Frozen Sandwiches For Quick Make Ahead Lunches
Frozen sandwiches are the creme de le creme of make ahead lunches. Who has time to make lunch in the morning before work or sending the kids off to school?
Bread freezes amazingly well, and so do meat and cheese. So, sandwiches should freeze well too right? Heck yes! Just remember what can freeze and what can't and make sure the bread doesn't get soggy. We'll cover both of these.
What Can't Go In a Frozen Sandwich?
- lettuce
- tomato
- cucumber
- celery, apples, grapes, like in a chicken or tuna salad sandwich
- raw onion
Keep the Bread from Getting Soggy
To keep your bread fresh and firm you need to make sure nothing watery can be absorbed into it. The simplest way to do this is to put condiments on the inside or apply them later. Or put a layer of something high in fat over the inside of the bread, such as butter or peanut butter.
Examples:
Frozen PBJ Sandwich: Spread the peanut butter in a thin layer on two pieces of bread all the way from the top to the bottom trying to cover the whole area. Put a layer of jelly on one side on top of the peanut butter. Cover the sandwich, label and freeze.
Chicken Salad Sandwich: Spread a thin layer of butter across the two pieces of bread covering the whole area. Leave any apples, grapes or celery out of your salad and use only enough mayo to make it adequately moist. Spread the salad on top of one piece of buttered bread. Add a slice of cheese if desired. Top with the second piece of buttered bread, wrap, label and freeze.
Ham and Cheese Sandwich: Put mustard, mayo and other condiments between the pieces of ham and cheese OR spread the bread with butter then add a layer of your chosen condiments. Put the ham and cheese in the middle and wrap, label and freeze.
Hey! What About Warm Sandwiches?
These are great for the office, but in schools it can be harder to get to a microwave if one is even available. The same basic rules apply here, keep the bread from getting soggy in the freezer and don’t freeze raw veggies, but they don’t do well in the microwave either.
Examples:
Hot Roast Beef: Freeze the beef broth in a separate container. The beef slices can be frozen inside the bun or in the broth. Lets say you put the beef in the broth to freeze. Pack the beef and broth plus the bun. Microwave the broth and beef until hot and add to your sandwich. Cheese and hot peppers optional.
Meatball Sub: Pack meatballs and sauce in a small container add Parmesan too, then pack bun and sliced mozzarella separately and freeze. At lunch time reheat the meatballs and sauce in the microwave, place on bun, top with cheese and give another 10 seconds or so to warm the bun and melt the cheese.
Be sure to add your frozen sandwiches to your
Variations:
Try different flavor breads.
- rye
- wheat
- sourdough
- pumpernickel
Try different types of breads.
- rolls
- bagels
- tortillas
- flat bread
- pitas
Try different fillings, meats and cheeses.
Cut lettuce, tomato and other fresh toppings ahead, bag separately and keep refrigerated. These ‘sandwich kits’ can be put in your lunchbox with your frozen sandwich and added to the sandwich when you eat.
How to Freeze Sandwiches
Place sandwiches in freezer quality plastic bags or wrap in plastic food wrap and then tin foil. Label, date and add to your
How to Thaw Sandwiches
Place sandwiches in your lunchbox in the morning, by lunchtime they will have thawed on their own.
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