Let’s talk about how to make Uncrustables and all the reasons you should make them at home!
What is an Uncrustable?
Uncrustables are a lovely convenience item found in the freezer section of the grocery store. They are pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich with crusts removed. Perfect for most of our kids, right?
Yes, but the cost.
I can’t let myself spend $4.18 for just four crustless pb&j sandwiches. Surely it costs much less to throw together a simple sandwich at home, right? Right.
Here’s what you need to make Uncrustables:
100% Whole Wheat Bread: $0.19/sandwich
Natural Peanut Butter: $0.13/sandwich
100% Fruit Jelly: $0.13/sandwich
Uncrustables at the store: $1.05 per sandwich (made with less-nourishing ingredients)
Cost for a Homemaade Uncrustable: $0.45 (made with much better ingredients)
Oh, and you’ll need this handy tool which is a one-time, very worth it purchase.
Don’t waste the crust!!
When I use two loaves of bread to make 20 Uncrustables, I end up with a 10×13 inch pyrex full of crusts. I can’t stand the idea of throwing them out, so I use them to make Easy Bread Pudding. My family loves this and I love that nothing goes to waste!
How to make your own Peanut Butter
Want to make your own peanut butter? It’s truly the most delicious! Here’s the recipe. It’s so very easy to make!
If you don’t make your own peanut butter, look for brands that don’t have hydrogenated oils in them. Those oils are best avoided. :)
The joy of Homemade Uncrustables
If you make Uncrustables, I recommend making many at once so that you get more mass for your mess. :) I make two loaves of bread worth each time I make Uncrustables (which produces 20). Then I freeze them to pull out for quick lunches for my kids (either at home or in lunchboxes at school). Having these ready in the freezer is so handy! And if we’re at home and want to eat them straight from the freezer, we put them into our air fryer for a minute or two to thaw/crisp up. So good!
When my kids were really little and hated the crusts of their pb&j, I started cutting the crust off with my biscuit cutter. They always called them “circle sandwiches”. Then low and behold, they started selling Uncrustables at the store. My kids always laughed and said that I invented them and missed my opportunity. lol Way to make use of the leftover crusts, genius idea!