Upgrade your ice cream sandwich game with these PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches that are gluten free, dairy free, and can be made completely nut/seed free. Peanut butter and jelly ice cream is stuffed between peanut butter cookies, but you can make these without peanuts at all to keep them allergy friendly!
Welcome to my healthy ice cream sandwich series where I'm taking ice-cream truck classics or just fun flavor combos and making healthier ice cream sandwich versions! I have lots of delicious and unique recipes, so make sure you are subscribed to my newsletter or are following me on Instagram, TikTok, and/or Pinterest so that you don't miss a flavor. I can't wait for you to make some of these healthy ice cream sandwiches. Be sure to share a photo on social media and tag me if you do make these!
Peanut butter and jelly is a classic sandwich flavor, so I knew I had to make an ice cream sandwich version. As someone who is allergic to peanuts and focuses on allergy friendly recipes, I obviously had to make an allergy friendly variation. These days, there are so many great substitutes for peanut butter, including other nut/seed butters (like almond or sunflower). If you are allergic to all nuts and seeds though, try using my granola butter instead. That's what I did! Of course, if you tolerate peanuts, feel free to use peanut butter in this recipe.
Why You'll Love These PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches
- They are allergy friendly! These homemade ice cream sandwiches are completely gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free. On top of that, they can be made nut free and even seed free.
- Low sugar: these gluten free ice cream sandwiches are made without refined sugar and less sugar than the average ice cream treat.
- They are versatile: you can change up the nut/seed/granola butter flavor and jelly flavor based on your preferences. Make these ice cream sandwiches your own!
PB&J Ice Cream Sandwich Ingredients
Ice Cream
- Vanilla ice cream: you can make my homemade vanilla ice cream or use 1.5 pints store bought vanilla ice cream of choice
- Peanut butter: if you're allergic to peanuts, stick to something like almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or even a batch of my granola butter for a nut free option.
- Jam: I love using raspberry jam, but if you prefer strawberry jam or you're a grape jelly person, go for it!
Cookies
- Nut/seed butter of choice: Again, if you tolerate peanuts, use that. If you want a nut/seed free option, try my granola butter which is what I used in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar: the unrefined sweetener used in the peanut butter cookies.
- Egg: 1 egg at room temperature.
- Gluten free flour: use a 1:1 gluten free flour mix for the best outcome.
- Vanilla extract, sea salt
How to Make Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice Cream
- If you are making my homemade vanilla ice cream, towards the end of churning, add the butter and jam to swirl into the ice cream before freezing. Freeze in an old ice cream container if you have one.
- If using store bought, let it soften enough to mix in the butter and jam then re-freeze.
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the nut/seed/granola butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth. If using a stand mixer, opt for the paddle attachment. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine.
- Scoop 6-8 cookies (depending on how big you want your sandwiches). Use a fork to press the cookie dough down in a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the cookie edges are golden brown. Let cookies cool completely before assembling.
Assembly
- If you froze the ice cream in an old ice cream carton, cut horizontally to create perfect ice cream circles. Tear off the paper and sandwich between two cookies.
- If just scooping your ice cream, scoop a large scoop of ice cream into the center of one cookie. Gently press another cookie down on top to spread the ice cream out evenly.
- Place the ice cream sandwiches on a cookie sheet or cutting board that fits in the freezer and pop them in the freezer for an hour or two so the sandwiches can set.
Substitutions and Variations
- Cookies: use your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe or store-bought cookies even. These sandwiches would taste great using (gluten free) graham crackers instead of the cookies, as well.
- Ice cream: opt for a store bought peanut butter ice cream and just swirl in the jam or layer it between the cookies and ice cream.
- Peanut butter: as mentioned above, try almond butter for a different flavor or if you are allergic to peanuts. You can also use sunflower seed butter or granola butter for a totally nut and seed free option. I haven't tried tahini, but that could be an interesting add in to the ice cream.
- Jam: opt for your favorite jam in a pb&j sandwich or try something new like blackberry jam!
- If you're not a jam person, leave it out and just make peanut butter ice cream sandwiches!
How To Serve and Store These Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches
Serve: I like to let my ice cream sandwiches sit for a couple of minutes at room temperature to soften the ice cream, but that is a personal preference. Just don't let them sit out too long or they'll melt!
Store: Store any leftover gluten-free ice cream sandwiches in a large freezer bag or freezer safe container and store in the freezer until ready to eat. They freeze well for up to 3 months.
FAQ
If you are allergic to peanuts or don't like peanut butter, there are plenty of other options to make these homemade ice cream sandwiches. You can use another nut butter like almond (I do not suggest cashew butter as it doesn't quite function the same as other nut butters). You can also use a seed butter like sunflower. If you have a nut and seed allergy, I suggest using granola butter. Check out my recipe to make your own!
I love raspberry jam in these PB&J ice cream sandwiches, but strawberry would also work great. I'm not a grape fan, but if that's your jam it might be okay. I just use a store-bought jam/jelly to make life easier, but you can certainly make a homemade version to use in this recipe.
The base for these PB and J ice cream sandwiches is a vanilla ice cream. I utilize my dairy free homemade version for this recipe, but you don't have to make your own ice cream. If you want, you can just use a store-bought vanilla ice cream of your choice or even a peanut butter ice cream! You'll just want to soften it enough to swirl in some of your butter and jam before assembling the ice cream sandwiches. For dairy-free ice cream sandwiches, be sure to buy the right ice cream, but if you tolerate dairy, use whatever ice cream is your favorite!
More Ice Cream Sandwich Recipes
Banana Pudding Ice Cream Sandwiches
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Golden Milk Ice Cream Sandwiches
Blackberry Ice Cream Sandwiches
If you try this recipe, leave a rating and review or tag me on social media. Comment your favorite ice cream flavor below to inspire more gluten-free ice cream sandwich recipe ideas!
"Peanut" Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 1 homemade vanilla ice cream or 1.5 pints store bought vanilla ice cream of choice
- ½ cup nut/seed/granola butter
- ¼-1/3 cup jam of choice I like raspberry. See notes above for alternatives
Cookies
- ¾ cup granola butter or nut/seed butter of choice
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Ice Cream
- If you are making homemade ice cream, be sure to make this ahead of time so it has enough time to harden some in the freezer.
- If you are making my homemade vanilla ice cream, towards the end of churning, add the butter and jam to swirl into the ice cream before freezing.
- If you are using store-bought, let it soften enough that you can mix in the butter and jam then re-freeze.
- Since we are making cookies for this recipe, if you have an old wooden ice cream container, you may want to freeze the ice cream in there. This way you can cut the container into perfect round ice cream circles to sandwich between the cookies.
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cream together the nut/seed/granola butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Scoop 6-8 cookies (depending on how big you want your sandwiches) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a fork to press them down in a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake for about 10 minutes until edges begin to golden. Let cookies cool completely before assembling.
Assembly
- When ready to assemble, let your ice cream soften for about 10 minutes just so it is easier to work with.
- If you froze your ice cream in an old ice cream carton, cut horizontally to create perfect ice cream circles. Tear off the paper and sandwich between two cookies.
- If just scooping your ice cream, scoop a large scoop into the center of one cookie. Gently press another cookie down on top to spread the ice cream out slightly.
- I like to put the ice cream sandwiches back into the freezer for an hour or two so the ice cream can harden and they aren't melting everywhere. But if you can't wait, eat up!
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