Sandwich Ideas for Lunch

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: 

• Chicken Salad
• Egg Salad
• Salmon Salad
• Avocado Egg Salad
• Pimento Cheese
• Tuna Salad

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! 

Want more ideas to help you pack incredible lunches all year long? I’ve got everything you need in my new 101 Packed Lunches eBook. There are recipes for meal prep salads, power bowls, and gourmet wraps that any adult will gladly pack for an office lunch. 

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: 

1. Bread
2. Mayonnaise/mustard
3. Lettuce
4. Meat/toppings
5. Tomato
6. Cheese
7. 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
• No-Knead Sandwich Bread
• 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