The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Unforgettable Cucumber Sandwiches

In your pantry, at this very moment, sits the key ingredient to transforming an ordinary cucumber sandwich from a watery, forgettable snack to a sandwich that’ll blow your mind. Exactly in what way it’ll blow your mind is up for debate, but it’s worth trying just for the experience—and it might just become your new summer go-to. 

This take on a cucumber sandwich exists somewhat in the shadowy fringes of sandwich subculture. You won’t see it on deli menus or tea party platters, but I’m a diehard fan, and I know I’m not the only one. Though the combo may sound oddball, it’s a match made in heaven. If you know, you know.

The Cucumber Sandwich Upgrade You’ll Never Forget

It's peanut butter. Yes, that’s it. The sandwich soul mate of cucumber slices is peanut butter, a spread usually relegated to other, less dynamic if beloved sandwiches (ahem, PB&J).

When Simply Recipes reader Bill Hunsinger wrote to us in response to a previous cucumber sandwich article we published, I sat up and took notice. “If you want the absolute best-tasting cucumber sandwich you'll ever taste, make a peanut butter and cucumber sandwich,” he said. “ I learned this from my father, who I believe either learned it from his parents during the depression of the 1930s or when he was in the Air Force during World War II, which at that time was called the Army Air Corp.”

Well! I’ve been rapturously eating peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches every summer since 2013 or so, and I’ve rarely encountered others with the same habit. It was great to talk shop. Bill went on to explain how he makes his take on his father’s sandwich.

How To Make a Peanut Butter and Cucumber Sandwich

• Two slices of the best whole-grain bread you can find
• One healthy helping of peanut butter, crunchy or creamy, your choice
• Enough cucumber slices (as thick as you want them) to cover the bread slice, usually four or six
• Put the two slices together, take a bite and enjoy

"If you're not into a sandwich or you're watching your carbs closely, forget the bread and cut a cucumber into spears and then drag through the peanut butter still in the jar. Regardless of how you enjoy this combination, you'll find peanut butter (especially crunchy, my favorite) and cucumber is an unbeatable flavor that will make you wonder why you never tried this before. I learned this recipe 63 years ago, and I love it as much today as I did back in 1961."

Bill mentioned the reaction he’s received over the years when he’s related this sandwich to others. “It's usually the same face most people get when trying to describe biting into a lemon.” 

Who Even Eats This Sandwich?

Besides me, Bill, and his dad, who else covets peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches? There are precedents: Think of fresh spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce or Indonesian gado-gago. The richness of the peanut butter sets alight the juicy crunch of cucumber in a way that spreads like Boursin or cream cheese just can’t.

Also, peanut butter is inexpensive, non-perishable, and needs no softening. It’s always ready to be turned into a delightful sandwich. Its substantial body and nutritional density make a cucumber sandwich a meal that sticks with you. 

A 2013 story on NPR initially tipped me off on the cucumber-peanut butter combo. The sandwich mentioned in that story was far more elaborate, a pile of fresh garden vegetables (tomato, onion, cucumber) with cheese and a finishing slick of peanut butter. Like Bill’s sandwich, it employs whole-grain bread. NPR listeners voted the recipe the winner of the “Taste of Summer” competition that year; its down-home ingenuity must have struck a chord. 

Over the years, I pared down my take on it to just peanut butter, tomato, and cucumber. I only eat it this way if the tomatoes are big, fat, homegrown ones, and it’s the messiest thing ever (I like thick, even layers of crunchy natural peanut butter on both slices of bread). You have to assemble the sandwich and eat it immediately, preferably over the sink with paper towels nearby. Usually, I toast the bread lightly so it holds up to the juicy vegetables better.

Whole-grain bread is a common thread with this otherwise malleable sandwich. I asked Bill what he likes. “I love Arnold's Whole Grains Healthy Multi-Grain,” he wrote back. “It has an earthy, natural flavor without tasting like I just shoved my face into a pile of dirt and yet it's subtle enough so that it doesn't take away from the flavor created when cucumber and peanut butter combine on my taste buds.”

If you’ve made it this far, you probably have your own personal history with peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches. If so, I’d love to know more, so drop us a line and let us know how you make yours and where you first came across it. Many thanks to Bill for reminding us about this oldie but goodie of a summer sandwich combo.