Stop Wasting Cash On Uncrustables — Make Your Own With 5 Minutes And A Cup

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While Uncrustables are certainly convenient, they can get a little pricey, especially if you're tossing one or two of them into your kid's lunchbox a few times a week. Making your own version of the sandwich at home is actually pretty easy — and it can save you some money. A box of Uncrustables at Walmart in Pennsylvania is priced at $9.84 for a box of 8, breaking down to $1.23 per sandwich. To compare, a loaf of Great Value white bread costs $1.36 (for 24 slices), and a jar of Great Value peanut butter and a jar of Great Value jelly each cost $1.98, bringing your at-home Uncrustable ingredients grand total to $5.32. With 24 slices of bread, you can make 12 Uncrustable-style sandwiches, bringing your per-sandwich cost to .44, far lower than the $1.23 per sandwich you'll pay when you buy them pre-assembled.

Making your own Uncrustable is super easy. You'll need your ingredients, a wide-mouth cup, and a fork. In order to get the true Uncrustable experience, you'll need to take a step to make sure your jelly stays put and doesn't make your bread soggy — it's as simple as putting a thin layer of peanut butter on the inside of each piece of bread, with the jelly in between the two peanut butter layers. Put your sandwich together, then press down with the top of your cup to create a seal. Peel the excess bread away, then use a fork to crimp the edges of your sandwich. (If you want to get fancy, you can snag Chichaus' sandwich cutters on Amazon specifically for making Uncrustable-style sandwiches for $7.98.)

You can certainly stick with classic Uncrustables flavors (we ranked them, if you're looking for inspiration) when you're making your own at home. There are quite a few winners in the Uncrustable lineup, including peanut butter and raspberry jelly, peanut butter and honey, and, of course, the classic peanut butter and grape jelly. If you'd like to go the extra mile and create a fully homemade version, you can use homemade bread (soft bread works best — you won't want to use a sourdough or ciabatta, stick with sandwich bread), homemade peanut butter (smooth and creamy homemade peanut butter is actually easier than you might think), and homemade jelly. You could also try substituting cream cheese in place of peanut butter if you're looking for a super-decadent sandwich.

After you've made your Uncrustables, you'll want to freeze them so that you can pull them out as needed for kids' lunchboxes and snacks. To freeze, place them on a parchment paper covered sheet pan, then place them in the freezer overnight. Pop them into individual sandwich bags, then place the sandwich bag in a larger freezer bag (this makes it so that you can pull them out one at a time for lunchboxes). While making your own Uncrustables is a bit of work, it can be well worth it if you're willing to put the time in to save some cash.