Smucker's Is Suing Trader Joe's Over Its Uncrustables Dupe. Which One Actually Tastes Better?

Trader Joe's is known for carrying snack dupes that rival popular brands, and often, the TJ's version ends up being better than name brand. As it turns out, not all brands are too tickled by Trader Joe's copycat products, as proven by the fact that Smucker's is suing Trader Joe's over its alleged knockoff of Uncrustables. You may recognize Smucker's Uncrustables by their distinctive circular shape, crimped edges, lack of crust, and peanut butter and jelly filling. Trader Joe's Crustless Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwiches also happen to have a circular shape, crimped edges, no crust, and peanut butter and jelly filling, so it's easy to see where the company drew inspiration for such a product.

Lawsuits, accusations of being a knockoff, and dupes aside, there's a bigger question at play here: Which crustless sandwich actually tastes better? To answer this question, I put both products — classic peanut butter and strawberry jam Uncrustables and Trader Joe's Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches — to the test, comparing the flavor and texture of both products side by side. In determining which sandwich tastes better, I've boiled it down to the softness of the bread, overall texture, and which better captures that sweet and nutty PB&J flavor balance.

Distinctly round, crustless, crimped, and stuffed with that classic winning duo of peanut butter and jelly, Uncrustables sandwiches took the 2000s by storm and revolutionized the average lunchbox (or, at the very least, made packing lunch a little bit easier). Actually, Uncrustables first came to fruition in 1995, but it wasn't until 2000 that the OG Uncrustable flavors — peanut butter and grape jelly and peanut butter and strawberry jam — hit shelves. Many more Uncrustable flavors have cropped up over the years, including PB and raspberry jam, PB and honey, and even just plain PB. You'll even find Uncrustables with no peanut butter at all, like the one that features chocolatey hazelnut spread instead.

The whole idea of an Uncrustable revolves around crustlessness and convenience, though they're not exactly ready-to-eat the second you buy them from the store. Uncrustables come frozen, so you have to thaw them before eating. The package instructions call for thawing a sandwich at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour and eating within 10 hours of thawing. And, since these are lunchbox staples, if you toss a frozen Uncrustable into a lunchbox in the morning, it should be nice and thawed by the time lunch rolls around.

As for the nutritional breakdown of peanut butter and strawberry jam Uncrustable, one sandwich has 210 calories, 9 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbs, 9 grams of added sugar (10 grams of sugar total), and 6 grams of protein. 

Though Smucker's Uncrustables may have a whole slew of flavors, Trader Joe's Crustless Sandwiches come in a single flavor, peanut butter and strawberry jam. Otherwise, the sandwiches very closely resemble Uncrustables in that they have a roundish shape (the TJ's ones are a little more squarish), no crust, and that crimped edge that helps hold the PB&J filling in. Trader Joe's dupe hasn't been around nearly as long as Uncrustables, having only hit shelves in August 2025 (meaning that they'd only been in stores for about two months before being hit with a lawsuit). 

Also, much like actual Uncrustables, Trader Joe's Crustless Sandwiches come frozen and need to be thawed before eating. Either two hours in the fridge or a single hour at room temperature will get the job done. Unlike Uncrustables, which aren't considered vegan because they may contain milk ingredients, Trader Joe's Crustless Sandwiches are completely vegan.

As for the nutritional breakdown, each Trader Joe's peanut butter and strawberry jam crustless sandwich contains 200 calories, 9 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbs, 6 grams of added sugar (8 grams of total sugar), and 7 grams of protein.

The question where to find Trader Joe's Crustless PB&J sandwiches has an easy answer. Just like any other TJ's product, you can only find them at Trader Joe's. As for how long you'll be able to find them is up for debate. I located a box of these sandwiches in the freezer aisle next to other breakfast items, but your local Trader Joe's may stock them elsewhere (they will be somewhere in the freezer aisle no matter what). One box of four sandwiches costs $3.79.

Meanwhile, it's not quite easy to answer where you might find Uncrustables. The short answer is that most major grocery stores, like Walmart, Target, or Meijer, will carry Uncrustables in some form, sometimes only classic flavors like peanut butter and grape jelly or peanut butter and strawberry jam. I found my four-pack box of strawberry jam Uncrustables at Target for $4.59, but the price may vary depending on where you live and where you shop. If you're looking to pinpoint exactly where you can find Uncrustables closest to your location, you can use Smucker's Uncrustables product page and use the store locator button below each product for the most accurate results.

The first thing I noticed when I took a bite of Smucker's Uncrustable was how soft the bread was — like, impossibly soft. The wrapper does boast the "unbeatably" soft bread, and I do have to say, Smucker's is onto something with the cloud-like texture of the bread. Otherwise, the bread reminded me of Wonder bread, which is to say that it tasted a little bit sweet, pretty much like your standard white sandwich bread.

The next thing I noticed was the oozy strawberry jam, which definitely made up the bulk of the filling (I'd say the ratio was about 60% jam to 40% peanut butter). The jam was quite sweet, but not in a way that it was cloying. It also had a really nice strawberry flavor that paired well with the more neutral peanut butter, and both ingredients tasted especially good inside of that soft white bread. 

Overall, I enjoyed this Uncrustable version, and though it was a touch sweeter than I remember from childhood, it was still tasty nonetheless. Though there was slightly more jam than peanut butter in the mix, I found that the ratio really worked, ensuring that the sandwich never tasted dry and that each bite had strong strawberry notes. 

Right off the bat, it was very apparent just from slicing Trader Joe's Crustless PB&J sandwich in half that it was very similar to the Uncrustable. Upon first bite, I noticed that the PB&J ratio was sort of reversed in TJ's version. This one was more peanut butter forward, leaning more into the rich and nutty territory instead of sweet. The sandwich was still sweet, though the main source of sweetness came from the jam, and there simply wasn't as much jam at play here.

Certain bites of this sandwich were really well balanced, meaning that I got even notes of peanut butter and strawberry jam, and those bites were especially delicious. Many bites did taste more like peanut butter and not enough like jelly, which I'm sure would be a good thing for any PB lover out there. However, I was looking for a little more jam to achieve that nice balance between nuttiness and sweetness. As for the bread, it was definitely very similar to the Uncrustable bread, but not quite as soft and perhaps not quite as sweet.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Trader Joe's Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwich and found it to be pretty on-par with Uncrustables. I only wish there was a touch more jam, because certain bites were a bit unbalanced with too much PB.

After trying both Smucker's Uncrustables and Trader Joe's Uncrustables dupe back-to-back, I have to say that the sandwiches were incredibly similar and both were quite tasty. However, to answer the question of whether or not the TJ's dupe is better than the OG Uncrustable, the answer is no. While I enjoyed both sandwiches, there were certain features of the original Uncrustable that proved it reigns supreme, if only by a smidge.

Smucker's Uncrustable had a pillowy soft bread that simply couldn't be beaten, even though Trader Joe's version was similar, but the bread was not quite as soft. Another key factor in crowning Smucker's as the winner here comes down to the peanut butter to jam ratio. This is somewhat subjective, but I found that slightly higher jam ratio in Smucker's Uncrustables worked perfectly in keeping the sandwich sweet and not too dry, while the Trader Joe's one was a bit too nutty at times. 

Ultimately, these sandwiches were incredibly similar and both tasted good, so you really can't go wrong with either. If you want a slightly cheaper option and one with slightly fewer calories and a little less sugar, along with a stronger peanut butter flavor, then the Trader Joe's one may be a better fit. I found that Smucker's formula was just a little too perfect to beat, but for what it's worth, Trader Joe's Crustless Sandwich is about as good as a dupe could possibly get.