Spicy-Savory PB&J (Spicy Peanut Butter Sandwich) Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Fall

by: Natalie

September5,2014

4

4 Ratings

  • Prep time 2 minutes
  • Cook time 5 minutes
  • Serves 1

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

I give full credit to the PBJ's Grilled food truck in Portland, Oregon for this masterpiece! They use their own house-made peanut butter and orange marmalade and local challah bread. The moment I put it in my mouth, my PB&J world changed forever. I've been trying to recreate it ever since. —Natalie

Test Kitchen Notes

Everything about this sandwich was on point. It's such a creative concoction and the ingredients married together beautifully. All measurements worked well and the Sriracha gave it the perfect kick. The wilted basil gave great flavor too -- 3 leaves were the perfect amount. Using challah is key since it's so light and not too dense. I used butter to grill, which made it golden and toasty. I highly recommend it since it’s such a unique, easy, and tasty sandwich! —hellskitchenspice

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 2 pieceschallah bread
  • 1 tablespoonorange marmalade
  • 3 tablespoonspeanut butter
  • 1 teaspoonSriracha
  • 1/4 teaspooncurry powder
  • 3 piecesfresh basil
  • 1 tablespoonbutter or oil
Directions
  1. Heat the butter or oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Spread the peanut butter onto one slice of bread and the orange marmalade onto the other. Then sprinkle the curry powder onto either piece of bread. Squeeze the Sriracha onto the peanut butter slice, spread it out, and top it with fresh basil. Once the oil is heated enough, place one slice of bread on top of the other and grill the sandwich on each side until golden brown and crunchy. Cut in half and enjoy!

Tags:

  • Sandwich
  • American
  • Peanut Butter
  • Bean
  • Summer
  • Winter
  • Spring
  • Fall
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
Contest Entries
  • Your Best Sandwich Recipe
  • Your Best Mash-Up Recipe

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Leslie Kavasch

  • Alaina Cillis

  • VanessaJo

  • walkie74

  • aargersi

22 Reviews

judy October 28, 2018

Well, This would hit ALL my top notes. I happen to have some Thai Basil left over from last night's Vietnamese take out. So I am totally going to do this. Will take the suggestion of mixing the PB Marmalade and curry together. I'll use Sambal Olek, as I prefer to sriracha. I'll let them bloom a bit, then spread on sourdough, as that is all I have at the moment. Garlic sourdough, by the way!. This reminds me of a sandwich I had in Chiang May. But it was grilled cheese with Thai spices. Quite good. Going to get started now.

judy December 12, 2018

Well, I make this sandwich. Excellent. used Olek Sambal instead of sriracha, added garlic, ginger and a splash of fish sauce, as my PB was unsalted. GREAT on sourdough grilled with a nice sharp cheddar cheese. Imagine all one can do with this?

Leslie K. January 19, 2017

The one here has coconut shrimp in it :')

Lea A. February 25, 2016

I'm wondering if the best way to get the curry powder evenly distributed would be to first mix it up with the marmalade. Shaking it using a spoon might leave some bare spots.

AnneOAK October 26, 2015

Somehow this came up in a listing filtered for vegan? Not with challah. Would be good to have some sort of note indicating substitutions required to qualify under a different nutritional category.

Lynn D. November 10, 2015

Well, just make it with vegan bread! The challah doesn't mean you can't make this.

JohnL October 2, 2015

Is the curry powder sprinkled on the naked bread side or on the peanut butter and the marmalade?

Natalie October 19, 2015

On the peanut butter and/or marmalade side

Alaina C. December 21, 2014

This was sooo good! Definitely making again!

LW.ATX.78 November 13, 2014

This is ridiculously addictive. I had everything but the challah bread so picked that up 3 days ago, and it's gone; largely eaten in this delicious curried PB&J variation!

brianna October 14, 2014

I actually worked for this food truck about a year ago. This is pretty on point. It's called the Spicy Thai because the flavors are supposed to remind you of Pad Thai

Natalie October 15, 2014

No way, that's awesome! Yeah, they have every little element of the sandwich designed to perfection.

Agnes October 10, 2014

I loved this! I used honey instead and multigrain loaf. Toasting the bread definitely brings out a great flavor!

VanessaJo October 2, 2014

I've done something similar with habanero jelly, but never added basil. Yum - I'll have to try it!

Natalie October 3, 2014

Ooh that sounds yummy. Yes, basil is an excellent addition!

walkie74 October 1, 2014

I wonder if peach marmalade will work...?

Natalie October 1, 2014

I'm sure that would work just fine. Sometimes I just use honey...I think you just need something sweet in there :)

Jeannie R. September 28, 2014

Awesome, but how is this Thai? The Sriracha is actually a Vietnamese-American invention named after a district in Thailand, and the curry powder isn't Thai either!

Natalie October 1, 2014

That's a good question, the food truck called it Thai -- maybe they used thai basil and Thai curry powder...

Laura415 February 28, 2016

Well to make it more "authentic" You could use Thai curry paste mixed with the peanut butter to spread on the bread. You could use pickled Thai bird chilies sparingly or even chilies cooked in sugar syrup or honey for the sweet aspect. Fact is nothing about this is authentic anything. It's straight up fusion. Sounds like a fun experiment.

aargersi September 5, 2014

wow, yum. Breathing new life into the PB&J!!

Natalie October 3, 2014

The options are endless! Try putting a fried egg inside a pbj....surprisingly delicious!

Spicy-Savory PB&J (Spicy Peanut Butter Sandwich) Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How can I spice up my PB&J? ›

10+ Ways to Switch Up a PB&J
  1. Make a regular PB&J, then toast the whole thing. ...
  2. Swap the jelly for romaine lettuce and honey. ...
  3. Make a triple decker: bread, jelly, peanut butter, bread, peanut butter, jelly, bread. ...
  4. Add Nutella OR smoked almonds OR mini chocolate chips OR cereal. ...
  5. Go for an open-faced treatment.
Sep 22, 2023

How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in 5 steps? ›

Directions
  1. On one slice of bread, spread peanut butter evenly over the bread.
  2. On the other slice of bread, spread the jelly evenly over the bread.
  3. Put the two slices of bread together with the peanut butter and jelly facing in.
  4. Serve and enjoy!
  5. Optional: Remove crusts, cut diagonally.

How to jazz up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? ›

Make your sandwich as usual, then top it with chopped nuts or granola. Make homemade granola to customize your upgrade even more. Another way to give your sandwich some texture is by adding potato chips or crushed pretzels. This adds salt to bump up the sweetness of a classic peanut butter and jelly.

How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich taste better? ›

Insider asked four chefs about their biggest tips for making the perfect PB&J sandwich. Homemade bread and peanut butter are great, but you can also use high-quality store ingredients. Adding a little spice, salt, or balsamic syrup can easily elevate your simple meal.

What is the most popular jelly flavor for PB&J? ›

When it comes to the classic peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich, there's no doubt that grape jelly reigns supreme.

How long will a peanut butter and jelly sandwich last unrefrigerated? ›

How long can you leave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out? Most types of sandwiches can be safely left out at room temperature for about two hours — or one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do you put peanut butter or jelly on first? ›

Instructions for Classic PBJ

Spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread. Spread jelly or jam on the other slice of bread. Put the two slices of bread together, with the peanut butter and jelly facing in. If you'd like, you can slice the sandwich diagonally.

What to add to peanut butter and jelly sandwich? ›

Add Fresh Fruit

You've probably added bananas to your PB&J. But how about blueberries, strawberries (amazing with strawberry jam), apples or even grapes? Give the little ones a chance to build their own sandwich or pack 'em a surprise. This peanut butter and jelly idea makes the perfect lunch for kids.

What kind of jelly do you use in PB&J? ›

"Nothing fancy, just a classic. Either smooth or crunch peanut butter is acceptable. Classically, the jelly is either strawberry or grape."

How do you make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches not soggy? ›

Spread the peanut butter thinly on one side of both pieces of bread. Spread the jelly on one piece of the bread on top of the peanut butter. Join the 2 sides. The peanut butter will not make the bread soggy, and will keep the jelly from soaking into the bread.

What is the ratio of peanut butter to jelly sandwiches? ›

Smooth, generic pb is the standard. On the perfect ratio, Morning Edition consulted an expert: Kevin Pang from the PBS TV show "America's Test Kitchen" suggests that a 5-to-4 is the optimum ratio of peanut butter to jelly. "You really don't need too much of the jelly for it to poke through," Pang said.

What is the most peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten in a minute? ›

The average American eats about six pounds of peanut products each year, and 50 percent of that is in peanut butter, according to the National Peanut Board. The most Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches eaten in a minute is six, according to official record-keepers Guinness World Records.

What enhances peanut butter flavor? ›

A little vanilla extract enhances the peanut flavor just like a little coffee does for enhancing chocolate. These are buttery and peanut buttery, with a balanced amount of sweetness.

How to elevate PB and j reddit? ›

My 3 tips:
  1. toast ONLY the insides....the contrast in the textures is really nice.
  2. add something spicy, like a spicy honey or a pickled jalapeño....it blends well with the sweetness.
Mar 12, 2024

What goes well with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? ›

I love my PB&J sandwiches with pretzels, apple slices and an extra scoop of peanut butter on the side to dip my apples in. On one side of the PB&J sandwiches, I put healthy options like apple slices and celery with a small bowl of peanut butter to spread on them as well as some grapes, cheese crackers and potato chips.

What can I put on my PB&J instead of jelly? ›

Instead of jam or jelly, use honey butter, fresh fruit, or dried fruit. We love almond butter with fresh raspberries and peanut butter with golden raisins. Substitute one ingredient. Try another nut butter, such as sunflower, almond, or soy nut.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Patricia Veum II

Last Updated:

Views: 6233

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (64 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Patricia Veum II

Birthday: 1994-12-16

Address: 2064 Little Summit, Goldieton, MS 97651-0862

Phone: +6873952696715

Job: Principal Officer

Hobby: Rafting, Cabaret, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Inline skating, Magic, Graffiti

Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.