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5 easy ways to upgrade your PB&J sandwich! Don’t get bored with your sandwich; improve it by adding apples or banana, strawberries, chocolate, or bacon!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine.

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10 slices of bread with different toppings you can use with PB&J

SCHOOL STARTED ON WEDNESDAY!

Okay, sorry for shouting, but I am so excited school is back in session. It’s been an odd summer and Jordan’s been bored to death for most of it, so she’s just as excited for school as I am.

The only thing that I am not excited about for school? Making lunch. It’s such a pain to find new and creative ways to make lunch for Jordan. She gets bored easily and now that she’s in middle school she wants to be cool and buy lunch every day, which is a big NO in my book.

I set out to create some new and fun ways to make her favorite sandwich and I came up with 5 new ways to upgrade your PB&J!

overhead shot of PB&J

Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are a classic and iconic school lunch. Growing up I never liked the combination but now as an adult I totally do, especially on toast.

Plain PB&J can get boring fast, especially if your kid eats them every day. That’s why these 5 PB&J sandwich hacks are perfect for the start of school.

How can you upgrade your PB&J?

It’s easy to upgrade your PB&J simply by stuffing the sandwich with something new.

Does your child love bananas, strawberries, or apples? Slice them and put them in the sandwich!

What about chocolate? Jordan loves chocolate and the peanut butter/chocolate combination is always a hit. Throw some chocolate chips in your PB&J for a sweet twist.

For my fifth and final PB&J upgrade? BACON! Yes, I put bacon in my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and it was fantastic. Peanut butter on savory food (like burgers) is all the rage right now…why shouldn’t PB&J get in on the fun?

PB&J made with Jif and Smuckers

When you’re choosing peanut butter and jelly for your sandwiches, be sure to choose Jif® Peanut Butter and Smucker’s® Strawberry Jam. You want to choose the best product for your kids and Jif and Smucker’s go so well together.

There’s nothing more iconic than a PB&J made with Jif Peanut Butter and Smucker’s Strawberry Jam!

If you can hold off on eating the peanut butter with a spoon (we do that on a daily basis in my house), make yourself an old fashioned PB&J…and then upgrade it with a new flavor. The sky’s the limit: pick your favorite add-in!

stack of PB&J sandwiches

What will you add to your PB&J? I have so many other ideas:

  • Marshmallows
  • Honey
  • Chopped Peanuts
  • Chocolate spread or fudge sauce
  • Blueberries

The options are endless to upgrade your PB&J. But just make sure you do it with Jif and Smucker’s!

overhead shot of PB&J

PB&J SANDWICH HACKS

4 from 3 votes
Use these simple PB&J Sandwich Hacks to upgrade your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Yield 1 serving
Serving Size 1 sandwich

Ingredients
 

  • Sliced Bread
  • Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
  • Smucker's Strawberry Jam

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING UPGRADES:

  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Honey
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Apples
  • Cooked Bacon
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Instructions

  • Make your peanut butter and jelly sandwich as desired.
  • Strawberry PB&J: add sliced strawberries.
  • Banana & Honey PB&J: add sliced banana and a drizzle of honey.
  • Chocolate PB&J: add chocolate chips.
  • Apple PB&J: add sliced apples.
  • Bacon PB&J: add cooked and drained bacon to your sandwich.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 431kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 405mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 2.6mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Looking for more new ways to switch up your PB&J? Try making these:

PB&J Brownies add your favorite combination to chocolate brownies.

Stack of PB&J Brownies on parchment paper

Make PB&J Gooey Bars for a back to school treat.

Stack of PB&J Gooey Bars on Parchment paper



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

4 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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5 Comments

  1. Honey and banana slices are my favorite add-ons for a yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hereโ€™s how I like to make them:

    Ingredients:
    2 slices of honey wheat berry bread
    2 tblsp. (Minimum) natural creamy peanut butter
    1 tblsp. (Minimum) seedless black raspberry spreadable fruit
    1-2 spoonfuls raw and unfiltered wildflower honey
    1 ripe organic banana

    Directions:
    1. Lay out slices of bread on a flat surface, like a cutting board.
    2. Spread a layer of peanut butter on one slice of bread.
    3. Drizzle 1-2 spoonfuls of honey over the peanut butter. Blend them together on the bread using the back of the spoon used for the drizzling.
    4. Spread a second layer of peanut butter on top of the honey. Make sure to seal in the honey to keep it from leaking.
    5. Peel a banana and cut it into coin-like slices. Lay out the slices atop the peanut butter/honey mix and press them down into the mix.
    6. Spread a layer of jelly on the second slice of bread.
    7. Place the jelly-covered bread – jelly-side down – on top of the peanut butter, honey, and banana-covered bread.
    8. Gently press the two slices of bread together to form sandwich. Transfer the finished product onto a plate.
    9. Serve the remainder of the banana as a side item and pour a glass of milk to wash down your yummy peanut butter, honey, banana and jelly sandwich. Enjoy!

  2. Oh my goodness!! Peanut butter with chocolate and chocolate chips and white bread? Or marshmallows? That would be dessert, after hopefully something more healthy, maybe!! (I know peanut butter has protein, lol.) Delicious, though!

  3. I’ve never had bacon on my PBJ but I grew up eating bacon on my peanut butter toast. Some people find it strange but it is delicious!