Peanut Butter & Jelly – such a yummy (and cheap) treat for everyone!
This isn’t going to be a long story about how I grind my own peanuts and make homemade jelly because let’s be honest, that isn’t happening in my house. This post is all about making your life easier by preparing these in bulk and freezing them. You might be thinking, “a PB & J takes maybe 2 minutes to make, why am I worried about saving such a small amount of time?”.
Well my answer is that every second counts for me in the morning. I’d rather use those precious 120 seconds to give myself a final look in the mirror to make sure my hair hasn’t decided to betray me – or better yet, give my family a less rushed hug and kiss before I leave.
Having frozen PB & J on hand means I can pack a lunch in just a few seconds. Throw one of these in a lunchbox for school or grab a couple for long car rides. These work especially well for those errands that you promised yourself would be quick.. but here you are 3 hours later and now everyone is hungry and throwing a fit. I’ve also been known to snag a few throughout the week or keep some on hand in the break room freezer at work. This eliminates the excuse to spend the typical $7-$10 eating out and that saves major money over the course of a month! You only need to allow a few hours to thaw so they work really well in most situations!
The Classic Ingredients and Technique
All you need to do to get started is grab the ingredients: bread, peanut butter, and jelly.
The only real “trick” to freezer worthy peanut butter & jelly sandwiches is to put the peanut butter on both sides of the bread. I do my normal amount on one slice and then a thin layer on the second. Then, add the jelly and put your two halves together. Putting peanut butter on both sides prevents the jelly from seeping into the bread. No one likes a soggy sandwich!
Do you have picky eaters who don’t like the crust? No worries! You can even turn these into DIY Uncrustables! If you look at the top sandwich, you’ll notice I didn’t spread the jelly all the way to the edges. By doing this, the sticky jelly won’t seep out of the edges when I turn a glass upside down and use it as a sandwich cutter. In fact, you don’t have to spread the peanut butter out that far either. I had 20 things on my mind while making these, so it was a bit of an afterthought, hah!
That’s it! Now you are all stocked up with a quick option when those mornings get busy!
Storage
Once they are all made, I like to put each one inside of a sandwich baggie that way they are easy to grab. Then I put all of the individual sandwich bags into a gallon sized freezer bag to contain them and give it an added layer of protection. These will keep in the freezer for 4-6 weeks.
Tip
If you are using different flavors of jelly or types of peanut butter, just be sure to write on the baggie what combination you have.
Cost Breakdown
With one loaf of bread, you can usually make 9-10 sandwiches. I’ll use 9 in this example. These prices are current in my area as of 2020 (mostly store brands).
Loaf of Bread: $0.75
Jelly (1/4 of jar): $1.50 jar / $0.38
Peanut Butter (1/2 of jar): $2.25 jar / $1.13
Total: $2.26 / 9 sandwiches = $0.25
And I normally make this with a store brand of peanut butter, too. That makes each sandwich about 20 cents! Keep in mind your prices will vary depending on the type of bread, jelly and peanut butter you choose. Overall, this will be a great low cost option!
What’s your favorite PB & J combination?
