A sandwich is two slices of bread, a roll or a toasted panini around a filling. The bread is always fine in pregnancy; it is the filling that decides whether a sandwich needs any thought.
Why it's good in pregnancy
A sandwich on wholegrain bread with a protein filling and salad is a genuinely balanced meal: fibre and B vitamins from the bread, protein from egg, chicken, cheese or hummus, and folate from the greens. It is also one of the easiest ways to eat little and often, which suits both nausea and a squashed stomach.
Key nutrients
ProteinEgg, chicken, tuna, cheese or hummus fillings provide the protein your baby's tissues are built from.
FiberWholegrain bread adds fibre that helps with the constipation pregnancy hormones often cause.
B VitaminsFortified and wholegrain bread contributes thiamine, niacin and folic acid.
IronMost bread flour is fortified with iron, and meat or egg fillings add more.
Serving ideas
Egg and cress on wholegrain, made with hard-boiled egg
Hot chicken and avocado panini
Cheddar, tomato and spinach toastie
Hummus, grated carrot and rocket on seeded bread
Tuna and sweetcorn on a wholemeal roll
Leftover roast meat, heated through, with chutney
Safety
Choose cooked or hot fillings; heat cold deli meats until steaming or swap them out.Eat pre-packed sandwiches well within their date and keep them chilled.
The fillings to think about are cold deli meats such as ham, salami and turkey slices, and pâté, which can carry listeria; toasting the sandwich until the filling is steaming hot removes the risk, or choose freshly cooked chicken, egg mayonnaise made with pasteurised egg, tuna, cheddar or hummus instead. Pre-packed sandwiches are fine when kept chilled and eaten within their date; avoid ones that have sat out at room temperature. Wash salad leaves if you are making your own, and keep soft mould-ripened cheeses for toasties where they get hot right through. A toastie or panini is naturally one of the safer formats because everything inside is heated.
Common questions
Can I eat sandwiches with deli meat while pregnant?It is safest to heat the meat until steaming, as in a toastie, or choose a freshly cooked filling; cold deli meats carry a small listeria risk.
Are pre-packed supermarket sandwiches safe in pregnancy?Yes, as long as they have been kept chilled and are eaten within their use-by date; pick cooked fillings over cold cured meats.
Is a Subway or sub sandwich okay during pregnancy?Yes; ask for the sub to be toasted so any deli meat is heated through, and choose chicken, tuna or veggie fillings if not.
Did you know?
Toasting a sandwich until the filling steams takes it from a listeria question to a safe meal in a few minutes.
In the UK and US, most white bread flour is fortified with iron, calcium and B vitamins by law.
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