If you grew up in a low-income family, chances are you remember some of these sandwiches. Made as basic, budget-friendly meals with whatever was around, a lot of them were meant to keep you full when food was tight. Let’s check out 10 old favorites that were cheap and filling.
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Liverwurst and onion on white bread
Liverwurst used to be an inexpensive, high protein “grab and go” meal. Just slice it thin, add some raw onion and stick it between two pieces of white bread. These days, very few people can stomach it. The flavor is “acquired” and most of the population have forgotten that this is an old school lunch item.
Bologna and mayonnaise with a slice of American cheese
Thick slices of bologna, smothered in mayo with a slice of American cheese, served on soft bread. No fanfare, no fuss, just simple, high-calorie goodness that was always less than a buck a sandwich to make. As prepackaged “gourmet” meats have become more common, the bologna sandwich has fallen out of favor.
Egg salad with pickle relish
Egg salad sandwiches were common when eggs were a cheap commodity in the kitchen. The cold mixture was often slapped between two slices of white bread or served on an inexpensive bun. Simple and humble, but tasty, the egg salad sandwich has mostly fallen by the wayside to fresher and fancier creations.
Peanut butter and banana
Peanut butter and banana on bread made a simple, cheap snack. It gave you a bit of energy and was popular with all ages. But peanut butter and banana sandwich lost its place as more and more people started preferring fancier sandwich options.
Sloppy Joe on hamburger buns
Don’t talk about balanced meals. Sloppy Joes were just ground beef and sauce on a soft bun. They were a cafeteria go-to and a home favorite but eventually lost ground to fast food and fancier sandwiches.
Tuna salad with celery on white bread
Nothing fancy here. Just canned tuna, mayonnaise and celery in between two slices of white bread. Cheap, fast and full of protein. With today’s trends towards fresh foods and healthful meals, this tuna and celery sandwich is not something you see much anymore.
Bologna and hot dog relish sandwich
Weird but true, it was a sandwich with cheap bologna topped with sweet hot dog relish on white bread. It was a working class staple for kids’ lunches in the 1950s and 1960s. This salty-sweet combination was novel, but it’s now an old-timey curiosity.
Cabbage and bacon sandwich on rye
Odd as it may sound, shredded cooked cabbage with fragments of fried bacon on rye bread was once a cheap way to make a satisfying treat. The cabbage filled it out, and the bacon added savor. A rye bread and cabbage sandwich is another delicacy that has largely disappeared from menus.
Butter and sugar sandwich
Soft white bread, a layer of butter and a sprinkle of sugar. That was the whole sandwich. It sounds strange now, but for many low-income households, it was an easy way to give their kids a sweet treat.
Cold hot dog sandwich
You didn’t even have to warm this sandwich. You had it cold. Just cut the hot dog in half and place it in between two slices of bread with some mustard or mayo on it. Quick, easy and cost next to nothing.
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