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Peanut butter and jelly is a staple in my house for snacks and school or work lunches. It’s cheap, filling, and not too unhealthy depending on what you make it with.
Sometimes, for a treat or just to mix things up, I’ll splurge on a box of Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re those frozen, premade sandwiches with the crusts cut off and the edges pressed into a neat scalloped design. Or, some people make their own version of Uncrustables by cutting off the edges of homemade sandwiches and crimping the edges together.
When I was recently shopping at an Aldi location I don’t frequent as often, I noticed something new to me in the freezer aisle: an Aldi imitation of Uncrustables.
I found these Lunch Buddies Crustless Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly Sandwiches in the Regular Buy freezer aisle, so I’m tentatively assuming they’re something Aldi stocks all the time. However, because I’d never seen these before, I’m not completely sure if they’re at Aldi to stay or if they’re a limited-time special. I found a message thread on reddit that indicates these have been in some Aldi stores for several years, but their availability in specific stores may be spotty. If any readers have insight into whether these are an everyday Regular Buy or a limited-edition Aldi Find, feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post.
Lunch Buddies Crustless Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly Sandwiches cost $3.69 for an 8.8-ounce package at the time of publication. The box contains four 2.2-ounce sandwiches, and that comes out to about 92 cents per serving.
For comparison, a box of 10 name-brand Smuckers Uncrustables Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly Sandwiches at Walmart cost about 95 cents per (slightly smaller) 2-ounce serving at the time of writing. A box of only four Uncrustables sandwiches at Walmart went for about $1.05 per serving at the time of writing. So if you’re buying larger bulk boxes, there’s not a big price difference between the Aldi brand and the name brand, but the Aldi brand is a little cheaper. The price difference is more noticeable if you’re buying a smaller box of name brand Uncrustables.
The box describes these Aldi sandwiches as a “crustless sandwich filled with creamy peanut butter and grape jelly.” They are kosher certified and are a product of Canada.
Lunch Buddies is not a company but rather is the private label Aldi uses for lunch box-style foods, including fruit snacks and applesauce.
If you’re looking out for allergens, these sandwiches contain peanuts, wheat, and soy. They may contain eggs, milk, coconut, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
One sandwich has 230 calories, 10 grams of total fat (13% DV), 2 grams of saturated fat (10% DV), no cholesterol, 220 mg of sodium (10% DV), 26 grams of total carbohydrates (9% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (7% DV), 9 grams of total sugars, 8 grams of added sugars (16% DV), and 8 grams of protein.
The box instructs to keep these frozen until you’re ready to thaw and eat them. Thaw the sandwiches at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Do not microwave. Eat within 10 hours of thawing for best flavor and texture.
I don’t like to keep jam or jelly out of the fridge for long periods of time, so I always have my kids toss a few ice packs in their lunch bags to keep these cool, and the sandwiches are always thawed by lunch time.
One sandwich cut in half.
I served these to the resident Uncrustables fan in my house, and she approved. She noted that these taste pretty much the same as the name brand. She’s been packing them in lunches and also eating them as a snack at home. This isn’t something I’ll buy regularly simply because it costs more than a homemade PB & J sandwich. However, it’s a fun occasional purchase when we want to change things up.
The Verdict:
Lunch Buddies Crustless Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly Sandwiches feature crustless sandwiches with that classic lunch box-staple filling. They’re sold frozen and are easy to pop into a lunch bag in the morning so they can be thawed by lunch time. These are comparable to name-brand Smuckers Uncrustables, and my kids can’t tell much — if any — difference between the Aldi sandwiches and the name brand ones.
