Can You Freeze Sandwiches?

3 minutes

Who doesn’t love a delicious sandwich? Whatever your filling of choice, few things can beat that delicious taste of freshly baked bread topped with a range of savoury (or sweet) fillings!

If you’re looking to save yourself some preparation time, you might be wondering if it’s okay to freeze sandwiches and defrost them whenever you’re ready to enjoy them?

How to Freeze Sandwiches

It’s important to start this section with a caveat. Not every type of sandwich is suitable for freezing. If you like to enjoy your sandwiches filled with tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumber, for instance, they will almost certainly cause the bread to go soggy in the freezer.

If you’re planning to freeze sandwiches, you should keep the fillings nice and simple (think ham and cheese) and be prepared to toast or grill them when you’ve defrosted them.

If you like, you can then add condiments and pickles to your sandwich after it has been frozen. This will save the bread from going soggy! 

Now that we’ve got some ground rules out of the way, here are the steps you need to take to freeze your sandwiches: 

1. Prepare
   Begin by building your sandwich. Use fresh bread and butter it if you wish, before adding your chosen fillings. 
2. Wrap Individually
   Once prepared, wrap your sandwiches individually in cling film or tin foil. 
3. Add to Freezer-Safe Bags
   You can then slot your wrapped sandwiches into a freezer-safe bag before pressing out as much air as possible and sealing. 
4. Label and Freeze
   Write today’s date on the freezer-safe bag, as well as the date that your sandwiches should be used. Remember, you can freeze sandwiches for around two months.

3 Tips for Freezing Sandwiches

Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing sandwiches to have the best results:

Use Fresh Bread
If your bread has been lying around for a few days, it won’t taste great after it has been frozen. Where possible, prepare sandwiches for the freezer on freshly baked bread, as this will result in the best tasting sandwiches when they’ve been defrosted! 

Know What to Avoid
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but the following won’t freeze well in a sandwich: Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, low-fat cheese, soft cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and mayonnaise. If you want to include any of the above on your sandwiches, add them after freezing. 

Know what to Use
Again, the following aren’t the only things that freeze well on sandwiches, but they’re a good place to start: Nut butters, hummus, pesto, full-fat cheese, sliced meat, cooked meat, bacon, tuna, and salmon. 

How Long Can You Freeze Sandwiches?

You can freeze sandwiches for around two months. We wouldn’t recommend freezing them for any longer than this, as the bread will go soggy.

If you want to freeze sandwiches for any longer, consider freezing all of the component parts separately and building your sandwiches once they’ve been defrosted. This will ensure the fillings don’t cause the bread to go soggy.

You Can Freeze Sandwiches for up to 2 Months

How Do You Defrost Sandwiches?

To defrost your sandwiches, remove them from the freezer and place them in the fridge. It’s best not to allow them to thaw at room temperature, particularly if your sandwiches contain any meat, dairy, or fish.

We then recommend lightly toasting or grilling your sandwiches to firm up the bread. Doing so is an important step, as you don’t want your sandwiches to be soggy! 

Can You Refreeze Sandwiches?

You should only freeze sandwiches once. When you remove them from the freezer and defrost them, they should be consumed as quickly as possible. If you were to put them back in the freezer, the moisture content would almost certainly cause the bread to go soggy and would render your sandwiches far from delicious!

It’s also not a great idea to freeze meat and dairy more than once, so as a general rule, sandwiches should only be frozen once. 

Do Sandwiches Freeze Well?

Surprisingly, certain sandwiches freeze well! It’s important to stick to ingredients and fillings that freeze well, as listed above, as those with a high moisture content will cause your bread to go soggy.

You can always add extra ingredients to your sandwiches after defrosting them, as you don’t want to ruin your otherwise perfectly delicious sandwiches! 

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing sandwiches, then these may help:

Can You Freeze Shop-Bought Sandwiches?

Although it’s possible to freeze shop-bought sandwiches, we would avoid doing so. Most sandwiches from the supermarket have a lot of sauce and/or condiments which can lead to soggy bread. Instead, you’d be better making them yourself and keeping the contents simple.

Is It Safe to Freeze Sandwiches?

Freezing sandwiches is as safe as freezing most other ingredients. You need to consider the fillings and whether those individual ingredients would be safe to freeze.