Freezing Sandwiches

Select Fresh Ingredients:

Start with fresh bread and the freshest ingredients possible. Fine-textured breads and egg-enriched breads tend to stay freshest longest.

Preparing for Freezing:

Unless you are using peanut butter for filling, coat each slice of bread thoroughly with butter or margarine to keep filling from soaking in. For very moist fillings, freeze buttered bread first before spreading on filling. Bread and fillings can also be packed frozen separately and assembled at mealtime.

Suitable Packaging:

Good packaging for freezing prepared sandwiches includes freezer-grade plastic bags, rigid plastic containers, glass containers, heavy-duty aluminum foil and foil containers. Sandwiches should be double-wrapped in heavy-duty foil or in freezer plastic or packed in small, airtight container designed specially for sandwiches.

Maximum Storage Time at 0ºF:

Store cheese, ham and bologna sandwiches for 3 to 4 weeks. All other sandwiches from 4 to 6 months.

Thawing:

Let sandwiches (left in wrappers) thaw out in bagged lunches throughout the morning or in the refrigerator.

Fillings That Freeze Well:

Peanut butter (with or without jelly); cheese spreads; cream cheese mixtures (with olives, dates or raisins); and sliced meats, poultry and canned tuna. Small amounts of condiments, like ketchup, mustard or relish should freeze fine.

Fillings That Don't Freeze Well:

Mayonnaise or oil-based dressings.

Tips:

Add toppings like hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, tomatoes and other fresh vegetables to sandwiches after thawing.