June 16, 2021
updated
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If you’re looking for new ideas to spruce up your go-to lunch staple, you’re at the right place. In this post, you’ll find sandwich fillings with fresh ingredients that will have you looking forward to lunchtime.
You’ll also learn my best tips to prevent your sandwich from getting soggy, how to best pack it, and how to make some of these filings ahead of time!
Whether someone in the family is vegetarian, carnivore, or has a food allergy, you’ll find delicious ideas below to make your sandwiches epic.
Fillings for Sandwiches
There are so many options outside of meat and cheese to layer between bread. To get started, here are some of my favorite sandwich fillings that don’t include deli meat:
Most of these salads, minus the Avocado Egg Salad, can be made ahead and refrigerated that way it’s ready to use. For fillings like egg salad and tuna salad, I like to toast the bread, spread the salad over a slice, top with freshly chopped lettuce, and assemble. So. Good!
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Sandwich Ingredients
In this list, you’ll find categories with every sandwich ingredient in the book. From meat to veggies and spreads, the combinations are endless and entirely up to you.
If this looks a little overwhelming, no worries. Just start with one item from each category, and build your sandwich. In no time, you’ll be creating bistro worthy lunches.
Meats
- Deli turkey
- Deli ham
- Deli sliced chicken
- Roast beef
- Rosemary chicken
- Pastrami
- Grilled Chicken
- Pepperoni
- Prosciutto
- Salami
- Cooked bacon
- Cajun Pulled Pork
- Shredded Buffalo Chicken
- Shredded BBQ chicken or pork
- Leftover meatballs & marinara
- Cooked taco meat
Elevate any sandwich in a FLASH by microwaving bacon to include on your stack.
Cheese
- Cheddar
- Gouda
- Mozzarella
- Provolone
- Muenster
- Havarti
- Swiss
- Parmesan
Vegetarian Protein Options
- Black Bean Burgers
- Sliced hard-boiled eggs
- Falafels
- Sauteéd mushrooms
Veggies
- Mixed greens
- Chopped lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Sliced cucumber
- Pickles
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Roasted red peppers
- Olives
- Olive Salad
- Coleslaw
- Veggie falafels
Spreads
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard
- Pesto
- Hummus
- Baba Ganoush
- Pumpkin Seed Butter
- Tzatziki
- Honey mustard
- Homemade Ranch
- Mashed avocado
- Peanut butter or nut butter alternative
- Jelly
- Nutella or nut-free nutella
- Honey
Fruit
- Sliced bananas
- Sliced strawberries
- Sliced apples
- Sliced pineapple
Epic Sandwich Ideas
Still not sure how to put it all together? These flavor combinations are just what you need to get started with some epic office lunches.
- Grilled Italian: Pepperoni + marinara + Mozzarella cheese
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders: rolls + buffalo chicken + blue cheese + Provolone
- Hawaiian Grilled Cheese: sliced deli ham + sliced pineapple + Swiss cheese
- Meatball Sub: hoagie bun + meatballs & marinara + Parmesan
- Pulled Pork: bun + pulled pork + coleslaw + drizzle BBQ
- BLAT: bacon + deli turkey + sliced avocado + tomato
- Low-Carb Italian Sandwich: cloud bread + ham + salami + Provolone + sliced tomato
- Sausage & Peppers Sandwich: hoagie bun + sautéed Italian sausage + peppers + onion.
- Peanut Butter Crunch: peanut butter + sliced apple + honey
- Salad Sandwich: veggies + Provolone + Ranch
Pack the sandwiches in one of these adult lunchboxes
How to Make a Sandwich
If you like your sandwich with a lot of fillings and toppings, you might also run into the problem of it being soggy by lunch. Believe it or not, there is an order in which to layer ingredients so that your bread stays dry and the sandwich intact, here’s how it goes:
- Bread
- Mayonnaise/mustard
- Lettuce
- Meat/toppings
- Tomato
- Cheese
- Bread
The lettuce and cheese act as “barriers” to any moisture from “wet ingredients” such as tomato, pickles, veggies, etc., and help keep your sandwich together.
If you want to grill the sandwich, good idea! But make sure you pack it right to keep the bread crispy. You can see how I do this in the video below:
Sandwich Bread Options
The bread is what keeps everything together and shouldn’t be overlooked! Whether you LOVE bread or have a gluten allergy, you’ll find delicious options below:
- Whole grain sandwich bread
- Multi-grain bread
- Sourdough
- Cloud Bread – perfect for low-carb sandwiches!
- Grain-Free Blender Bread
- Gluten-free sandwich bread
- Keto Bread
- Texas toast
- Hoagie rolls
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Hamburger buns
- Pita rounds
Sandwich Ideas for Epic Lunches
Ingredients
Salad Sandwich
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 slices favorite sandwich bread
- Salad greens
- 1 ripe tomato, sliced
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup sliced red onion, optional
- Ranch dressing, for drizzling
- 1 slice Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Spread the mayonnaise on both slices of bread.
- Layer one slice with salad greens, tomato, avocado, red onion, if using, and a drizzle of Ranch. Top with the cheese and remaining slice of bread.
- Slice in half and serve or pack into a lunch container.
Nick
I tried some of these sandwich ideas and printed a few to make my lunch better. thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Thanks!
abby
Was craving sandwiches today but had the hardest time picking one. So many good sandwich ideas here! I guess I”ll have to try them all
Houston
Loads of yummy sandwiches! I’ve gotta try them all
Jeannine
I just learned that I’ve been making sandwiches wrong my entire life. OMG. I never knew there’s an order to put your sandwich fillings to prevent my sandwich from getting soggy. I layered my ingredients in the order you listed and it worked! thanks.
Taven
These sandwich filling ideas look delicious! I love avocado, tomato, sprouts, and turkey on wheat bread, it’s always good, but these are making me feel like trying something new.
Sarah James
I’ve been eating the same turkey + swiss sandwich for 10+ years at my job. My doctor told me I needed to add a little variety to my meals so I am looking for sandwich fillings ideas because I like my sandwich. Thank you for this list and very thorough post. I always get stuck on what to fill with. I am going to try some of your ideas.
John
Brie and chilli Jam works a treat.
paula
LOVE all these ideas for good sandwich fillings. I end up having a ham and cheese almost every day – time to get out of the rut!