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Grilled cheese sandwiches don't get to have all the fun - take your everyday peanut butter and jelly sandwich to the next level by grilling + dipping!
It recently came to my attention that my husband had never had a grilled PB&J.
Like... ever.
I thought that was something that everyone grew up with, but apparently I was sorely mistaken.
As a parent, I feel it's my duty to make sure my kiddo has lots of fun, comfort food memories. And a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich is just one of the many that I'm sharing with him!
Back to school season is upon us, and now that my son is going to be in full day kindergarten (!!!), I'm going to be packing a lot more lunches.
He absolutely looooooves PB&J. He would eat it every single day if I'd let him. And while I won't go quite that far, I do like to mix up the way I offer his PB&J from time to time.
Grape jelly, raspberry jam, or strawberry preserves? Creamy or chunky peanut butter? On bread, toast, or crackers? I've even rolled it up in tortillas to make PB&J "sushi". He loves it any which way I serve it up.
So when I asked him if he wanted to try a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he was beyond thrilled.
I headed over to my local ShopRite to pick up the necessities for my Grilled PB&J Sticks.
Jif® Peanut butter, Smucker's® Fruit Spreads and Ziploc® Sandwich Bags are the perfect pairings for Back to School lunches. Ziploc® Sandwich Bags are great for portability easy for taking lunch to school.
I found everything I needed in the last aisle - right across from the beginning of the frozen food section. The sandwich bags were right next to the peanut butter & jelly, and the bread was at the end of that aisle as well. Easy peasy.
I was really intrigued by the Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter with Omega-3 DHA & EPA. It actually contains fish oil, but you'd never know it based on the taste. It was just deliciously smooth, rich peanut butter. Not fishy at all, but with the added benefit of the fish oil.
My son loves any flavor of jam/jelly/preserves that I give him, so I tend to keep a few different ones in the fridge at home. For this recipe, I picked up some Smucker’s® Strawberry Preserves. A quick stir in the jar and it was the perfect texture for both spreading and dipping.
Dipping? Yup.
I wanted to make this sandwich into sticks so we could dunk them into a little extra peanut butter and/or jelly. Alternatively, you could put just peanut butter OR jelly in the sandwich and use the other for dunking.
And if you want to go truly over the top, do one flavor of jelly in the sandwich and another for dipping. So. Much. Fun.
I may have been packing it up for my son's lunch, but you better believe I ate some, too.
What can I say? It's hard to beat a classic.
When you're grilling a PB&J, you need to be aware that things might get messy if you put the peanut butter or jelly on very thick and let it sit in the pan for too long. The heat melts the filling and things get deliciously warm and gooey.
It's great eaten fresh and warm (and I highly encourage you to try that out if you haven't!), but if you're going to cut it into sticks, you'll need to chill it first to prevent a mountain of stickiness.
I like to butter one side of each slice of bread while my pan (preferably cast iron!) heats up. A layer of peanut butter gets slathered on the opposite side, and then I top one of the peanut buttered slices with jelly/jam/preserves.
The peanut butter acts as a moisture barrier, which will keep the inside of your sandwich from getting soggy if you aren't eating it right away.
Close up your sandwich, pop it into the pan to crisp up on both sides, and you're good to go!
Grilling the sandwiches makes them much more sturdy for dunking, and that was the most fun part of this meal for my kiddo.
For my 5-year-old, half of one of these sandwiches (2 sticks) and half a hard boiled egg was a perfect portion, along with some of his favorite fresh fruits and veggies.
It's nice because I can make one of these sandwiches, and split it up into two separate baggies, split the egg as well, and have 2 days worth of lunches made at once. And having things prepped ahead of time will be especially nice when we're rushing out the door to catch the school bus.
We had this for dinner at home one night last week, and I have to say - the combination with these sides works really well together. It was a very satisfying meal, even for an adult!
And the votes are in - we unanimously enjoyed dipping into the strawberry preserves more than the peanut butter. But it was a fun experiment!
What are your favorite lunch packing tips? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!
Looking for more of our favorite sandwiches? Check out these 5-star recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Grilled PB&J Sticks
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 Sandwich 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Amer
Description
Grilled cheese sandwiches don't get to have all the fun - take your everyday peanut butter and jelly sandwich to the next level by grilling + dipping!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 2 slices bread
- Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter with Omega-3 DHA & EPA
- Smucker’s® Strawberry Preserves
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Spread half the butter on one side of each slice of bread. Flip over and spread a layer of peanut butter on the reverse side. Spread a layer of jelly on top of one of the peanut buttered sides, then flip the other slice of bread on top to close the sandwich, butter-side up.
- Place the sandwich in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown, about 1-3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove from skillet and let cool. You can refrigerate or freeze the sandwich to speed this process up to make cutting it less messy.
- Once cooled, use a serrated knife to cut the sandwich into 4 slices. Serve with additional peanut butter or jelly on the side for dipping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 503
- Sugar: 16.4 g
- Sodium: 428.5 mg
- Fat: 29.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.6 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 12.4 g
- Cholesterol: 30.5 mg
Keywords: PBJ, packable lunch, kid lunch, favorites, peanut butter
Check out the so many ways to PB&J this Back To School on ShopRite.com.
Analida's Ethnic Spoon
This takes me back to my childhood! I love the grilled warm gooey peanut butter right off the griddle!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Same! My grandparents used to make these for me, so I was shocked when my husband said he had never tried it this way!
Lucy @ Supergoldenbakes
You can never have enough sandwich combinations for lunchboxes. I'm sure these will be popular.
Cynthia/What A Girl Eats
I've never thought to grill them! How fun!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
It's a total game changer - hope it becomes a new favorite for you!
Liz Thomson
I love how PB gets melty when it's warm, this sounds so yummy!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Me too - it's a totally different level of PB&J goodness. Mmm...
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
I agree! There's always a way to make it more interesting 🙂
Kristine
I love, love, love this idea! Grilled sandwiches (of any kind) are my favorite and PB&J is such a classic. I'm absolutely making these - SOON!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much, Kristine! I'm all about making already delicious things EVEN MORE DELICIOUS!! 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Adriana Martin
Very nice idea to grill the PB&J and then cut in sticks for dipping must try this soon. Thanks for yoru participation on this shop ~ client
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks, Adriana! My grandparents always made grilled PB&J sandwiches and I thought they were so much fun, but dipping them totally takes them to the next level!
Dominique Fasano
These look great! I love how they are cut up into dippable sticks. Genius!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much - doesn't dipping make everything more fun?! 🙂
Pam
I have to admit, I didn't have grilled PB&J growing up either. But, they look divine! And cutting them into sticks? Fun for the little ones, for sure/
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Maybe it was a regional thing? I grew up in the Midwest and my husband has lived in NY all his life. Either way, I'm happy to spread that tradition!
Dishes Delish
Mmmmmmm. I love grilled pb&j sandwiches. I love the little sticks you made out of the bread. It makes it more fun. And to dip it in more jelly. SCORE!! Love it! The only thing I would change is Jiff with chunks. 🙂
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
It would be amazing with chunky peanut butter! Totally switching things up with that and grape jelly next time. Or maybe raspberry jam... YUM!
Claire@The Simple, Sweet Life
Your husband sounds like my husband! Mine grew up in Norway and I can't hardly get him to put two slices of bread on a sandwich (apparently open-face is all the rage in Norway) let alone jam and then grill it. I think I'm going to have to work him up to this one...
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Ooh - I've seen lots of interesting open-faced Norwegian-style sandwiches. They look amazing! I suppose you could griddle just the bottom side of an open-faced sandwich... but you'd totally have to eat it with a fork and knife. Ha!
Jessica Pinney
I have heard of but never tried Grilled PB & J. I think your recipe just convinced me to give it a go! Love the idea of "sticks".
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
I'm always happy to encourage more deliciousness in anyone's life! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Anne Murphy
Well, I'm like your husband - I never heard of grilling PB&J! But dipping sticks sounds fun, and if grilling it gives a better texture for that (and, hey, grilled browned bread) I'm all for it.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Grilled browned bread is a category all its own! Hope you enjoy this one, Anne!
Michelle Alston
Oh my word my daughter is going to be beside herself when she sees this! We both love pb&j on toast but this is a whole new level. And I'm loving the idea of using them as dipping sticks 😉
Çitra Kale
never heard of grilling PB&J here.. But me and kid enjoy this kind of grilled sandwich with various filling. Love stick form idea as well.
Sandi Gaertner
What a delicious idea for lunch.
Coffee&Crayons
This looks sooo good! THANK YOU! Now I know what I'm having for dessert 🙂
amanda
Ok, I'm 38 years old and I've never had a grilled PB&J!! I've never even thought about it but it looks delish!! I'll be checking this out!
Ahead of Thyme
I have never tried a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich! So creative!