Recipe

Chicken sandwich spread: creamy Cuban-style filling

Name: Chicken sandwich spread: creamy Cuban-style filling
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 400 g cooked and cold chicken, skinless and boneless (about 2½ cups shredded); 180 g commercial mayonnaise (about ¾ cup); 15 g mild mustard (1 tablespoon); 10 ml lemon juice (2 teaspoons); 1.5 g salt (¼ teaspoon), or to taste; ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper; 40 small sandwich rolls, about 20 g and 5-6 cm each; 600 g raw chicken breast, skinless and boneless; 1.5 liters water; 5 g salt (1 teaspoon) for the cooking water

Fine, spreadable chicken sandwich spread with mayonnaise, mustard and lemon to fill party sandwiches. Yields about 600 g, for 40 small rolls.

CiberCubaNovember 7, 2026

Image generated with AI.CiberCuba

Preparation20 min
Total time1 h 20 min
ServingsAbout 600 g of paste, for 40 small sandwiches (10 servings of 4)
DifficultyEasy

At birthdays and parties in Cuba, on the island and in Miami, the tray of sandwiches is almost never missing. This version is a ground chicken sandwich spread, smooth and spreadable, designed to stay inside the roll without dripping or crumbling.

It is not a chicken salad: here there is no apple, celery, potato or large chunks. Only cooked and cold chicken, commercial mayonnaise, a touch of mild mustard and a few drops of lemon. It is prepared in about 20 minutes and needs at least one hour in the refrigerator before filling.

Method

Optional: if starting from raw chicken

Place the breast in a pot with 1.5 liters of cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (about 10 minutes), skim off the foam and reduce to low heat.
Cook covered over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is white inside and reaches 74 °C/165 °F in the thickest part.
Remove the chicken, let it cool slightly for about 15 minutes on a plate and store it covered in a container in the lower part of the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, until completely cold. From here, continue with the paste.

Chicken sandwich spread

Check the cold chicken and remove any remaining skin, bone, cartilage or tendon. Chop it into pieces about 2 cm.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
Put the chicken in the food processor with 90 g of mayonnaise (half). Pulse in short intervals for 30-45 seconds, scraping the sides with the spatula, until the chicken is finely ground.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
Add the mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and pulse for a few seconds to incorporate them.
Incorporate the rest of the mayonnaise in 3 batches of about 30 g, pulsing between each one, until you obtain a fine, smooth and spreadable paste. It must hold on the spatula without dripping; if it has reached that point, there is no need to add all the mayonnaise.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
Taste and adjust. If you want more mustard or lemon, add them ¼ teaspoon at a time, without watering down the sandwich spread.
Transfer the sandwich spread to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed against the surface and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until it is well chilled and slightly firmer.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba

Assembly of the sandwiches

Open each roll with a horizontal cut without separating the two halves. Fill each one with about 15 g of sandwich spread (1 heaping tablespoon), spreading it to the edges with the spatula.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
Serve on small trays and keep the rest of the sandwich spread and sandwiches in the refrigerator, replenishing as they are finished.

Tips and variations

Correct texture. The sandwich spread must be fine, creamy and with body: when lifted with the spatula it holds without dripping. If you find it loose, add a little more ground chicken; if it is dry or grainy, add mayonnaise one teaspoon at a time. Do not thin it with water, broth or more lemon.

Without a food processor. You can use the chopping attachment of a hand blender, working in two batches. With a knife alone you will not achieve a truly smooth sandwich spread.

If starting from raw chicken. Add about 10 minutes to bring to a boil, 20 to 25 minutes of gentle cooking and between 1 and 2 hours of cooling in the refrigerator before starting the sandwich spread. Count on 600 g of raw breast yielding about 400 g of cooked chicken.

Storage. Keep the sandwich spread in the refrigerator (at 4 °C/40 °F or less), in a covered container, and consume it within a maximum of 3 days counted from when the chicken was cooked, not from when you made the sandwich spread. If the chicken was already two days old, you only have one day left. Do not freeze it: the mayonnaise will break when thawing.

At the party. Fill the rolls as close to serving time as possible and take small trays to the table, replenishing from the refrigerator. Do not leave the sandwiches out of the cold for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour if it is hotter than 32 °C/90 °F. Always use commercial mayonnaise, never homemade mayonnaise with raw eggs.

Another option. If you prefer a filling with chunks and fruit, prepare the Cuban chicken salad with apple from the cookbook. It is a different preparation from this sandwich spread.