When I was in school, I lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was the only thing I ever packed in my lunch and I’ve gotten pretty darn good at making PB&J over the years if I do say so myself. Two of my kids also love a good PB&J (the other one probably would if he wasn’t allergic…) and they love when I buy Uncrustables as a treat for them. Why are they a treat? Because we can make DIY uncrustables at home with just a little bit of effort.
What’s an uncrustable?
Uncrustables are sandwiches that are made and the crust it cut off. When cutting off the crust, the edges of the sandwiches are crimped sealing in the yummy PB&J inside the bread. Normally I make my kids eat the crusts too, but these are a fun take on a typical sandwich. When we make these at home, they usually eat the crust as they’re cutting it off so they’re getting lunch while they make their lunch.
What to put inside your DIY uncrustable
Here’s where the magic happens. It’s your sandwich so make it what you want. Peanut butter and jelly? Great! Hazelnut spread? Perfect! Bananas and honey? That works too! It’s really whatever you’ll eat inside your sandwich.
Lunchmeat and cheese does work with this (at least for us) so long as it’s inside the sandwich. The bread won’t seal along the edges if there’s meat or cheese in there in our experience.
Uncrustable tips
You’ll want to make sure you’re using a soft, puffy bread to make these. That way the edges really crimp down and stay sealed. When you’re making your DIY uncrustables, you’ll flatten the bread out just a bit so don’t worry if your bread seems too fluffy.
When you’re filling your sandwiches, less is more. If you add too much inside, it’s going to burst out of the bread and make a huge mess either when you’re making your sandwich or when you go to eat it.
I try to keep the filling mostly in the middle of the sandwich so it’s less messy. When the kids are making these though, they go all the way to the crust because they eat what’s cut off right away. (If your crusts are clean, you can keep them for croutons or stuffing or something else so you’re not just throwing them away.)
Make Ahead Uncrustables
One of the great things about making sandwiches this way is that they freeze well and don’t take up a bunch of space in the freezer. Make your sandwiches like you normally would.
If you have room in your freezer, lay them out on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once they’re frozen, put them into a freezer bag after you’ve wrapped them in plastic wrap or separated them with parchment paper so they don’t all stick together. That way you can just pop them into your lunch box as you’re packing it and you’re ready to go.
If you don’t have the space for that, stack your sandwiches inside a large zip top bag with the sandwiches separated by parchment paper. This will keep them all separated and not frozen into one big clump in the bag in your freezer.
Before you put your DIY uncrustables into the bags in the freezer, be sure to label the bags with the type of sandwich and when you made them so you’ll be able to keep track. If your house is like mine, the date won’t matter much because they won’t last long.
Ready to make your own DIY uncrustables? Here’s the recipe:
Supplies
- Sandwich press
- Bread
- Peanut Butter
- Strawberry Jelly
Start out by flattening your bread. Figure out how many sandwiches you’ll want to make. You’ll need twice as many pieces of bread (two pieces of bread for each sandwich). Give the kids a rolling pin (think about using a glass or other round object if you don’t have a rolling pin) to flatten out the bread a little bit. Doing this will make sure your sandwich doesn’t have any crust when you use the cutter tool.
Now that your bread is flattened, it’s time to add the filling to your sandwich. Peanut butter, jelly, peanut butter and jelly, lunch meat, cheese, whatever you’d like to enjoy in your sandwich. Remember that you don’t want to overfill your DIY uncrustable or the edges won’t seal. You only need to put your filling on one of the pieces of bread when you’re filling your sandwich.
Now it’s time to seal your sandwich and take the crusts off. You’ll need this sandwich cutter to make your DIY uncrustable. When you’re cutting your sandwich, make sure to push down to seal the edges of your sandwich. You’ll also want to give it a little twist to help cut off the excess bread around the edges. Before you pick the cutter up, you can pull the excess crusts from around the edges to make sure they come off without pulling your sandwich apart.
Once you make all of your sandwiches, it’s time to enjoy! You can eat them right away, pack them in tomorrow’s lunch, or pop them into the freezer to enjoy later.
Make Your Own DIY Uncrustables
Make your child's favorite sandwich as an uncrustable at home with this recipe.
Ingredients
- Sandwich press
- Bread
- Peanut Butter
- Strawberry Jelly
Instructions
Start out by flattening your bread. Figure out how many sandwiches you'll want to make. You'll need twice as many pieces of bread (two pieces of bread for each sandwich). Give the kids a rolling pin (think about using a glass or other round object if you don't have a rolling pin) to flatten out the bread a little bit. Doing this will make sure your sandwich doesn't have any crust when you use the cutter tool.
Now that your bread is flattened, it's time to add the filling to your sandwich. Peanut butter, jelly, peanut butter and jelly, lunch meat, cheese, whatever you'd like to enjoy in your sandwich. Remember that you don't want to overfill your DIY uncrustable or the edges won't seal. You only need to put your filling on one of the pieces of bread when you're filling your sandwich.
Now it's time to seal your sandwich and take the crusts off. You'll need this sandwich cutter to make your DIY uncrustable. When you're cutting your sandwich, make sure to push down to seal the edges of your sandwich. You'll also want to give it a little twist to help cut off the excess bread around the edges. Before you pick the cutter up, you can pull the excess crusts from around the edges to make sure they come off without pulling your sandwich apart.
Once you make all of your sandwiches, it's time to enjoy! You can eat them right away, pack them in tomorrow's lunch, or pop them into the freezer to enjoy later.
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