This Peanut Butter & Jelly Burger is not a dare nor is it the late-night creation of a Boulder college student.
It’s a real thing and inspired by one of the best burger joints in Denver, The Cherry Cricket. The Cricket is a Denver burger institution and stays relevant even in the world of high-end, $15 burgers. One of their claims to fame is that they will top your burger with pretty much anything.
The toppings list they provide is completely intimidating for a first-time Cricketer. If you ask your server for suggestions you’ll frequently get a few interesting answers, but Peanut Butter and Jelly is one that most people hear and then never order.
People are very wrong.
Read on and learn about this magnificent burger combination.
Why you should be putting PB&J on your burger
Peanut butter and jelly with a few fresh jalapeños might actually be the most perfect burger topping out there. For starters, it’s dead simple. There’s no cooking involved. If you can cook a burger, you can make this happen.
More importantly for me though, it just tastes delicious. The peanut butter is creamy and adds some fat to the burger and the sweetness of the jelly cuts through the richness. It’s out of control.
I like the jalapeños on it which add some heat and crunch, but you could leave them off. They are extra at the Cricket, but free at home.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Burger Basics
A few things are needed for this burger. Not surprisingly…
My advice is to use creamy peanut butter, but try to find peanut butter without added sugar. You want just the real stuff here. If you all you can find is sugar-added PB, you can use it, but just straight peanut butter is best.
Some Burger Basics
When it comes to shaping the burgers, start with a ground beef mix of at least 10% fat. To be honest, I prefer a 20% fat ground beef, but that can be hard to find these days. You can sometimes ask your butcher to grind a few chuck roasts for you if you are buying enough.
For sizing these burgers, I think 1/3 pound burger is best. While I prefer thinner burgers if I’m making a smash burger, 1/3 pound burger is big enough to make a meal out of without being ridiculous.
Loosely shape your burgers and season them really well with kosher salt and pepper. Make a big dimple in the center of each burger. As it cooks the burger will shrink in a bit and take up this space in the center.
This is the trick that will prevent the classic “football-shaped burger” known on amateur grills throughout the country.
Cooking the Peanut Butter & Jelly Burgers
Toss these burgers on a medium-high grill for about 4-5 minutes per side for a medium burger. Try not to fuss with them too much. I always like to lightly oil my grates before cooking burgers so I can toast my buns and know that nothing will stick to the grates.
After about five minutes, give the burgers a flip. You will hopefully have some nice grill marks and a good crust developing on the burger.
When to add the PB&J to the burgers
When your burger is almost done, do like you would if you were making a cheeseburger.
Pile on about a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter and let it heat up on the burger for a minute or two. It may sound crazy but warm peanut butter and warm cheese have a very similar texture which, as you may know, works very well on burgers.
If you add the peanut butter TOO early, it’ll just melt all over your grill.
Serve these bad boys with a big dollop of grape jelly and a few sliced jalapeños on toasted buns. The jalapeños are optional, but I like their crispness and heat on the burger.
Oh, and you’ll need napkins. Obviously.
This burger is no joke, people. Try it the next time you’re making burgers.
Spicy Peanut Butter & Jelly Butter
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons grape jelly
- 2 fresh jalapenos, sliced thin
- 6 Hamburger buns
- Kosher Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Shape ground beef into six 1/3 pound patties. Don’t press the beef too much. Gently shape it into rounds and use your thumb to press a dimple into the center of each burger (will prevent the football burger). Season burgers well with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Grill burgers over medium hight heat for about 4-5 minutes per side for medium burgers. About a minute before the burgers are done, add 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter to each burger (sort of like cheese).
- Let burgers rest for a few minutes when they come off the grill.
- Serve burgers with a dollop of grape jelly and topped with fresh sliced jalapenos (optional). Serve on toasted buns.
Kris
We have a burger joint near us that does a FANTASTIC PB burger – they serve it with a raspberry-chipotle jelly. To Die For.
Funny thing – last time we were in there, as we were leaving, we met a couple of guys who were there for the first time who asked what we’d recommend. Without hesitation, I said the peanut butter burger. They looked at me like I was NUTS. I just said “trust me – it shouldn’t work but it SO does.”
But I mean, if you’re going to drive across town for a burger (which these guys had), you might as well make it worth it and try something new and exciting, right?
Nick
Ha! nice Kris. Yea… if you have a fancy jelly, it can definitely up the flavor, but it’s still really good with just plain old grape. :)
Anne
This sounds interesting; I think I’ll try it with pepper jelly. A Peanut Butter & Spicy Jelly Burger!
Nick
That sounds awesome Anne. I think you’ll love it. Report back if you try it!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan
I am so intrigued! I’ve had a fried chicken and jelly burger before and LOVED it – and I am thinking this is pretty epic too!
Trish
ooooooooh this is GENIUS! I am drooling.
Jeff the Chef
Years ago, a friend hipped me to PB burgers. I was sure he was joking, but – to echo many others who’ve had the same revelation – it was are-you-kidding-me good. The peanut butter is utterly transformed in the context. I’ve never thought to include jelly in the mix, but I have had those inexplicably good grape-jelly meatballs, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this is a rwallt good burger. Eager to try it.
Nick
Definitely try it man. You’ll love it I think!
Gordon M. Johanson
Have purchased some raspberry-chipote jelly, anyone got a recommendation on good
a not sugar creamy PB?
ths,
gordon
Nick
Hey Gordon, I like Adams brand! They make a great creamy version with no added sugar. http://www.adamspeanutbutter.com/product
Linda
This is awesome! I have been putting peanut butter with mustard on my burgers for over 36 years!!! I never thought about adding jelly but will now!!!!
Marilee
Loving the recipe. A local burger place has a PB&J burger that uses hot pepper jelly in place of the grape (everything else is the same) and I took a shot at googling PB&J burger recipes and was glad to find this one so I can duplicate my favorite burger place’s recipe at home!