Polyamide (PA) is one the high oxygen barrier polymers that is used commonly in barrier packaging especially in food packaging applications. However, the high cost of PA as well as the recycling issues of the multilayer films containing PA layer motivated us to find a solution that provides high barrier properties comparable to PA at lower cost and improved recyclability. Blending of PA with cheap polymers such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) is an effective approach in reducing the cost but it will deteriorate the barrier properties. In this work, we proposed a new strategy in which a thin layer of high barrier EVOH is placed at the interface of PA and other cheap polymers (PE or PP). The encapsulation of the cheap, low barrier PE or PP phase eliminates their negative effects on permeability and at the same time induces a tortuous path for gas molecules. In order to examine this idea, five layer films and sheets with the middle layer of PA, PA/HDPE/EVOH (45/45/10) or PA/PP/EVOH(45/45/10) were prepared using cast or film blowing extrusion. The permeability results showed that both blends had similar permeability to the neat PA. Considering the current cost of the materials used in this study, the new approach reduces about 30% of the material cost while maintaining the oxygen permeability. In addition, the proposed strategy replaces 45% of the PA in the barrier layer with PE or PP which improves the recyclability of the resulting films/sheets.