Swap Your Midnight Grilled Cheese For A Grilled PB&J Sandwich

Buttery, toasty, savory, and oozing with cheese, crispy grilled cheese sandwiches are among the best midnight snacks one can have. Plus, they only take mere minutes to whip up. However, the next time you're up late and have a hankering for a quick bite, try replacing it with a snack that is sweet, nutty, crunchy, and melts in your mouth — a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich makes for one seriously scrumptious substitution. Nothing against a classic PB&J, but the extra effort is worth it for an experience that will truly excite your tastebuds — heating the sandwich changes it both texturally and flavor-wise.

Simply searing your bread will give you a wonderfully crispy bite with a crunch that gives way to a near-molten interior. The peanut butter and jelly melt and kind of meld into each other, turning an ordinary lunchtime classic into a late-night luxury. Like a grilled cheese, there are almost an infinite number of ways you can dress up and elevate the flavor profile of a PB&J – taking it from basic to phenomenal — and firing up your griddle is one of the best.

The best late-night snacks are all about leaving zero messes and using the most convenient methods possible. The secret to convenience is using foil and plastic utensils — your future self will thank you since there won't be extra dishes to wash. While you can grill your PB&J the conventional way by frying both faces of the sandwich in a pan with butter, making this sandwich mess-free is super easy.

If you're going the mess-free route, then you can butter the outside of your bread beforehand (with plastic utensils) and line the bottom of a toaster oven or air fryer basket with heavy duty aluminum foil before grilling. Another upgrade that's helpful for ensuring this sandwich isn't messy is mixing the peanut butter and jelly together into a single sweet and savory condiment. (Skip this step and you might find yourself dealing with a jelly spill.) Lastly, if you want to keep your late-night grilled PB&J from getting soggy, then you won't want to fully enclose your sandwich in the foil.

A grilled PB&J offers the warm, fruity, and nutty combo that many people crave, but you can definitely get more creative with your sandwich. You can add other nut butters or replace the PB completely, and for jams, you can stick with your favorite fruit flavors or channel Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich by slathering on some bacon jam.

One of the best ways to elevate your late-night snacking experience is to replace the slices of bread with two waffles — a true game changer! The square pockets of the waffle not only hold the warm condiments neatly, but they offer a unique texture and a flavorful burst of the peanut butter and jelly combo in every bite. However, not just any kind of waffle will do. For an even richer experience, try using buttermilk waffles (especially fruit-flavored ones), which are both fluffy and pleasantly crisp. This twist on a grilled PB&J may sound like a stretch, but the elite breakfast food is an ideal canvas for these specific condiments. In the end, no matter how you choose to make this sandwich, your night will be better for it.