This Sandwich Hack Using Hawaiian Rolls Works Great for Road Trips!
Check out this smart travel hack to remake a bunch of individual sandwiches using Hawaiian rolls.
Hit the road with some easy Hawaiian roll sandwiches for your cooler!
Last year I went on a long road trip and tried this genius prep-ahead sandwich hack that worked so great and was easy to do, so I had to share! This smart tip basically involves compiling one huge sandwich using King’s Hawaiian rolls, adding sandwich fixings, cutting up each sandwich, and then placing them back in the bag.
Well over the past year, this is now how I prep for just about all of our softball and baseball tournaments as well as day trips! It really has helped us not eat as much fast food, and I love these yummy sandwiches so much. I feel like they are the perfect size for kids and are so easy to make.
I tend to pair these sandwiches with this homemade zesty pasta salad for a delicious lunch on the go!
Put the sandwiches on top of a cooler and then when you’re hungry, each person can grab a couple of mini sandwiches for lunch and it’s all packed nicely together. So easy and smart!
How great is this idea for traveling, camping, the beach or lake days?!
These Hawaiian roll sandwiches were easy for everyone in my family to quickly grab a small individual sandwich in the car when hungry! I absolutely love this convenient idea and will be using it again for sure. It saved us from stopping to grab fast food, and tasted great!
As far as what goes in your sandwich, that’s up to you!
The best part is you can customize this idea to taste. On this trip, I made a lunch meat and cheese version and also yummy fluffernutter sandwiches using peanut butter and marshmallow cream!
Steps for making Hawaiian roll sandwiches on the go:
1. Carefully slice the entire loaf of Hawaiian rolls horizontally.
2. Open and place sandwich fixings such as lunch meat and cheese on one side and lightly spread a little mustard and mayonnaise on the other side.
3. Put the top of the rolls back on, and then place it on top of the white cardboard packaging. Cut the individual sandwiches using a knife.
4. Carefully place the sandwiches back in the plastic bag and secure it with the tie.
5. Put the sandwiches on top of a cooler with ice or ice packs and then when you’re hungry each person can grab a couple of mini sandwiches for lunch and it’s all packed nicely together.
Now you’re all prepped and ready to roll!
I love little life tips like this that are convenient and easy to pull off. You can even make a few different sets of sandwiches for a larger crowd very easily. One of our readers even says she uses this exact method to prep ahead her kid’s school lunches for the week! That is so smart.
Here are the BEST microwave popcorns to make and take on road trips!
Pita pockets are our travel bread that we use. They help (if the seam holds together well) to hold chicken or tuna salad in without the ingredients falling out.
Thanks for sharing 👍👏💕
Aldi has their own version of Hawaiian rolls which are so much less expensive.
Love Aldi’s version. They are about 1/3 the price of the King’s.
I tried the Aldi version but didn’t care for them. I thought it tasted weird so I looked at the ingredients and it has artificial sugar in it. I should have looked at the ingredients before I bought them because I can’t tolerate artificial sugars. They give me an awful headache. I’ll stick with the more expensive kind. It’s a shame though because the Aldi version is so much cheaper.
Thanks so much for posting this. I wouldn’t have thought to check the ingredients for artificial sugar . I don’t tolerate them either so will stick to the name brand too.
I just saw these yesterday and was wondering how they compared!
I didn’t notice a difference but I hate all those weird sugar substitutes so I’m going to take a look at the ingredients next time I go.
Trader Joe’s had some the last time I was there. They were only about a dollar cheaper than the name brand but we’re just as good in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tip Cathy!
We are on a road trip now, but unfortunately broken down. Gonna try this when we get back on the road. Thanks for the great idea!
Hope you’re able to get on the road again soon! Though it’s stressful now, don’t let it ruin your trip. Just one more memory to look back on.
Oh no safe travels and hope your vehicle gets fixed soon!
My parents had 4 mouths to feed and our mom was a stay at home mom, so she always had the most amazing ideas to save a dime. She would make our sandwiches on rolls even back then.(1965-1975) Our family trips were never boring and almost always had some major event that seemed so terrible at the time. But we would all keep one another entertained and as a result those are still the most memorable moments of my childhood. Like the time we were camping in our big tent and there was a windstorm. The entire tent came down on top of us! At first, we were scared to death and as we were trying to crawl out we got the giggles. BTW….Mom just turned 90 and all of us kids still reminisce about those crazy family expeditions. Dad is looking down and laughing with us.😂🙏🏻 Although it’s an inconvenience now I will bet that you all remember these special family moments! It sounds like you have a great attitude in spite of your break down. Have a safe trip🙏🏻
Sandwiches made on bagels or mini bagels tend to hold up better in backpacks and lunch containers, esp. in amusement parks and zoos.
Lina, you always have the best “how to/life-hack” posts! They are always super-practical and highly creative. You are my favorite contributor on this site.
Awww that made my day! Thanks for the sweet comment and feedback! I love our h2s community here 👏🥰
I agree! Thank you Lina🙏🏻 Love the tip with the shower caddies. Awesome idea for any age👍👍
What is the shower caddy tip?
https://hip2save.com/product-reviews/caddy-organizer-fast-food-shower-cleaning/
Oh thank you! Yes, so smart too!
I love these posts!! Keep the good ideas coming!
Yay thank you Nicole!
We do this for school lunches! Make and stick back into the sleeve – then each kid (or me for work) grab 1-2 add their condiments and throw in a lunch container! Makes hectic mornings a little less hectic.
Oh how smart!! Thanks for sharing Amy 🙌💕
We do this for our RV trips! We bring chicken salad in a cooler and I make them when we get hungry so we don’t have to stop. Easy and clean!
Great idea! I love chicken salad 🙌💕👏
Ty h2s we already use them for our sandwiches ! My daughter had this ideal a while back & we love them ! No more boring bread sandwiches for us. Tks. for your tip though.
Nice! Thanks Liz!
I use Hawaiian Bread for my kids school sandwiches, baseball games, Road trips. They love them and Aldi is the best place to get the bread so much cheaper.
We always make these for when we go camping to have ready for when we arrive at the campsite. My boys can grab one or two when as they get hungry while setting up the tent and I don’t have to stop what I am doing to make them. Works out great!
Oh i love that system you have! So smart – thanks for sharing 👏
What a great idea! My family loves these rolls. Thank you for posting this 🙂
Sure! Enjoy!
I used to like king’s rolls, but then one summer, we went on a trip and forgot a bag of it on top of our microwave for over a month and no mold! Yah… we stopped buying it after that.
Wow, that’s weird! I have actually had to return a bag of them because they were moldy when I brought them home! Mine always mold if I don’t use them fast enough and I don’t even live in a humid environment or anything!
Mine have molded as well! 😆 Gotta eat them while they’re fresh!
That photo! Heading north on 1-5 there??
Heading north on the 1-17 near Flagstaff, AZ from PHX. 😀
I bet I could do this with Martin’s potato rolls here (in the East) too! We leave on a two week road trip in a week, thanks fir the idea!
Sure! Enjoy your trip!
Yes! We use the potato rolls (slider size) instead of sweet rolls. I was just going to add it as a suggestion 😊
Beach food! 😍
I love this idea, and love all your contributions, Lina! I am still going to make the (superbowl idea?) baked ham and cheese version of this, and now will put this on my idea list for our next trip to the beach or camping. Such a simple idea that people like me that overthink everything miss. McDondalds is not cheap anymore now that my kids have grown and dollar menu does not cut it, and healthy options that I prefer on the go were never cheap. I like inexpensive options! Thank you.
You should check out mason jar salads
Thanks so much! I agree about the fast food. I love this tip and just made it again for softball today 🙌👍
I’m so glad I saw this post rhr other week – it was perfect for a weekend baseball tourney for my son. Loaded up ingredients and placed them in the hotel mini fridge and packed into the cooler during the days of the games. It was 👌
Oh yay awesome! We just did this again for softball tourney too. I’m glad it worked out!
Great idea! You can do so much with this idea! We are going on a 1500 mile road trip in August and this will come in handy! Thank you!
Oh wow! Enjoy your trip!