Peanut Butter Sandwich With Sriracha and Pickles

Peanut Butter Sandwich With Sriracha and Pickles
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.

Here’s a spin on a great old sandwich of the American South: peanut butter and pickle sandwiches with a spray of sriracha or sambal oelek, and a tiny drizzle of soy sauce. Toasting the bread before spreading it with peanut butter adds crunch and warmth, and the result is a sandwich of remarkable intensity, sweet and salty, sour and soft and crisp. Trust me on this one!

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This was really great! I made two of these for my girlfriend and myself while we're social distancing and trying to make use of stuff in our pantry. We decided to skip out on the sriracha, pickles, and soy sauce, but replaced it with some jelly that we had leftover. It still worked out perfectly. It's definitely going to become a staple quick-meal for us!

Day 1 of the Coronavirus lockdown. My roommates and I stumbled upon this recipe with low expectations. We just made this sandwich once with PB, sriracha, and thinly sliced dill pickles. It was so good that we made it again immediately after -- this time with thicker cut dill pickles, sambal, red onion, and PB. It was even better. THIS SANDWICH SLAPS.

What kind of pickles...sour or sweet?

A revelation! Let's face it: for adults, the strength of classic PBJ (for hiking and such) is convenience. But PBJ is too sweet, even with marmalade. THIS is an adult sandwich and just as easy. Don't forget the tamari as suggested. And next time, to achieve the "next level", I'm adding a delicate mist of---wait for it----fish sauce. (I know, I know. But I can't wait. In fact, I think I might just

Bread & Butter Pickles are the way to go. I have tried them all, and the combination with peanut butter is surprisingly delicious!

As a kid we ate pb & pickle sandwiches because that's what was in the cupboard. We also ate brown sugar & bean sandwiches, saltine cracker cereal, and cocoa made from Nestlé Quik, hot water & evaporated milk.

Did a taste test comparing PB (Jif) & bread & butter pickles to PB & kosher dills, same amount of sriracha added to each. Both were tasty and crunchy, but had too much sriracha (my fault!), the heat dominating the other flavors. Sample with kosher dills was salty and sour and mildly sweet. With B & B pickles, it was sweet, salty, with an end note of sour, a more complex flavor mix. Next time I’ll put just a very small dab of sriracha with the PB and stick with the B and B pickles.

My dad used to do a peanut butter and bacon sandwich - you broil it until the little slivers of bacon are done and the pb is cooked and brown on top. Heart-attack on a slab of bread, I know, but insanely delicious. And, for me, nostalgic.

Toasted whole grain bread + natural p.b. + sliced pickled jalapeños = :-)) !

He mentions in the narrative that the sandwich combines "sweet and salty," and I think the pickles are the only ingredient that could bring the sweetness. So I think those are sweet gherkins in the photo.

Can we get a definitive answer on what kind of pickles?

I made this today for lunch - it did not disappoint. I like regular peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but this took it up a notch. So many flavors in every bite! It will definitely go into my rotation for lunches. I used bread and butter pickle slices.

I have been making peanut butter and gochujang sandwiches since I saw Mr. Sifton mention them once in an article. It's really outstanding. I can't wait to try the addition of pickles.

Try adding a little fresh cilantro in there, too. Yummy

I grew up eating pb and tomato sandwiches. I don't know where this originated from but it's something my parents ate and served. It's quite good. Try it.

I’ve been devouring pb and the hottest salsa you can find open-faced sandwiches for decades! Try it.

Sweet gherkins, crunchy peanut butter, low sodium soy sauce & sriracha are definitely the way to go. The sweetness, the crunch, the spicy and saltiness remind me of an Asian spicy peanut sauce. Absolutely oddly delicious.

A great pantry meal or snack! I used siracha, gluten-free soy sauce, Wickles Pickles (spicy + sweet), and crunchy Jiff on Carbonaut toast. The point, at least for me, is to use what I have on hand rather than copy someone else's pickles or bread. I expected to throw it away but didn't!

Embarrassingly so good I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. I used "bread and butter" pickles that are super crunchy and added a lot of sweetness. I may try gochujang in place of the Sriracha and crunchy dill pickles since the gochujang has more sweetness than Sriracha. This combo is SO good.

I have been making peanut butter and pickle sandwiches for years! My kids thought I was out of my mind, but no matter the variation, it's really great!

I’ve been eating PB and dill pickle sandwiches for 20 years and I’m happy that they’re being popularized.

Seriously one of the best things I've eaten lately, including among some high faulting' restaurant entrees. Had it for snack dinner tonight, and I'll be having it again tomorrow for lunch.

I thought I might be the only one who grew up on peanut butter and bacon on toast. I still make it somtimes...so delicious!!....also I've had peanut butter and mayo, PB and tomato...but not pickles! I'll use the jalepeno dills that I love, and maybe soy. won't need the siracha.

Have done PB and pickle sandwiches with mustard (bacon optional) for years'n'years. The best part is serving to inexperienced friends, whose eyebrows and noses go all crinkly when you describe it. Something about pickles and PB. Yet they invariably experience enlightenment with the first sandwich.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite snacks was peanut butter toast with taco Doritos. Later I added pickles. A coworker told me about Sriracha with peanut butter, and compared it to a Thai peanut sauce. Reading all these comments, I feel validated.

Try it with Almond butter!

Added fish sauce and a little MSG. Boxed cabernet to finish it off. Arrest me.

I grew up eating PB and Kosher Dills (cuz I ate too many garlic dills and of course smelled like garlic) but I crushed potato chips into the mix! Delicious! I now add hot onion! I think I originated chips on a Sammy, lol! Been eating them for almost 60 years!

I thought I would hate this...but then I made one for a snack one day. Peanut sauce with pickles about sums it up. I couldn't stop eating it.

Sooo good! This really works with pickled anything, dill or sweet, any hot sauce or sambal. Add some cabbage or sprouts for more veg/crunch & cilantro. Yum thanks!

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