How to Freeze PB&J Sandwiches – DIY Lunchables!
Did you know that you can freeze sandwiches? One of the biggest struggles of getting out the door first thing in the morning is having to think about and prepare school lunches ahead of time. My son always asks for a PB&J sandwich for every lunch so I quickly got tired of the daily mess of preparing a sandwich and getting out each of the jars.
Now, I just make 5 at a time, pop them in freezer safe bags, and then we can grab one to toss into his lunchbox each day! It’s just like having our own DIY lunchables and being able to save a lot of money off the store bought variety! Plus, I don’t have to worry about preservatives or other things.
How to Freeze PB&J Sandwiches
If you have ever tried to freeze a loaf of bread, you’ll know that bread freezes really well. That makes sandwiches a great candidate to make it to your freezer but there are some important things you’ll need to know.
Most importantly, you will need to use “fats” next to the bread – ie, butter or oils. When you’re making a PB&J, all that means is first spread a thin layer of peanut butter on each slice of bread rather than just one of the two slices. Then, use your favorite jam or jelly and spread it right on top of one of the slices. Your jam will be layered between the two slices of peanut butter protecting your sandwich from going soggy!
Store your sandwiches in freezer sandwich bags or in individual sandwich bags (cloth or non-freezer) and stack several together inside a large gallon sized freezer bag.
Take out the sandwich the morning you want to pack it in your child’s lunchbox. The cold sandwich will help keep the other foods cold and will thawed before lunch! You can serve your DIY lunchables at home, too, just pull out the sandwich about a half an hour before serving for lunches at home!
You can also freeze other types of sandwiches like lunch meat and cheese sandwiches! Keep in mind that you don’t want something liquid or wet right next to the bread as it can make your sandwich soggy as it thaws. Not all veggies or other things you might want to add freeze well, but it never hurts to give it a try if you have an ingredient you love!
For a fun lunch twist on your PB&J, try one of these sandwiches:
- Peanut Butter & Banana! Just sandwich your sliced bananas between your peanut butter coated slices of bread.
- Peanut Butter & Butter – One of our favorites, a light layer of butter one one slice of bread and a loaded slice of peanut butter on the other! This sandwich gives you all the taste of peanut butter without the my-mouth-is-so-sticky-i-can’t-talk problems!
- Jelly/Jelly – For the jelly lovers, like my second child, we have fun mixing and matching jelly flavors. spread a light coating of butter to coat the bread if you’re going to be freezing this masterpiece. Then, top each with a light coating of two different jellies or do half of a single bread slice in each of your flavors.
More fun Lunchbox Ideas!
