Who said that peanut butter sandwiches had to be 1) boring 2) just for kids and 3) the same every time? I’m a huge fan of PB&J, probably because I had it almost every day when I was a kid and eating it for lunch has some element of nostalgia for me. And even though I can be a creature of habit a lot of the time, the same three ingredients (which for me are: sprouted wheat bread, almond or peanut butter, and blueberry preserves), can get a tiny bit monotonous. Then I heard about this PB&J sandwich shop in Portland that makes the coolest PB&J sandwiches, and I was inspired to get creative with one of my childhood favorites. So here goes – the peanut butter sandwich: reinvented!
The Ingredients
These were the ingredients I used, but you can obviously experiment with your own. My list included: Sprouted wheat bread, walnuts, sliced bananas, cinnamon, a mix of almond and peanut butter, and honey.
The Directions
Step 1: Spread the peanut & almond butter mixture on both slices of bread, and top one half with sliced bananas
Step 2: Chop 3-4 walnuts, and add on top of the banana slices along with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey
Doesn’t that just make you want to take a big bite out of that sandwich? I couldn’t resist taking more than one picture of it.
Step 3: Top with the other slice of bread (that already has peanut/almond butter spread on it), and put into the panini press (or grill in a pan if you don’t have a panini press)
At this time, the nut butters, banana and honey are getting all melty and gooey…
Step 4: Once the top has browned and is slightly crispy, remove from panini press and let cool for 1-2 min.
I love the grill marks!
Step 5: Cut sandwich in half (I always like cutting on the diagonal because I think it looks more fun)
Eat and enjoy!
Hello! I'm Anjali. I'm a 20 something living in the SF Bay Area, with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty, and fun! Try some of 
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Grilling PB & J is the way to go! We just make regular ol’ PB and Jelly grilled just like you would a grilled cheese (lots of butter on the outside) and it’s amazing (a big glass of cold milk is mandatory!) I’ll have to try these other additions and thanks for the link to the Portland shop, I’ll add it to my list next time we go.
That sounds great!! I agree – traditional PBJ grilled is awesome too
The husband would totally agree with you on the milk!
Grilling is SO the way to go! I love PG&J especially when it has bananas in it! This looks great! I could just reach into the screen and take a half!
Hehe totally! I feel like anything grilled is better than the original
I love this! The banana and walnut additions make this look tasty and a little healthier than the traditional PB&J!
Thanks! Yes it is definitely more guilt-free than the regular PBJ – hope you enjoy it!
We do this too, but never thought to add nuts – yumm!!
This looks fabulous! Now I’ll be craving a PB&J all day! Nice recipe
Wow that is one great looking pb and banana sandwich! I never make any but this one really looks delicious
Thanks!! I’m sure you’ll love it if you make it!
Sounds good; I just re-tweeted it (May not show up as RT, as I added a comment). By the way, am writing a book about the history of peanut butter: http://www.creamyandcrunch.com.
Thanks for retweeting! I really liked your site & book outline btw – very interesting! And btw – the Trader Joe’s peanut butter is one of my favs too
Olala, love this recipe, just bought panini press last week have to try it…. fantastic:)
looks delicious
yummy
this looks sooooo good! this is the best pb sandwich ive ever seen!
That’s not the kind of peanut butter sandwich I grew up with! Nice!
Looks good..
nice reinvention
Can someone make a PB sandwich that tastes amazing WITHOUT bananas? I hate bananas… please, thank you.
haha! Try substituting any dried fruit for bananas (raisins and apricots would both taste great). You can also try substituting apple slices or pear slices – I think both would be amazing! Hope that helps
I grew up on grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. SO GOOD! Now, I make sure my bacon is organic and humanely raised, and it’s even better. Will be trying this soon. Thanks.
I’ve heard that PB and bacon is delicious!
It looks grilled, and makes me think of a panini. I wish more people knew about peanut butter and banana–it’s SO good! Yummy. Can’t wait to try this, thanks for the inspiration. All of the ingredients look good by themselves!
Thanks Alissa! Sometimes, I have to admit, I just eat PB and Bananas as a snack – it is delicious!
I never thought of grilling a PB&J …. But you can bet I’m thinking of it now. Yum!
Yay!! I’m sure you’ll love it!
Hey Anjali! I told my sister who was visiting my cousin in Portland to go eat at the PB&J place, since I read it from this post, and they LOVED it! Even my bro-in-law, who has very desi, traditional tastes was raving about it, so thanks for the recommendation! I passed on your post about the new Indian restaurant to my friends as well … am looking forward to checking it out … Sakoon is currently my favorite Indian restaurant in the Bay Area as well!
Yay!! I’m so glad they liked it!!
This sandwich looks wonderful! I am always looking for healthier options for lunch. This definitly could be a weekend lunch for my husband and me. I love almond butter, sunbutter and other alternatives to peanut butter.
Thanks so much! I’ve definitely made this for lunch for my husband as well
I’m totally with you – alternatives to peanut butter are delicious! Right now I’m on an almond and sunflower butter kick, but I’ve heard Nutzo is pretty good too. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
My husband and I really love a sandwich we found at a local gastropub… they call it a CB&J. It’s made with cashew butter, fig preserves, and Morbier cheese and it’s grilled. It may not sound like it works, but OMG, it is SOOO good! I’ve recreated it at home with the same ingredients.
omgggg that sounds AMAZING actually!! fig + nuts + cheese always work well together
I’m totally going to try this soon!
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