{"id":346777,"date":"2025-12-16T10:49:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/budget-food\/cheese-and-onion-sandwich-filling-how-to-copy-a-deli-filling-much-cheaper\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:49:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:49:41","slug":"cheese-and-onion-sandwich-filling-how-to-copy-a-deli-filling-much-cheaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=346777","title":{"rendered":"Cheese and Onion Sandwich Filling – how to copy a deli filling, much cheaper!"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Do you love those little deli pots of cheese and onion sandwich filling sold in the supermarkets? If you do, then this post is for you \u2013 you can make an even more delicious sandwich filling at two thirds of the price!<\/p>\n

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home made cheese and onion sandwich filling on granary toast, for breakfast, with some cherry tomatoes from the garden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What do I need to make a cheese and onion sandwich filling?<\/h2>\n
\"cheese<\/p>\n

Immediately after mixing, the mixture looks a little loose, but it thickens up after an hour or two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Cheddar \u2013 a full flavoured mature cheese<\/li>\n
  • Red Leicester \u2013 this appears to be in the recipe for the attractive appearance of the little red shreds. You cannot taste it, so if you want to minimise the cost, just use more Cheddar. Although supermarket value Red Leicester is a very similar price to mature Cheddar, so there is that<\/li>\n
  • A small amount of onion, chopped very fine. Red onion would look nice, but certainly not necessary<\/li>\n
  • I used a leaf of spring onion for the green effect because I have some in the garden, again, purely optional<\/li>\n
  • A little mayonnaise, branded or value, it won\u2019t matter much<\/li>\n
  • A few tablespoons of water to loosen the mixture<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n

    I used the Red Leicester as it was the same price as the cheddar, but you really wouldn\u2019t be able to taste it at all<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    How do I make a copy of a deli cheese and onion sandwich filling?<\/h2>\n
    \"a<\/p>\n

    The mixture an hour or two after being mixed, you can see that it has thickened quite a bit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n
    • Grate the cheese(s)<\/li>\n
    • Finely chop the onion, and spring onion leaf if using<\/li>\n
    • Mix with the mayonnaise and water<\/li>\n
    • I found that the mixture definitely needed a bit of moisture to make it spreadable, hence the water<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Having mixed everything together, I tasted and compared with the bought version. The more I compared, the less I liked the bought one, it started tasting artificial and the texture seemed gloopy compared to the one I\u2019d just mixed up. I don\u2019t generally buy sandwich fillers, so this was new to me. When I first tasted it, I\u2019d quite liked it!<\/p>\n

      How to store homemade cheese and onion sandwich filling<\/h2>\n

      This will sit happily in the fridge in a covered container for 5-6 days.<\/p>\n

      Will this filling freeze?<\/h3>\n

      Unfortunately, mayonnaise tends to split and go watery if frozen, so this filling won\u2019t freeze very well and is not recommended. Also, onions may well go mushy when defrosted.<\/p>\n

      What other ingredients could be used in a homemade cheese and onion filling?<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Vary the flavour of the mayonnaise. Most supermarkets have several different flavours available<\/li>\n
      • add some mustard, Dijon would work well<\/li>\n
      • A little dollop of mango chutney would be delicious in this<\/li>\n
      • Add a little finely chopped vegetable\n
          \n
        • very finely sliced celery<\/li>\n
        • grated carrot<\/li>\n
        • fine chopped black olives<\/li>\n
        • add some fresh spinach leaves, lettuce or good old iceberg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • vary the bread, dependent on what you have in \u2013 sourdough, granary, floury baps, wraps or anything else you fancy<\/li>\n
        • add some sliced gherkins<\/li>\n
        • swap the mayonnaise for soft cheese for a different flavour<\/li>\n
        • when making the sandwich, add a good layer of crisps (chips) \u2013 perhaps cheese and onion?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          How much does this sandwich filling cost?<\/h2>\n

          \"front<\/p>\n

          \"back<\/p>\n

          Sums!<\/strong><\/p>\n

          priced at Tesco.com in August 2025<\/p>\n

          I bought a pot of cheese and onion deli filling from Tesco (price matched to Aldi) and reverse engineered it. This is what I found.<\/p>\n

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          • \n

            The sums to make a 235g pot<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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              \n
            • 60g cheddar Tesco Mature Cheddar \u00a36.57 \/ kg \u2013 39p<\/li>\n
            • 60g Red Leicester Tesco Red Leicester cheese, \u00a37.88 \/ kg \u2013 47p<\/li>\n
            • 20g onion chopped very fine, \u00a30.99 \/ kg, 2p<\/li>\n
            • 37g mayo, Tesco \u00a30.19 \/ 100ml, 7p<\/li>\n
            • 56g water<\/li>\n
            • a spring onion leaf from the garden for a bit of green colour.<\/li>\n
            • Costs 95p against \u00a31.40 purchased from Tesco so home made is two thirds of the cost (and much nicer!)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
                \n
              • Total cost of the home made pot of deli filling is 95p<\/strong><\/li>\n
              • Total cost of purchased filling is \u00a31.40, saving 45p<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                \u00a0<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • this makes 5 sandwiches, so 10 slices of bread. Toastie bread, 75p, 34p for 10 slices<\/li>\n
                • Total cost of filling, \u00a30.95 for 235g. The equivalent in Aldi at the time of writing is \u00a31.40 for 235g, so this is around two thirds of the price<\/strong><\/li>\n
                • Plus 34p for bread<\/li>\n
                • Cost per sandwich 26p<\/strong><\/li>\n
                • Cost per sandwich using purchased deli filler 35p, so making your own is two thirds of the price \u2013 got to be worth doing!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  What else can I use this for<\/h2>\n

                  You might not want four cheese and onion sandwiches, so what else can you use this mixture for?<\/p>\n

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                  • enjoy it with pasta, either hot or cold \u2013 great for a packed lunch box, or perhaps couscous, rice or quinoa<\/li>\n
                  • top a baked potato with it<\/li>\n
                  • dip some carrot batons or pepper sticks in, for extra veg \u2013 we could all do with that!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    \u00a0<\/p>\n

                    Other deli sandwiches fillings in this series<\/h2>\n
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                    Chicken and Sweetcorn Sandwich \u2013 how to copy a deli filling for a third of the cost<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n