How to Freeze & Use Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

I know what you’re thinking… really Amanda?? Did you have nothing else to write about today? It’s not that, really, I swear! I’m actually quite surprised at how many people are unaware of the magnificent time saver: frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

I have 4 kids. Over the years, I have made more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sack lunches for school than I care to count. I learned this little time saving tip probably 7 or 8 years ago and have been doing it ever since.

If you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for you child’s school lunch, this will save you a considerable amount of time each morning. The first trick to a great PB&J, one that doesn’t end up with jelly seeping through the bread, is this:

On one side of the bread you spread your peanut butter, then on the other side, put a thin layer of peanut butter. On that thin layer, add a layer of jelly. The peanut butter acts as a “raincoat” and the jelly does not soak through the bread.

I buy an extra loaf of bread just for this purpose (please note, the pictures only show half a loaf as I needed to make more and that’s what I had on hand). I do an assembly line of sandwiches, then when they are all made, I slip each one into a plastic sandwich bag. Then you put each sandwich back inside the bread bag. Store the bread bag in the freezer.

When it comes time to make little Johnny’s lunch in the morning, take one sandwich out of the bag and put it into his lunch bag. By the time lunchtime rolls around at school, his sandwich is perfectly thawed and tastes great.

No, they will not be soggy when they thaw out. This is the MOST common question I receive about this method. And yes, they still taste good! This according to my kids. :)

I even appeared on a local news station once and shared this, among several other time saving tips for back to school such as:

• Buy a bag of chips or pretzels dedicated to lunches. Make up individual baggies of snacks (zipper bags are best for this) and place them back into the empty chip bag. Each morning you just reach in and grab one.
• Cut carrots and celery into sticks and store in baggies.
• Buy small fruits such as clementines and grapes, or dried fruits such as dried cranberries and raisins, and make up individual baggies.
• You can also freeze sandwiches with deli meats, such as ham, turkey, bologna and salami. Make baggies of a piece of lettuce and an individually wrapped piece of cheese to toss in the lunch bag with the frozen sandwich. You can also buy mustard and mayonnaise packets from places like Costco, Sam’s Club and restaurant supply stores.
• To keep jelly from oozing out the bottom of the sandwich, after placing everything inside the lunch bag, place sandwich on top laying flat. Standing it up can cause the jelly to leak out the bottom as it thaws.

So there you have it. :) I’m curious, did you already know about the frozen PB&J trick? Or did you learn something new today?


I submitted this to Tip Me Tuesday

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