The Tripleta is a toasted Puerto Rican sandwich built on soft, fluffy bread and piled high with three meats—shredded pernil (roast pork), thin-sliced steak, and a third meat of your choice—finished with crispy shoestring potatoes. Rich, satisfying, and unapologetically meaty, it’s one of those sandwiches you’ll gladly make a little messy.
I rank the Tripleta up there with the Cubano as one of my favorite sandwiches. Loaded with steak, chicken or deli meat, pernil, and a signature Puerto Rican mayoketchup, it’s indulgent, flavorful, and entirely worth the effort.
On visits to Puerto Rico I always hunt down a late-night food truck for an authentic Tripleta, so I’m excited to share how you can recreate this iconic sandwich at home.
Let’s get started!
Step by Step Instructions
Feeling cheesy? If you want, melt a slice of cheese over the meat in the pan and cover briefly. And if lettuce or tomato feels unnecessary, skip them — this sandwich is about the meat!
Picking The Third Meat
The Tripleta requires three different meats. Pernil and steak are classic and hard to replace, but the third meat is flexible.
Common options include diced chicken thighs, bacon, pork chops, or diced deli meat. Each choice changes the character of the sandwich slightly, and all are delicious.
If you need a shortcut, rotisserie chicken, deli ham, and roast beef work well together. It won’t be traditional in every detail, but you’ll still get the satisfying mix of textures and flavors that define a Tripleta. The essential rule: use three meats—don’t overthink it.
Making Components From Scratch
If you want to build this sandwich from scratch, start with these elements:
Crisp & Tender Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)
Pan Sobao (Soft Sweet Bread)
Fluffiest Pan de Agua (Water Bread)
5 Minute Puerto Rican MayoKetchup (Pink Sauce)
I make pernil periodically and freeze leftovers so Tripletas are always within reach. Reheating a portion of pernil and combining it with fresh steak and a third meat makes quick work of this sandwich.
Buen provecho,
Tripleta (Puerto Rican Three Meat Sandwich)
Description
The Tripleta features soft, fluffy bread filled with three meats—shredded pork, thin-cut steak, and a third meat of your choice—plus crispy shoestring potatoes. This toasted Puerto Rican sandwich highlights robust, layered flavors and satisfying textures.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf pan sobao, pan de agua, or a baguette
- 8 oz steak, shaved or sliced very thin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp adobo seasoning
- 1 cup shredded pernil (or carnitas)
- Deli meat, cooked chicken, or another meat of your choice
- 1/4 cup mayoketchup
- 1 cup shoestring potato chips or chips of your choice
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 tomato, sliced
Instructions
- Cook the steak: Season the thin steak slices with salt, pepper, and adobo. Sear in a skillet over medium-high heat until done to your preference.
- Heat the remaining meats: Add shredded pernil and the third meat to the pan just to warm through. If needed, add a splash of broth or water to keep things moist. Combine all three meats in the pan.
- Toast the bread: Slice the bread lengthwise and toast until the interior is crisp and lightly golden.
- Assemble the sandwich: Generously spread mayoketchup on both sides of the bread. Pile on the meat mixture, add a handful of potato chips, and top with shredded lettuce and sliced tomato if desired. Finish with another drizzle of mayoketchup, close the sandwich, and slice in half. Buen provecho!
Notes
If you want a cheesy Tripleta, place a couple of cheese slices over the meat in the pan, cover for a minute to melt, then assemble as usual.