Whether you grew up eating peanut butter & grape jelly every day at school or have never tried the combination, the concept of pairing fruit and nuts is a classic one.
- But what if you don’t eat peanuts – or can’t send them to school with your child?
- What if you’re off refined sugar – or live somewhere that doesn’t have grape jelly?
- What if you simply want a change?
You’re in luck, as there are endless ways to combine seed or nut butters with fruit or fruit spreads – and while National PB&J Day doesn’t roll around until 2 April, the ideas below provide variety as well as low-sugar and allergy friendly twists on pb&j today!
Below the choose your own PB&J adventure Infographic I’ve listed a few of my top go-to combinations, as well as my favourite fruits or spreads to pair with each butter. Of course you can always mix & match any way you wish!
My 15 favourite combinations in no particular order
Served straight up (or with a little extra something):
- peanut butter & grape jelly… the classic
- peanut butter & apple sauce
- tahini & mashed banana
- macadamia butter & cherry jam
- sunflower butter & apricot preserves
- sunflower butter & mango puree (+ a squeeze of lime)
- tahini & crushed raspberries (+ a drizzle of coconut milk or coconut butter)
- tahini & smushed pear (+ a dusting of ginger)
- almond butter & sliced apples (+ a dash of cinnamon)
- almond butter & mashed banana (+ a dusting of cinnamon)
- cashew butter & smashed strawberries (+ a sprinkle of cardamom)
- cashew butter & chopped peaches (+ fresh grated ginger)
- coconut butter & sliced pineapple (+ torn mint)
- walnut butter & fresh figs (+ crumbled goat cheese)
- hazelnut butter & quince paste (+ shaved parmesean)
What can I pair with…
almond butter?
sliced apples :: apricot preserves :: grape jelly
smushed pear :: orange marmalade :: fresh figs
cherry jam :: mashed banana :: apricot preserves
sunflower butter?
smashed strawberries :: sliced apples :: smushed pear :: mashed banana
lemon curd :: rhubarb compote :: cherry jam :: crushed raspberries
apricot preserves :: sliced pineapple :: crushed blueberries :: mango puree
peanut butter
grape jelly :: sliced apples
orange marmalade :: mashed banana
apple sauce :: crushed raspberries
cashew butter
smashed strawberries :: smushed pear :: cherry jam :: fresh figs
orange marmalade :: lemon curd :: apricot preserves :: sliced pineapple
chopped peaches :: crushed raspberries :: crushed blueberries
hazelnut butter
smashed strawberries :: sliced apples :: grape jelly
smushed pear :: fresh figs :: mango puree :: quince paste
mashed banana :: crushed raspberries :: apricot preserves
macadamia butter
smashed strawberries :: orange marmalade :: lemon curd
cherry jam :: mango puree :: crushed raspberries
sliced pineapple :: crushed blueberries
brazil nut butter
sliced apples :: grape jelly :: smushed pear
rhubarb compote :: chopped peaches :: mashed banana
apple sauce :: quince paste :: apricot preserves :: mango puree
walnut butter
sliced apples :: grape jelly :: smushed pear
mashed banana :: apple sauce :: quince paste
fresh figs :: orange marmalade
coconut butter
smashed strawberries :: smushed pear :: orange marmalade :: lemon curd
rhubarb compote :: cherry jam :: mango puree :: mashed banana
crushed raspberries :: sliced pineapple :: crushed blueberries
tahini
sliced apples :: grape jelly :: smushed pear :: fresh figs :: cherry jam
orange marmalade :: apple sauce :: chopped peaches :: mashed banana
crushed blueberries :: crushed raspberries :: apricot preserves
My personal favourite…
So tell me, what are your favourite go to combinations and do you swear by something that hasn’t been included here?
Good lord. I can’t express to you how much I love sandwiches, and the humble pb&j is no exception. Great graphic!
This is awesome! When I didn’t think anything could top a good pb&j, in comes competition. I am excited to try some of these
Haha, would love to know what ends up as your fave!
omg this is amazing JJ! soooo many amazing combinations! what about your amazing chocolate macadamia butter + strawberries? yummmmmmmm!
Thanks! It made me hungry writing them all down ;D I purposely left out chocolate spreads but you are right, choc macadamia (or hazelnut) butter with strawberries is soooo good.
This is so very coincidental JJ. Just this morning my sister was going on about how good tahini and banana were together. It was totally out of nowhere too. She also recommends tahini and honey!
Too funny! Yum, tahini and banana is delicious 🙂
JJ you are an absolute machine. This is some serious post. LOVE IT.
Pinterested it it already. 😉
Tahini and raspberries sounds divine! Can’t wait to give it a try
So much awesomeness in this post! And the crushed raspberries look amazing with the tahini.
Cheers Leaf, it’s my favourite!
great post JJ, bookmarked!!!
I love it! I am a nut butter sandwich fanatic and people seem to think that has to mean plain ol PB&J! no! I think coconut butter and cinnamon is one of my favorites. Cashew butter and anything sounds wonderful!
You are very clever JJ, love the graphics and the combos I had never really thought about. Will have to give this a go with my kids as it is a brain strain trying to come up with new sandwich combos some days 🙂
I love your infographic, too fun! What delicious combinations!
You should also consider Soy butter. i have a nut allergy and soy butter is a great nutty tasting butter. I like the one with honey as it offers just a little sweetness.
Hi Rishi, I don’t eat soy so it never even occurred to me – thanks for the note!
Delicious!!! Bookmarked this page! 🙂
Yum!
So many different combinations!! I will have to try some new ones 🙂
Thanks for sharing
I love this – I’m not a peanut butter fan (I know, stone me) so I’ve always tried other stuff like this, mainly almond and cashew butter, but I LOVE the macadamia&cherry combo! Slightly tangential to the fruit plus nut formula, “cheesecake” sandwiches are incredible, where you put philly cheese on one slice and lemon curd or some kind of jam on the other… 😀
I think I may need to do an entirely different infographic for cheese! Cream cheese and lemon curd sounds divine – I’m a fan of goats cheese and figs 😉
Wow, terrific post!!
Oh JJ this is way too cool for words, love it!
I seldom leave a response, but after reading a few
of the remarks on this page 84th&3rd | 100+ alternatives to
PB&J. I actually do have a few questions for you if you do not mind.
Could it be simply me or does it appear like a few of the responses come across like they are coming from brain dead visitors?
😛 And, if you are posting at other online sites, I would like to keep
up with anything new you have to post. Would you post a list of the complete urls of all your public pages like
your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?