Five Fun Ways to Make PBJ

Published August 19, 2015. Updated January 21, 2020

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Five fun ways to make PB&J’s that kids will love! Includes cutting into fun shapes, rolling up sushi style, skewering onto sticks, making with mini waffles, and rolling up burrito style with fruit.

This post is brought to you by Smucker’s Fruit Spreads.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

Around here we never get tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My kids and I eat them all the time. They are just one of those things that I never grew out of, I’m a PBJ lover for life. They are always delicious and lunch just doesn’t get any easier. Since it’s back to school season I thought I’d share some fun PBJ ideas so you can change things up for your kids school lunch.

I know I can always rely on Smucker’s Fruit Spreads to make the perfect back-to-school lunch. What a great surprise it will be for them when they open their lunch box to see these instead of just a plain sandwich! 

1. This is the classic PBJ but instead of leaving it as a regular sandwich simply use a sandwich or cookie cutter and cut them into shapes. Your kids will love this! I used these animal cutters and some heart cookie cutters (not included in the set). I also used this lunch container.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

2. Make it into sushi rolls. I used a wider loaf for these for better rolling. Cut crusts from bread slice, flatten the bread slightly with a rolling pin then spread the right side with peanut butter and the left side with jam then roll and cut into “sushi” pieces.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

3. Everything tastes better when it comes in kebab form right? These are a fun way to get your kids to eat some fruit with their sandwich too. For cleaner cutting I sliced the crust first then cut into cubs and spread a little peanut butter on half the cubes then a little jam on the other half then thread onto sticks with fruit in-between.

Cut any sharp points from skewer sticks when preparing these for children.

Banana slices would also be good on these, but dunk them in a water lemon mixture first to prevent browning.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

4. Use mini waffles or pancakes instead of bread. What kid wouldn’t love these? They are fun twist on the classic that’s sure to put a smile on their faces.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

5. Make them into a fruit wrap. This is a good way to ensure they don’t skip out on the fruit you packed into their lunch when you add it right to their PBJ.

For more than a century, Smucker’s has been helping to make family meals more memorable. Today, Smucker’s offers a broad range of Fruit Spreads, Ice Cream Toppings, Syrups, Peanut Butters and more, including low sugar and sugar free varieties. My favorite is the low sugar strawberry. We always have a jar on hand.

Five Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking ClassyFive Fun Ways to Make a PBJ | Cooking Classy

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.