As a kid, a day didn’t go by that didn’t include peanut butter, either by way of bread, apple slices, or a spoon. Come to think of it, rarely a day goes by in my adult life that doesn’t include peanut butter, either. Of course, some things have changed over the years. Jelly is no longer my go-to pairing ingredient; instead, I opt for pumpkin butter, Greek yogurt, and other delicious options I would’ve passed on in my youth. But some people take it even further than that, combining peanut butter with things that would never occur to my own nut butter–obsessed brain. Clearly, jelly is a thing of the past in the sandwich world; peanut butter paired with everything from bacon to Nutella to pickles is the wave of the culinary future.
The New Jersey Breakfast
Eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon on a bagel sounds like a tasty but tame breakfast sandwich, which is why blogger Peanut Butter Boy (real name: Nick Strand) adds a tablespoon of peanut butter to his version. It’s based on a popular morning meal in Hoboken that he claims is “unbelievably satisfying and can cure the roughest of evenings.”
Photo source: Peanut Butter Boy
PBJ’s Peanut Butter and Gruyère
The combination of cheese and peanut butter might raise a few eyebrows (it certainly raised mine), but it’s more common than you’d think. For example, PBJ’s, a Portland-based food cart, makes the Betty sandwich with Gruyère cheese and peanut butter. It also comes with bread and butter pickles (shockingly, another popular peanut butter add-on) and a dash of salt and pepper.
PBandU’s Banana, Bacon & Honey
Even non–peanut butter aficionados know that Elvis was a big fan of peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches, especially if they were fried. Now that bacon has been paired with practically every edible thing under the sun at this point, his signature dish doesn’t seem that extreme anymore. This sandwich, from PBandU in Wayne, Pennsylvania, takes it up a notch and adds honey to Elvis’s favorite combo.
Photo source: Food & Spirits Magazine (cc)
Peanut Butter & Co.’s Peanut Butter Cup
Is there a more delicious duo in existence than peanut butter and chocolate? New York restaurant Peanut Butter & Co. has a plethora of creative peanut butter sandwiches (including one with chicken and pineapple jam), but its Nutella-heavy Peanut Butter Cup is hard to pass up. Just looking at the picture makes you want a glass of milk.
Photo source: noellium (cc)
