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If your kids love those little crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the freezer aisle, you are going to love learning how to make homemade Uncrustables! They are incredibly easy to make, freezer-friendly, and perfect for school lunches, quick snacks, road trips, or busy afternoons.

And the best part? Making them yourself means you can choose exactly what goes inside.

All you need is soft sandwich bread, peanut butter, your favorite jelly or jam, and something to cut and seal the edges. Make a whole batch at once, pop them in the freezer, and you'll have an easy grab-and-go snack whenever you need one.

Why You'll Love Homemade Uncrustables

Store-bought Uncrustables are definitely convenient, but making them at home is surprisingly simple. Plus, you can make several at once for a fraction of the cost of buying box after box.

Homemade Uncrustables are:

• Easy to make
• Freezer-friendly
• Great for meal prep
• Perfect for lunchboxes
• Completely customizable
• A fun recipe for kids to help make

You can also switch up the fillings so everyone gets exactly what they like.

Ingredients You Need for Homemade Uncrustables

You only need three basic ingredients to make classic peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables:

Soft sandwich bread — White or wheat bread works great. The softer and fresher the bread, the easier it will be to seal.

Peanut butter — Creamy peanut butter works best because it spreads easily and helps create a barrier between the bread and jelly.

Jelly or jam — Use whatever flavor your family loves. Strawberry and grape are classics, but raspberry, blackberry, peach, and mixed berry are delicious, too.

How to Make Homemade Uncrustables

Making these sandwiches is so easy that you can put together an entire freezer stash in just a few minutes.

Start by laying two slices of bread on your work surface.

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on both pieces of bread. This is an important step, especially if you're freezing the sandwiches. The peanut butter creates a barrier that helps keep the jelly from soaking into the bread and making it soggy.

Add a spoonful of jelly to the center of one piece of bread. Don't spread it all the way to the edges. You want to leave enough room around the outside so you can seal the sandwich.

Place the second slice of bread on top with the peanut butter side facing down.

Now it's time to cut and seal the sandwich.

A sandwich sealer works perfectly for this, but you don't necessarily need one. You can use a large round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut the sandwich into a circle. Then use the tines of a fork to gently press around the edges and seal everything inside.

That's it!

You've just made a homemade Uncrustable.

The Secret to Keeping Them From Getting Soggy

Nobody wants a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The trick is putting peanut butter on both slices of bread instead of spreading peanut butter on one side and jelly directly onto the other.

Think of the peanut butter as a protective layer.

Bread + peanut butter + jelly + peanut butter + bread.

This keeps the jelly tucked safely in the center instead of soaking into the bread while the sandwiches sit in the refrigerator or thaw from frozen.

Also, don't overfill them. It can be tempting to add a big spoonful of jelly, but too much filling makes the sandwiches harder to seal and can cause the jelly to leak out.

How to Freeze Homemade Uncrustables

This is one of my favorite things about this recipe. You can make a large batch ahead of time and freeze them.

After making the sandwiches, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap or place them in individual sandwich bags.

Then place all the wrapped sandwiches inside a larger freezer-safe bag or airtight container.

Freeze until you're ready to use them.

For the best texture and flavor, I recommend using your homemade Uncrustables within about one month.

How to Thaw Frozen Uncrustables

Take one out of the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature until the bread is soft and the center has thawed.

If you're packing them in a lunchbox, you can put the sandwich in while it's still frozen. It will gradually thaw before lunchtime while also helping keep the rest of the lunch cool.

Just remember that thawing time can vary depending on the temperature of the lunchbox and whether you're using an ice pack.

Homemade Uncrustable Filling Ideas

Peanut butter and jelly might be the classic, but you don't have to stop there.

Try combinations like:

• Peanut butter and strawberry jam
• Peanut butter and grape jelly
• Peanut butter and honey
• Peanut butter and banana
• Almond butter and raspberry jam
• Sunflower seed butter and jelly
• Chocolate hazelnut spread
• Chocolate hazelnut spread and peanut butter
• Cookie butter and jelly
• Cream cheese and strawberry jam

If you're making these for school lunches, be sure to check your school's rules regarding peanuts and tree nuts.

Don't Throw Away the Bread Scraps!

After cutting out your homemade Uncrustables, you're going to have quite a few bread scraps left behind.

Don't toss them!

Save the scraps in a freezer bag and use them to make:

• Homemade breadcrumbs
• Croutons
• Bread pudding
• French toast casserole
• Breakfast strata

You can keep adding scraps to the freezer bag until you have enough for another recipe.

Tips for the Best Homemade Uncrustables

Use really soft bread. Thick, crusty, or dry bread won't seal nearly as well.

Don't overfill them. Keep the filling concentrated toward the middle of the sandwich.

Spread peanut butter on both sides. This is especially helpful when making freezer Uncrustables.

Seal firmly. You don't want to smash the sandwich, but make sure the edges are completely pressed together.

Make them assembly-line style. If you're making a freezer batch, lay out all your bread first. Add peanut butter to everything, followed by jelly, then assemble, cut, and seal.

How Many Should I Make at Once?

If your family goes through these quickly, I recommend making at least a loaf's worth at a time.

Set aside 15 or 20 minutes on the weekend and create an assembly line. Once they're wrapped and frozen, you'll have several ready-to-go lunches and snacks without having to make another PB&J every morning.

It's also an easy meal-prep project that kids can help with. Let them spread the peanut butter, choose their jelly flavors, or help press the sandwich cutter.

Can You Make Homemade Uncrustables Without a Special Cutter?

Absolutely.

While an Uncrustable-style sandwich cutter and sealer makes the process incredibly quick, a large cookie cutter works, too.

Cut the sandwich first and then press around the outside edge with a fork.

You can make circles, squares, hearts, stars, or other fun shapes depending on the cutters you have at home.

Just make sure your cutter leaves enough room in the center for the filling.

Are Homemade Uncrustables Worth It?

For our family, homemade versions are a great alternative to keeping boxes of the store-bought ones in the freezer.

They're easy, inexpensive, and completely customizable. You can use your favorite bread, peanut butter, and homemade or store-bought jam. You can even make several different flavors at once so everyone has something they like.

Once you learn how to make homemade Uncrustables, you'll wonder why you weren't making freezer batches sooner.

They're perfect for busy school mornings, afternoon snacks, road trips, picnics, and those days when you just need something quick to grab from the freezer.

And really, you can't go wrong with a good old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich — especially when it's cute, crustless, and ready to go!

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