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
NEW! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter, Foodie in the Craftroom, to receive updates and tips from both Amanda’s Cookin’ and Crafts by Amanda! Visit https://amandascookin.com/p/subscribe-to-newsletter.html
Amanda Davis
Latest posts by Amanda Davis (see all)
- Roasted Turkey - November 14, 2024
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies - November 11, 2024
- Deviled Eggs - November 4, 2024
noble pig says
This is a great idea! I would never have thought about doing that!
Culinary Cory says
I totally learned something new today. I don't really have a need to freeze PB&J in mass quantities. But if I ever do, I know where to turn.
Amanda says
April – thanks! Hope you like them better than the store bought :)
learningtocookeatandenjoydeliciousfood – it's definitely worth the effort and really doesn't take too long!
dawn – see I knew I wasn't the only one! LMAO
Susan – LOL Oh yes, I have heard that rant before. it wasn't until high school that my daughter showed an interest in deli meats!
Aly – Excellent!!
cookies and cups – Isn't it funny how people react? I did the same thing when I first learned about it.
Risa – just remember, don't tell them, they'll never know. She'll love it!
Tiffiny Felix – thanks! that second layer of PB makes a huge difference ;)
Jenn @ BentoForKidlet – so helpful isn't it?? :)
jillbert – I'm with you sista! At night I just want to relax :-p
Becky – Thanks Becky! it'll save you lots of time :)
Heidi – you bet! Always happy to help a fellow mom save moola :)
Amy E. – I used to do the deli meats for hubby. He never complained!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake – the secret here is not telling them that you freeze them. Don't offer that information and there will be no preconceived notions on their part ;)
Leslie – yep yep! Hope you try it :)
Megan – while you can't do tuna this way, you can do lunch meat!
HoneyB – Thanks Shelby, I appreciate it! :)
HoneyB says
Amanda you have great tips! Oh, and I love to eat PB&J and so does Grumpy! He has taken them in his lunch box many times!
Megan says
Sadly, we don't do pb&j at our house (nut allergies), but I do buy the big bags of chips/pretzels and individually bag them ahead of time for their lunches.
There are days when I wish their school had a cafeteria.
Leslie says
Great idea. I mean they sell those "Crustables" at the store..but I have never thought to do it myself! Thanks for the SUPER idea! What a time saver in the morning!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
Definitely learned something new. Wondering whether I can convince my husband to start taking these to work, I find making his sandwiches so dull, if I could make them in bulk once a week….. I don't think he's going to buy it somehow!!! My 2 year old might like them though when he is bit bigger and goes to school – only the "food police" in UK schools might send stroppy letter home in his lunchbox if I give him same thing every day!
Brenda says
What they don’t know (at least with food/sandwiches) won’t hurt them! Love the ideas!
Amy E. says
I had not heard of this, nor even thought it could be done and still taste good. I also like the ideas in the list for hints. Evidently to one of my kids there is no other kind of sammie cept' a PB&J. Fine by me, takes out the guess work!
Heidi says
Thanks for the great idea! I buy my daughter those frozen ones that are WAY to expensive to save time in the morning. Next weeks lunches with be made with these instead. Thanks for saving me some money :)
Becky says
um… this is awesome! when i have kiddos of my own i'm SO going to take a page out of this book!
thx!
jillbert says
Very interesting! I don't have kids, but I may try this for my own lunches! I don't like scrambling to get my lunch together the night before, or worse, in the morning when I'm trying to get out the door.
Jenn @ BentoForKidlet says
I knew about freezing peanut butter and jelly and it is one of my favorite time savers for a busy morning! I keep a lot of lunchbox ready staples in the freezer!
Tiffiny Felix says
I love this! The frozen ones at the store kill me for how much they cost. I remember when they first came out, "Really? *Really*?!" And then my older sister showed up with some on one of her visits. I was shocked, and gave her an appropriately hard time ;) Also, I never thought about putting the PB on both sides of the bread to keep the jam in. Genius!! :)
Risa says
You taught me something new today! My little girl isn't into pb&j just yet but I still love this tip!
cookies and cups says
I do this too! Whenever I tell people they are like, really?? It is such a great tip and huge time saver! People are gonna thank you for this!
Aly says
I actually make homemade "uncrustables" for my kids and freeze those! It is a fantastic and quick trick for easy snacking or lunch!
Susan says
No way! I have 5 kids and wake up at 6:00 every morning to start the assembly line lunches. Except I'm the only worker on this assembly line. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea to pieces and I'm so going to try it. I'm really excited to try this out.
I have to laugh though. Have you ever read Calvin and Hobbs? My youngest son reprimanded me yesterday for putting a meat and cheese bagel sandwich in his lunch instead of the beloved PB&J. I just thought a little variety would be nice. Not in his case.
dawn says
i do this too! i have no kids, but a hungry hubby and myself. i do this with egg & cheese breakfast sammies too. lol
learningtocookeatandenjoydeliciousfood says
I never heard of this before and I think that I am going to have to try that this weekend as I prepare my meals for this week!! I always used to eat PB&J when I was a kid, but dont have time to make them these days!! ;(
April says
Thank you for posting this! I had no idea that you could freeze them. I see the frozen ones in the store that are so expensive so I never buy them. My son takes PB and Jelly every day. This will be a great time saver!