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When you ask many kids what their favorite lunch is, I’m guessing more than a few will tell you the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now that the busy school year is underway you probably have made a few PB&J’s yourself. There are even restaurants in some cities, usually in places with a nearby university, devoted to this school lunch staple.
While many favor grape jelly, peanut butter goes so well with almost any type of jelly: strawberry, raspberry, apple, and apricot preserves. It’s yummy with chocolate swirled into it or combined with spreads like Nutella too. Some, in the style of Elvis, like to add other things to their peanut butter sandwich: bananas, crunchy potato chips, honey, or even pickles.
I tried for the longest time to get my preschooler son to like this portable American favorite. But in true toddler style, he rejected it in favor of other lunches. But there’s nothing like a little positive peer pressure. Ever since he started to get together regularly with other little ones his age who will only eat PB&J's for lunch, he has started to eat it too.
His new found love of this classic has him singing his own peanut butter & jelly song (he loves to make up amusing little ditties). And I have to confess, that although many pediatricians prefer you wait until the age of two to introduce any peanut products, my younger son has been loving the peanut butter and jelly sandwich too. I knew it was safe for him to eat nuts after he stole a bite of his brothers before I could get to him, just after he was a year old.
Nuts are a concern with little ones because when they do have a nut allergy, it can be a life threatening situation. The jury is still out on when the best time to introduce nuts to young children should be. Recent research has shown this economical, protein filled dietary staple can be introduced safely at a younger age, provided the family doesn’t have a history of allergies. So pediatricians have begun to revise their recommendations. Although, with my first son, the doctor was adamant we wait until at least two years old, with my younger guy we were just given the green light at his eighteen month appointment. My practice is to give my kids any potentially allergenic foods, such as nuts or eggs, the morning they already have a pediatrician appointment; that way if there’s reaction such as hives or a rash, you can bring it up at with the doctor.
But what to do when your child has a nut allergy or the school has an allergy restriction and doesn’t allow any nut products, like my son’s school? Do you give up the beloved PB&J or reserve it just for the weekends? No, you can reinvent it with sun butter, an acceptable nut-free substitute for that peanut butter.
A few other new twists to the lunchbox essentials that will be a nice change in routine include swapping out the white or whole wheat bread and rolling up the fillings in tortilla, pita, or naan bread. If you have a lot of lunches to make you can also make a neat looking checkerboard by cutting white and whole wheat PB&J’s into squares and then alternate light and dark squares forming a block to resemble a checkerboard. Try swapping out the peanut butter for almond, hazelnut, soy nut, pumpkin seed, or sun butter for a new treat. Or turn the sandwich inside out and serve the peanut butter in a dip cup with crackers, celery or carrot sticks, and sliced apples or pears. Finally, you can try making your own all-natural peanut butter that'll beat the pants off the brands found in the stores. It is lightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup. If you like it a bit sweeter you can always add a little more honey or blend in some white sugar.
Whatever your children’s favorite variation is, the nut/sun butter and jelly is a staple that lasts throughout childhood, so you better have a few new tricks up your sleeve!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1189-peanut-butter-and-jelly/
Peanut Butter and Jelly 101
When you ask many kids what their favorite lunch is, I’m guessing more than a few will tell you the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now that the busy school year is underway you probably have made a few PB&J’s yourself. There are even restaurants in some cities, usually in places with a nearby university, devoted to this school lunch staple.
While many favor grape jelly, peanut butter goes so well with almost any type of jelly: strawberry, raspberry, apple, and apricot preserves. It’s yummy with chocolate swirled into it or combined with spreads like Nutella too. Some, in the style of Elvis, like to add other things to their peanut butter sandwich: bananas, crunchy potato chips, honey, or even pickles.
I tried for the longest time to get my preschooler son to like this portable American favorite. But in true toddler style, he rejected it in favor of other lunches. But there’s nothing like a little positive peer pressure. Ever since he started to get together regularly with other little ones his age who will only eat PB&J's for lunch, he has started to eat it too.
His new found love of this classic has him singing his own peanut butter & jelly song (he loves to make up amusing little ditties). And I have to confess, that although many pediatricians prefer you wait until the age of two to introduce any peanut products, my younger son has been loving the peanut butter and jelly sandwich too. I knew it was safe for him to eat nuts after he stole a bite of his brothers before I could get to him, just after he was a year old.
Nuts are a concern with little ones because when they do have a nut allergy, it can be a life threatening situation. The jury is still out on when the best time to introduce nuts to young children should be. Recent research has shown this economical, protein filled dietary staple can be introduced safely at a younger age, provided the family doesn’t have a history of allergies. So pediatricians have begun to revise their recommendations. Although, with my first son, the doctor was adamant we wait until at least two years old, with my younger guy we were just given the green light at his eighteen month appointment. My practice is to give my kids any potentially allergenic foods, such as nuts or eggs, the morning they already have a pediatrician appointment; that way if there’s reaction such as hives or a rash, you can bring it up at with the doctor.
But what to do when your child has a nut allergy or the school has an allergy restriction and doesn’t allow any nut products, like my son’s school? Do you give up the beloved PB&J or reserve it just for the weekends? No, you can reinvent it with sun butter, an acceptable nut-free substitute for that peanut butter.
A few other new twists to the lunchbox essentials that will be a nice change in routine include swapping out the white or whole wheat bread and rolling up the fillings in tortilla, pita, or naan bread. If you have a lot of lunches to make you can also make a neat looking checkerboard by cutting white and whole wheat PB&J’s into squares and then alternate light and dark squares forming a block to resemble a checkerboard. Try swapping out the peanut butter for almond, hazelnut, soy nut, pumpkin seed, or sun butter for a new treat. Or turn the sandwich inside out and serve the peanut butter in a dip cup with crackers, celery or carrot sticks, and sliced apples or pears. Finally, you can try making your own all-natural peanut butter that'll beat the pants off the brands found in the stores. It is lightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup. If you like it a bit sweeter you can always add a little more honey or blend in some white sugar.
Whatever your children’s favorite variation is, the nut/sun butter and jelly is a staple that lasts throughout childhood, so you better have a few new tricks up your sleeve!
Serves/Makes: 1.5 cups
- 1 cup shelled and skinned roasted peanuts
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons honey, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons peanut or safflower oil, or as needed
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, adding oil in a thin stream until desired consistency is reached. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to two weeks.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1189-peanut-butter-and-jelly/