National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day is on Friday, April 2, 2027, and it falls on April 2 every year. It celebrates the PB&J, the sandwich that has filled American lunchboxes for generations. Grab two slices of bread and your favorite jar of jelly.
When Is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day?
It’s always April 2. It isn’t a public holiday, so you’ll mostly see it marked in school cafeterias, lunchboxes and on social media.
Who Started National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day?
No founder or start year has been documented for the day itself. The sandwich’s own history is clearer.
The first PB&J recipe
The first known published recipe appeared in the Boston Cooking-School Magazine in 1901. Writer Julia Davis Chandler suggested small layered sandwiches of peanut paste with currant or crabapple jelly, not grape. She called the combination “delicious, and, so far as I know, original.”
Peanut butter sandwiches were already served in tea rooms by then, often with savory partners like watercress. The sweet pairing caught on later. Sliced bread, shelf-stable peanut butter and cheap grape jelly made PB&J easy, and the U.S. military put it on ration menus during World War II.
Why Celebrate PB&J?
Few foods are as tied to American childhood. The day is a chance to enjoy a simple sandwich, try a grown-up twist or share one with someone who needs a meal.
Food banks often run peanut butter drives, since jars are shelf-stable, high in protein and easy to store. Ask your local food bank whether it’s collecting this month.
How to Celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
- Try the 1901 version: use crabapple or red currant jelly on thin, crustless bread, cut into small squares.
- Grill it: butter the outside and toast your PB&J in a skillet until golden.
- Add crunch: layer in sliced bananas, apple slices or a few potato chips.
- Make PB&J French toast: dip the whole sandwich in egg and milk and cook it like French toast.
- Swap the jelly: test strawberry jam, fig preserves and hot pepper jelly side by side.
- Donate a jar: drop peanut butter and jelly at a food bank or a school pantry.
Peanut Allergies and PB&J
Peanuts are one of the major food allergens the FDA requires on food labels. Many schools and offices have nut-free rules, so check before you bring PB&J to share. Sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter can stand in for peanut butter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a separate peanut butter day?
Yes. Other dates celebrate peanut butter on its own, but April 2 is specifically for the PB&J pairing.
Was grape jelly the original?
No. The 1901 recipe suggested currant or crabapple jelly. Grape jelly became the classic later, partly because it was cheap and widely available.
Should the jelly or peanut butter go on first?
There’s no rule. Spreading peanut butter on both slices, with jelly in the middle, keeps the bread from getting soggy in a lunchbox.