Move Over, Jelly: Peanut Butter and Sriracha Is Now a Thing (And We Tried It)

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For a solid 10 years of my life, I ate a peanut butter sandwich for lunch Every. Single. Day. What can I say? I just love peanut butter. But when Be Well editor, Emily, mentioned a peanut butter, Sriracha and basil sandwich she’d spotted on the Without Walls blog, the peanut butter-sandwich connoisseur in me was a bit skeptical. I mean, I love Sriracha—so much so that when the news of a potential Sriracha shortage broke, I had a full-blown, blowing-into-a-brown-paper-bag panic attack—but Sriracha with peanut butter? That might be too much even for me.

It didn’t start out pretty. I made the sandwich at home, but when I opened the plastic bag at work this morning, a smell I can only describe as bologna filled the room. Emily agreed. This was a bit off-putting. In fact, it was weird and extremely off-putting. We still can’t figure out how that particular smell emerged from a meat-free sandwich.

But here’s the surprise: Once I took a bite of the gooey sandwich, all of my fears dissolved. It wasn’t bad. Actually, it was really, unexpectedly delicious. The smooth and sweet taste of the peanut butter perfectly dulled the spicy taste of the Sriracha, and the basil gave the sandwich a burst of savory flavor oddly compatible with its sweeter counterparts. And when you think about it, it’s pretty similar to all the ingredients in a peanut-y Thai dish, just in a new format.

And this sandwich doesn’t just taste good—it’s also a super-practical, protein-packed, on-the-go snack. Jeffrey, of the Without Walls blog, calls this sandwich one of his favorite hiking snacks. We think it would work before a workout, too.

So go ahead, throw together one of these all-grown-up peanut butter sandwiches for your next sweat session. Or if you can’t wait, lunchtime is right around the corner. (And for all you peanut-butter hating Sriracha fans out there, here are 50 other ways to work the hot sauce into your next meal, sans PB.)

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