Frozen sandwiches are just about the best lunch meal prep hack out there! Throw them together on the weekend and you'll have a quick grab-and-go lunch, perfect for school or work. Bonus? They'll save you loads of money!
It's early, and you've got kids at school, kids at home, or you're just busy trying to get everyone out the door on time. Packing a lunch can be the bane of your existence, but it doesn't have to be! Skip the drive-throughs and expensive school lunches and listen up, Freebs, because we're about to change. your. life.
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Oh yea, you read that right! We are allll about frozen sandwiches because they're such an easy lunch meal prep idea. Our kids love our freezer PB&J sandwiches and they're such a breeze to make. Today, we're bringing you the cutest little meat and cheese sandwiches that both kids and adults will love! You can make a whole batch in about 10 minutes… Talk about a meal prep win!
Excited for the video?? You should be. *wink*
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Watch the video online HERE, or watch below to see how easy it is to make frozen sandwiches for your lunch meal prep:
Isn't that crazy simple and yet mind-blowing all at the same time?? Frozen sandwiches are seriously a game-changer when it comes to lunch meal prep. You don't even have to be leaving the house to eat them, either! There have been plenty of busy days around the house where we'll pull them out after breakfast so we can have a quick and easy lunch at home. #NoFussNoMuss
THE LOW-DOWN ON FROZEN SANDWICHES
It really doesn't take much to throw these easy little bundles of joy together. We fully believe in going the extra step to be more productive and efficient in all aspects of life, and this is no different! Take the short amount of time to throw these frozen sandwiches together and you'll reap the rewards with enough lunches to last you a few days (or weeks)!
You can even have the whole family hop in and help make them make things go quicker! We like to get together on the weekend and make a lot at once. Then, the kids can easily grab them from the freezer in the mornings when they're packing their lunches. And it's easy for adults to grab and go on the way out the door as well!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
These meat and cheese sandwiches are pretty basic and very versatile! You can use what you've already got on hand to make them work for you. Now that's what we call shelf cooking!
- Bread – You can really get creative here! We love using Hawaiian rolls, but any dinner rolls will do. You can also cut sub or hoagie rolls in half or thirds. Regular bread or homemade bread will also work. Use what you've got before it goes bad!
- Meat – Any lunch meat your family loves will work here. You can also use leftover ham or turkey, just slice it as thin as possible so it'll thaw quickly.
- Cheese – Here's your opportunity to mix it up! You can't go wrong with any cheese, here. If you're using the square sandwich slices, just tear them down to the right size to fit on the frozen sandwiches. Or you can thinly slice it directly off a block of cheese. Whatever works!
- Condiments – Add on your favorite condiments to give ‘er a little extra kick of flavor! Some of our favorites include mustard, mayo, Miracle Whip, and honey mustard. Or, if your family isn't a fan of condiments, then leave these sandwiches dry and they'll be just as tasty.
Pro Tip: Label the baggie if you're using various meats, cheeses, or condiments that not everybody in the family likes. Nobody wants to grab a bag thinking it's a dry ham and cheddar, only to realize it's turkey, pepperjack, and mustard!
HOW TO MAKE FROZEN SANDWICHES
Now that you've got all of the ingredients handy, the only other thing you'll need are some sandwich baggies (Check out these reusable ones here!) and a gallon-sized freezer baggie and you'll be ready to go! Ready to make the easiest frozen sandwich recipe known to man?
Meat and Cheese Frozen Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 12-count pkg Hawaiian rolls (or hoagies cut in half, or regular bread)
- 24 slices lunch meat (or leftover ham or turkey)
- 12 slices cheese
- Condiments, such as mustard, mayo, miracle whip, or honey mustard (optional)
Instructions
- Cut rolls in half.
- Add one slice of meat (folded to fit on the roll), cheese (also folded), condiments, second slice of meat, then bread.
- Repeat for each roll!
- Add one or two sandwiches to a sandwich baggie, removing as much air as possible. (Don't forget to label the bags if they're different!) Add all baggies to a freezer bag and stick in the freezer.
- Pull them out of the freezer the morning of and they'll be thawed by lunch!
Notes
So easy, right?! We love how quick this lunch meal prep is and how much time it'll save you on busy mornings. #Winning
HOW TO FREEZE THESE EASY SANDWICHES
Once you have your sandwiches assembled (making sure your bread is only touching meat and the cheese and condiments are between each slice of meat), add one or two sandwiches to a sandwich baggie. Get as much air out as possible to prevent freezer burn! (Label the baggies if they're different.)
Add all the sandwiches baggies to a freezer bag and stick that bad boy in the freezer. When you need some for lunch, simply pull your sandwich bags out of the freezer in the morning and the frozen sandwiches will thaw by lunch!
Hope this makes your life a little easier, as it has ours. If you liked these tips, then make sure you check out our post about kids' lunch meal prep ideas. You're sure to find all kinds of great tips like this!
Do you lunch meal prep like these frozen sandwiches? Share your favorites with us in the comments below!
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Looking for more budget-friendly meal prep ideas?
- Check out how we made 31 freezer meals with only $100 using our freezer meals Ebook!
- Learn how to meal plan the right way that will save you the most money and have the least amount of waste!
- We've got over 100 dinner ideas that will get you out of that meal planning rut in no time.
Great video. We “productify” breakfast breads: banana, zucchini, chocolate zucchini, by making big batches in mini foil pans and freezing them. Serves the two of us generously and gives us a choice. Works with muffins, too. Now we need a Costco apple muffin copycat recipe. Got one, anyone?
Thank you for this video. Another, time saver. Thankfully, my kids do like ham and cheese. I will be making these definitely. I feel the same….mine don’t like condiments either. Just plain ham/cheese.
Also, I know you have the freezer PB&J as well. Is there a particular bread you recommend fairs better from frozen to thaw state? My kids are in elementary school so their lunch is like 11:30 and they don’t leave until 8:30 am. Thanks!
Hi Jordan I would like to share this tip withyou to keep lettuce crispy and it should last 10 days take lettuce spinach and submerge it in a big pot with cold water and sprinkle baking soda in water not two much maybe quarter to half tsp mix well let rest 5 -10 min. Then rinse we’ll fill pot again with only cold water submerge clean lettuce in cold water then let it sit again 5-10 min. And walla extra crispy lettuce. Love it ? Try it please you’ll love it.
Hi,
I was just wondering how long it takes for these to be defrosted? My kids have lunch about 2 1/2 – 3 hours after they would leave the freezer. Thanks
Yup that should be perfect!
Mine came out soggy. Any idea on what I can do differently?
Doesn’t the bread get soggy when it thaws out? It seems like they would come out soggy as they thaw in the bag. Thanks!
These look ok so yummy! Thanks so much for the idea. ?
This is such a good tip! Those premake sandwiches are so expensive and you’ve figured out a budget friendly way to make them!
This tip alongside with the way you use bread period (like using hot dog bread for French toast) changed my life!
I love this tip! This and batch cooking dinners has saved me SO much time.
So my kids are weird and just started liking ham and cheese sandwiches (actually 1 kids won’t eat it with cheese, but still, progress!!) so now I can do these and save myself some time 🙂
Shelf Cooking is one of the first things I learned from you! Still working on it 🙂
I’ve never tried freezing any sandwich but pbj. Game changer for sure.
So simple and so smart. Even though a sandwich doesn’t take long to make, in the mornings when you have to make one for everyone in the family and you are exhausted, this is a life saver. Thanks!
Cool tips ?
This is genius. It has saved my life. My kids aren’t in school so I never knew what I was missing but now I use them whenever we go to the park over the lunch hour, or zoo, or any trip and i don’t have to worry about warm ham and cheese!
This saved my life and my time when I don’t want to make lunch for my kids to take to school.
You are a GENIUS! These have Changed. My. Life. ???
Will definitely be trying this once my oldest starts kindergarten this upcoming fall! Thank you for the great ideas!
Love things that make school lunches easier! I hate making them but love that they are cheap and usually healthier than those nasty school lunches!
This has been a school lunch life saver
I definitely need to try this! Mornings are too nuts to pick lunches.
I am obsessed with freezing everything. My mom is the queen of freezer meals and I am not that’s good, but I do try to double or triple everything I make so I have a good stock of frozen meals ready for busy nights!
Great ideas!!
Ahhh… the cheese between the meat! I don’t want soggy bread but I didnt think about the cheese trick. Great idea.
This has been a game changer in our house this year!
I will have to try this because I seriously hate making school lunches every morning!!
I love this tip! I had my firs 1st Grader this year and so packing school lunches is a new thing for me. But with baby twins, this was a definite time-saving mom hack. Thank you!
This post blew my mind! You always have ALL the hacks we never even knew we needed.
I’ve been making these for weeks now and it has saved us a ton!! My husband and kids use them for lunch we are always on the go for sports and errands so they are a huge time saver and on leftover nights when there isn’t quite enough they are winners then also!!
So genius! Only recently have I started to freeze PB&J. They are perfect every time!
So convenient and yummy! Live this idea!
This truly is brilliant! My kids are too young for school, and we are home most of the time so I don’t use it right now. However, this fall I will definitely be using this trick when my son starts preschool!
I have done this with PB&Js before, but never thought to do it with ham and cheese. Genius!
What a great time saving idea! I’ll definitely try this.
Anything make ahead that can be freezer isna winner in my book! Great post!
This is a genius idea! I need to productify my life big time
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them!!
I’ve told so many people about this freezing sandwich tip. Such a game changer!! Thanks for giving me this knowledge so I can *try to* stay sane!!
This is such a genius/why didn’t I think if that idea. Totally will help out when I’m in my sluggish/anxious/depression moments so none of my family starves. Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks and help us moms who are just trying. ?
So yummy!! Will def make this!!
I did this for my husbands lunches. He LOVES them and it makes it so easy to pack! I’m excited to do it when my daughter is older 🙂
Tried this and I love having it ready but my son said that sometimes the bread is a little soggy on the bottom.
What’s the best freezer bags cause mine are frosting on the inside … I did this let month wrote little notes on the bag for husband and he still hasn’t eaten them
I know this is for school lunches but I’m a single working girl and these work great for me too so great shout! Xx
Loving this quick and easy idea!!!
We live in a RV. I wish I had the extra freezer space!
Ha! I made these thinking it would be a total flop but my very picky 8 year old daughter loved it! We used Hawaiian rolls because they’re sweet and delicious. She doesn’t like cheese or miracle whip so it was pretty much bread and meat. Thanks for the idea.
I love this idea!
These seriously look so amazing and easy to make! We buy fast food a lot because it just takes so much time to cook in the moment so these look awesome to prepare ahead to help limit the costs of eating out!! ❤️❤️
I like the idea.
But I want to know about them defrosting soggy.
I can’t stand soggy bread??
Extra tip! Thinner sandwich bread gets a little soggy sometimes, but if you put a very thin layer of butter/margarine on the inside (make sure to cover the whole surface area), it will product the bread from moisture from the meat as it thaws!
I use the spreadable fake “butter” because I can get the thinnest layer with a good seal and not worry about softening real butter but not letting it melt.
I have to try these sandwiches. We imitated your school snack system and for the most part it is going great!
How long can you freeze these for? Without them going bad and how to you prevent soggy bread? Cannot wait to try!
I would suggest using them within a month or two. The best way to prevent soggy or dried out bread is to make sure that it’s not exposed to too much air in the freezing and thawing process. Wrap the sandwiches tightly and then let them thaw naturally at room temp or even in the fridge to avoid condensation making the bread soggy. Check out this post for more info: https://funcheaporfree.com/friend-feature-friday-how-to-thaw/
When I freeze sandwiches the bread gets soggy when they thaw. How do you prevent this?
If I’m making a ham and cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, then I’ll put the cheese on one slice of bread, the ham on the other slice of bread, and then the mayonnaise in between the ham and cheese. That keeps the mayonnaise from soaking into the bread and making it soggy when it thaws. Try it out and see if that fixes your problem! 🙂
Freezer sandwiches save my sanity! I don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but when I make these sandwiches, I cut the whole “loaf” of rolls in half at once, put a layer of ham, a layer of cheese and another layer of ham and then put the “lid” back on and cut the rolls apart. Such a time saver!
I also do this for breakfast and add a layer of soft scrambled eggs that I spread on the first layer of ham. I put 10 sandwiches each in a disposable foil pans, cover with plastic wrap and then foil and freeze. I try to remember to put the pan in the fridge overnight to thaw partially and then just remove the plastic, replace the foil and pop the whole pan in the oven while we get ready for school. I warm them on 350 ~25 min. I have 5 kids also (2 of which are teenagers) and feel strongly about sending them off to school with a good breakfast. The kids LOVE them! If you don’t have a basketball team to feed, you can obviously package these smaller and even microwave them instead of using the oven.
I LOVE these ideas! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Because I have older kids and they like sandwiches I do a whole loaf, cut each sandwich in half. I stack them do that one is cut up and down and the next is side to side. I then slide the bread bag back over the stack, replace the bread tie and back in the freezer. The kids lunch boxes then pack one or two into their plastic lunchbox the night before and are lined up on the kitchen bench so that they aren’t thawed in time for lunch (after testing). This also cuts down on the number of plastic bags you need.
That’s a great idea, I love it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes! I JUST posted a question about how to reduce plastic bags! Great solution!!!
Hi Thank you so much for this whole site! I am not a confident cook, at all?? and find EVERY MEAL stressful just trying to figure out what to make. Your simple and easy ideas are fantastic and so helpful. I wanted to ask though if I could spread butter in the bread ( ham and cheese sandwiches) before freezing them. Thank you so much
Thanks for stopping by, I’m so glad that I can help you out! I’m definitely no chef, but I’ve gotten my confidence through trial and error! 😉 I’ve never put butter on the ham and cheese sandwiches, but I do put mayo on them. I just put it between the ham and cheese so that it won’t make the bread soggy. But I’m not sure if butter would make it soggy or not? Butter freezes well, so that’s not an issue. You’ll have to try it out and let me know! 🙂
Any tips for other methods of freezing rather than plastic bags? I am trying my darndest to be more environmentally friendly every day and the thought of using plastic bags every day hurts my tree hugging heart. Have you tried wax paper or freezer paper? Just curious how they would work instead of the plastic bags? And I know you have even more kids now than when this was filmed so how long would you say they stay good for in the freezer? I’m sure you guys run out before you have to worry about them getting freezer burned. Ha! Thanks for all your tips and tricks!
You could use reusable bags like THESE. I’ve never had our sandwiches go bad in the freezer, but you’re right when you say that we run out before we have to worry about them getting freezer burned! 🙂 If you’re worried about that, then maybe try only making a week’s worth at a time, or one loaf of bread’s worth of sandwiches at a time!