican “sandwich” can be ready in about 15 minutes!
What’s so special about a “sandwich”? I don’t usually create recipes for this type of meal, because, well, a “sandwich” just seems so basic. But these Mexican tortas are jam packed with tons of ingredients for a filling lunch, so really, they are anything but basic! Plus, this easy, portable, hot-meal solution can be ready in just about 15 minutes! Perfect for school lunches, picnics, road trips, hikes…you get the idea!
This article will walk you through:
- what a torta is,
- the ingredients needed to make one,
- substitutions and variations for ingredients
- step-by-step instructions on making your own carne asada torta at home,
- plus answer some common questions about tortas!
Ready to get started?
What is a torta?
First, let’s start off with a quick description of what a Mexican torta is anyway! A torta is basically a type of traditional Mexican sandwich. Tortas can be served hot or cold, depending on the filling ingredients and they are made with traditional Mexican breads like teleras or bolillos. They typically include a meat (like our carne asada torta here), mayonnaise, refried beans, and other toppings, depending on the region or type of sandwich.
Tortas are hearty, filling, and portable, making them an ideal lunch. Where I live in central Mexico, torta stands along busy streets close to schools or office buildings sell a wide variety of tortas for folks who need a quick meal. And since these sandwiches are jam-packed with all sorts of Mexican ingredients, they are guaranteed to fill you up too!
Ready to make your own carne asada torta? Read on to find out just how easy it is to make your own traditional Mexican torta at home!
What’s in a carne asada torta?
- telera bread
- refried beans
- mayonnaise
- grilled steak
- tomato slices
- avocado
- cheese
- onion
- chile peppers
- lettuce
Be sure to check the recipe card for specific quantities.
Substitutions and variations
The beauty of these tortas is that they are completely customizable! Here are just a few ideas on how you can change up this carne asada torta!
Mix up the protein
This recipe walks you through how to make a Mexican torta with grilled steak, or carne asada. But really, you can make your torta with all sorts of fillings!
Tortas Mexicanas in central Mexico are commonly made with ham (torta de jamón), pork leg, head cheese, breaded and fried cutlets (torta de milanesa), fried egg, or hot dogs.
At our house, we like to make tortas with leftover rotisserie chicken, steak and onions, or other leftover Mexican dishes we have hanging out in the fridge. It’s a great way to use up small leftover portions and give them new life!
Change the bread
Tortas are most often made on a telera or a bolillo roll. A telera is a soft, white oval shaped bread (shown in the picture below on the left) that has 3 distinct mound shapes on top. This bread has a soft interior and a golden exterior. A bolillo is a crusty roll, similar in texture to a small baguette (shown below on the right).
Bolillos and teleras are some of the most common types of Mexican breads available, which should make them easy to find at your local Mexican bakery. If you live in an area with a large Hispanic population, these traditional Mexican breads might even be available in your chain grocery stores!
If you are unable to find this kind of bread where you live, don’t worry! You can still make a delicious torta by substituting the telera or bolillo for French bread or a baguette.
I will emphasize that the type of bread is important here! Traditional sandwich bread is too soft and would fall apart under the weight of the ingredients. Be sure to use a bread that has a crusty exterior and enough body to hold all of the ingredients.
Change the cheese
When I make tortas at home, we use whatever sliced cheese we have available, usually a manchego or gouda-type cheese. Another popular option here in Mexico is to use queso Oaxaca, a mild-flavored white cheese, similar in consistency to mozarella. Some tortas use queso fresco, cotija cheese, or panela.
If you want a more “authentic” Mexican torta, then use a Mexican cheese like the ones mentioned above or another type of Mexican cheese like asadero or queso Chihuahua. But I think this torta would be just as good with another melty cheese like monterey jack, pepper jack, or muenster.
Make it vegetarian or vegan
If you are following a vegetarian or vegan diet, don’t cross tortas off of your list! For a vegetarian version, simply omit any meat and keep the rest of the ingredients! Make your torta vegetarian by filling it with a fried egg or grilled queso panela.
Following a vegan diet? These tortas can be made without any animal products too! You can omit the mayo, butter, meat, and cheese, or use vegan-friendly substitutes for these items. Why not use sautéed mushrooms as a meat substitute! The recipe in this link if for making mushroom quesadillas, but you could easily use these mushrooms in a torta instead of a tortilla!
Beans
Refried black beans, pinto, or Peruvian beans…it doesn’t really matter. Use whatever refried beans you have on hand or like best!
Change the toppings
Where I live, most tortas generally come with standard topping ingredients like refried beans, mayonnaise, avocado slices, melted cheese, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions. Shredded lettuce or leaf lettuce is sometimes included, depending on the type of torta.
I love to add some pickled jalapeños (jalapeños en escabeche) to my torta for an extra kick. In some regions Mexican crema is used instead of mayonnaise.
The thing about tortas is that you can include all of the toppings that you love and leave off anything that you don’t like! We often customize our carne asada tortas, depending on each person’s preferences. That way everyone gets their torta exactly the way they like it!
How to make carne asada tortas step-by-step
Grill your meat
Heat oil in a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes or until the oil is shimmering. While the oil is heating up, season your steak. I like to sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried turmeric.
Once the oil is hot, place the steak in the pan. This recipe is only for 1 torta. But if you are making more, than be sure not to crowd your steaks in the pan! I used a thinly sliced sirloin steak for my torta which cooked up rather quickly. I cooked my steak for only about a minute and a half on each side!
So, how do you know when a steak is ready to flip? My husband’s go-to sign is when you can see the juice from the steak coming through to the top. That’s when I flip my steaks! Make sure that you flip your steaks halfway through to brown evenly on each side. Remove the steak from the pan once it is done and place it on a plate and cover to keep it warm.
Prepare the bread
Teleras and bolillos will come whole, so you will need to slice lengthwise through the center to make a top and bottom for your torta. I also remove some of the bread crumbs from the center of the inside part of the bread, just to make the torta not so, well, bread-y.
Butter both halves on the inside only and toast the bread, butter side down in a skillet (you can use the same one as your steak) on medium-high heat for about 25-30 seconds, or just enough to make the bread a light toasty brown. I usually flip the bread and toast the other side for just another 15 seconds or so to warm the bread through all of the way.
Layer the toppings
With the bread toasted and the steak grilled, you are ready to assemble!
Spread one side of your torta bread with mayo. Layer the other side with a smear of refried beans and top with a slice of cheese.
You left your skillet on right? Because now, we are going to get the beans hot and the cheese all nice and melted. Place the side of the bread with beans and cheese, cheese side down in the skillet. Allow the cheese to melt, about 15-20 seconds or so, then remove from the skillet with a spatula.
Top the cheese with thinly sliced strips of steak, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, sliced avocado, and pickled jalapeño slices, if you are using them. Top with lettuce and the other piece of bread.
Pro tip: I find that smashing the avocado on one side of the bread helps to keep the slices in place while you are eating!
If you like, you can toast the whole thing again in your skillet or simply slice in half and enjoy!
Mexican Torta FAQs
What’s the difference between a torta and a sandwich?
Here in Mexico a “sandwich” inevitably refers to one made with sliced, soft sandwich bread, usually served cold and with limited ingredients, like lettuce, mayo, ham, cheese, and sliced tomato. A torta generally has more varied ingredients than a sandwich and will use a telera or bolillo for the bread (never sliced sandwich bread).
What are the regional varieties of tortas in Mexico?
Certain regions in Mexico have their own traditional takes on the torta.
I was recently in Jalisco, famous for the torta ahogada. The name “torta ahogada” literally translates to “drowned sandwich”. This type of torta is more of a knife and fork affair since a simple torta, usually filled with carnitas, steak, tongue, or some other meat is placed on a shallow plate and drowned in a mild red salsa. The salsa makes the torta less portable, but boy, are these delicious!
In Mexico City and surrounding areas in central Mexico, you can find a “guajalota”, a torta filled with a tamal or the “tecolota”, a torta filled with chilaquiles. Another favorite in this area is the torta Cubana or the Cuban sandwich. This beast combines ham, roasted pork leg, head cheese, queso fresco, yellow cheese, breaded cutlets, hot dog, all served with sliced avocados, onion, tomato, and chiles.
“Cemitas” are a type of bread found throughout many regions in Mexico, but tortas made with this type of bread (which are also called “cemitas”) are traditional in Puebla.
Like many foods in Mexico, the kind of tortas available will depend on where you are!
Is a torta hot or cold?
Tortas can be eaten hot or cold, depending on the filling ingredients. For example, a torta made with just ham or cheese, could be eaten cold. Typically, I like mine hot, because I use beans on my torta and eating cold beans just isn’t my thing. But you can eat your torta however you like!
What does the word torta mean?
The word “torta” can mean different things in different Spanish speaking regions. Heck, here in Mexico, it can even mean different things!
If we stick to what the word “torta” means related to food items though, in certain Spanish-speaking regions this word will refer to cake.
A torta Mexicana, refers to what we are making with this recipe here: a type of bread filled with a variety of ingredients. The word “torta” in Mexico can also refer to types of fritters, either meat or vegetable based, that are fried and sometimes served in sauce, like these cauliflower or chicken fritters.
I sincerely hope you found this article helpful and informative! Let me know how your carne asada torta turned out in the comments below!
Carne Asada Torta Mexicana
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil I used canola, see notes
- 4 ounces thinly sliced steak, about 1/4 inch thick I used sirloin, see notes
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, and turmeric to taste, see notes
- 1 telera or bolillo roll see notes
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup refried beans see notes
- 1 slice cheese I used gouda, but manchego, Oaxaca, panela, or any other cheese of your choice will work. See notes
- 1/2 avocado thinly sliced
- 1/8 cup thinly sliced onions
- 2 slices tomato
- 2 leafs lettuce see notes
- 4 slices pickled jalapeños optional, see notes
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet or grill pan until shimmering, about 3 minutes.2 tbsp oil
- While the oil is heating up, season the steak on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and turmeric powder.4 ounces thinly sliced steak, about 1/4 inch thick, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and turmeric
- Place steak in the pan and fry, browning evenly on both sides, about 1 1/2 minute per side. Once the steak is cooked to your desired doneness, remove from the skillet and place on a plate and cover to keep warm. See notes.
- Slice the telera or bolillo through the center to create a top and bottom for your torta. Remove some crumbs from the white, soft interior if desired.1 telera or bolillo roll
- Spread butter on the soft, white side of both halves. Place the bread butter side down in the skillet. Toast until the bread is a light, golden brown, about 25-30 seconds. Flip to warm and toast the other sides of the bread, about 15 seconds more. Remove from the skillet.1 tbsp unsalted butter
- On one half of the buttered side of the bread, spread your refried beans and top with cheese. Place this half back in your skillet, cheese side down for about 15-20 seconds. This will toast and melt the cheese. Remove from the skillet with a spatula.1/4 cup refried beans, 1 slice cheese
- Thinly slice your steak into strips and place on top of your melted cheese. Layer on the sliced onions, tomatoes, avocado slices, jalapeño peppers (if using), and lettuce.1/2 avocado, 1/8 cup thinly sliced onions, 2 slices tomato, 4 slices pickled jalapeños, 2 leafs lettuce
- Spread mayonnaise on the other half of your bread and place on top!1 tbsp mayonnaise
- If you wish, you can toast the sandwich as a whole in your skillet once more to warm the bread through or make it extra toasty. Or enjoy immediately!
Notes
- You can use whatever oil you have on hand. If you are using a non-stick skillet, this amount can likely be reduced down. Use just enough to ensure your steak doesn’t stick to the pan!
- I used a thinly sliced sirloin steak that was about 1/4 inch thick. Because this steak was thin, it cooked up really fast. You will have to adjust your cooking time if you are using a thicker steak, or if you want your meat more or less well-done.
- I season my steaks on both sides with a sprinkle of salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, and turmeric. I would suggest seasoning with a minimum of salt, but the other herbs and spice flavors can be changed out for whatever you like. Cumin, chile pepper flakes, ground chile powder, or powdered onion would be other great options.
- Telera or bolillo rolls are traditional Mexican breads used for tortas. You should be able to find these in your local Mexican bakery or well stocked bakery sections in regular grocery stores in areas with large Mexican populations. If you can’t find these breads, you could use French bread or baguettes cut into smaller sections, then sliced through the center. Do not use soft bread, like sliced sandwich bread or buns.
- You can use canned or homemade refried beans.
- I usually use whatever sliced, meltable cheese we have on hand. In this case, gouda was in my deli drawer. More traditional Mexican cheese like Oaxaca (similar in flavor and consistency to mozarella) will also work. Panela is another option, but it has a higher melting point. Other options include manchego, monterey jack, pepper jack, or muenster. Use whatever cheese you have on hand!
- Some tortas use shredded lettuce, others lettuce leaves. Use whatever you prefer!
- Tortas in Mexico are often offered with some sort of spicy chile or salsa. Sliced jalapeños en escabeche are a standard option and can be found canned in the Hispanic aisles of most well stocked grocers. Sliced chipotles in adobo are another choice if you like a more smokey flavor. Of course, if you are sensitive to spice, you can leave the chiles off!
(The below nutrition label is included as a courtesy. Our terms and conditions explain our nutrition policy.)
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