Elvis Presley’s Favorite Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich: The Graceland Cook Who Fried It for Him, and How to Make It at Home

For 14 years, one woman cooked for Elvis Presley at Graceland. His favorite thing she made was not fancy at all. It was a peanut butter and banana sandwich, toasted, then fried in so much butter that the bread soaked up every golden drop. Her name was Mary Jenkins Langston, and the story of the King and his simple sandwich is as warm as the sandwich itself. Here is that story, and how to make it in your own kitchen..

The Cook Who Fed the King for 14 Years

Mary Jenkins Langston cooked for Elvis at Graceland, his home in Memphis, for 14 years. She was technically an employee, but as The Takeout put it, she became something of a family member. Elvis bought her a house in Memphis and several Cadillacs for her and her relatives.

Her loyalty went both ways. After Elvis was gone, Priscilla Presley kept her on as a cook at Graceland for 12 more years, until she retired. Mary later shared her memories in a book called Memories Beyond Graceland Gates and appeared in the BBC documentary The Burger and the King. She died in 2000 at the age of 78.

Her cooking was pure Southern comfort: cheeseburgers, chicken fried steak and homemade biscuits fried in butter, often carried up to his room on a tray. But one dish stands out above all the others, because it is so simple that any of us can make it tonight.

The Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich He Loved

The fried peanut butter and banana sandwich is the food most people connect with Elvis. According to Tasting Table, the trick starts before the frying. You first toast the slices of bread, then build the sandwich and fry it in a generous amount of butter. How generous? Langston reported that she used two sticks of butter for every three sandwiches.

That is a lot of butter, and it is the reason the sandwich tastes like nothing else. The toasted bread drinks it in and turns crisp and golden on the outside, while the peanut butter melts into the warm, soft banana in the middle. It is sweet, salty and rich all at once. If you love a good sandwich story, you will also enjoy our list of famous sandwiches you can make at home.

The best part is the price. Bread, peanut butter, a banana and butter are already in most kitchens, and one sandwich costs well under two dollars to make. It is the kind of food that makes kids and grandparents smile at the same table. Did anyone in your family make these when you were growing up?

How to Make a Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich at Home

This recipe follows the method Langston described: toast first, then fry in butter. We give a rich butter version and a lighter option, so you can choose. This makes 2 sandwiches.

You will need:

• 4 slices soft white sandwich bread
• 4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 large ripe banana (yellow with a few brown spots)
• 6 tablespoons salted butter for the rich version (Langston used even more, about two sticks for three sandwiches), or 1 tablespoon for the lighter version
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• Drizzle of honey (optional)

How to make it:

1. Lightly toast the 4 slices of bread in a toaster until just pale golden.
2. Spread about 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on one side of each slice.
3. Slice the banana into thin rounds and lay them over the peanut butter on 2 of the slices. Add a pinch of salt or a drizzle of honey if you like.
4. Close the sandwiches, peanut butter sides in, and press gently.
5. Melt half the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cook 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden.
6. Add the rest of the butter, flip the sandwiches and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, pressing lightly with a spatula. Cut on the diagonal and serve warm.

Lighter option: skip the extra butter and brush the outside of the toasted bread with just 1 tablespoon of melted butter in total, then pan-toast it in a nonstick skillet. You still get a crisp, golden sandwich with that warm, melty center, with much less butter.

Tips for a Golden Sandwich That Is Not Greasy

• Pick the right banana. Ripe but still firm is best. A banana with a few brown freckles is sweet, but a very soft one turns to mush in the pan.
• Keep the heat at medium. Too hot and the butter burns before the peanut butter warms through. Too low and the bread soaks up butter without crisping.
• Press gently with a spatula. It helps the layers stick together and gives you even color.
• Use creamy peanut butter. It melts more smoothly than chunky, though crunchy fans can absolutely use their favorite.
• Serve it right away. Like grilled cheese, it is best hot from the pan.

Some people like to add a strip of crispy bacon inside. Try it both ways and decide for yourself. Team classic or team bacon?

More Graceland Sweets: Banana Pudding and the Christmas Pound Cake

The sandwich was not the only sweet thing on the Graceland table. Elvis was so fond of banana pudding that Graceland sold postcards with a banana pudding recipe printed on them, according to Tasting Table. Layers of vanilla custard, vanilla wafers and sliced bananas are still a Southern potluck favorite today. For more ideas with ripe bananas, see our banana desserts for ripe bananas.

Then there was the pound cake. A friend, Janelle McComb, would deliver two loaves of pound cake to Graceland every Christmas, one for Elvis and one for everyone else. It is a sweet reminder that even the biggest star in the world loved the same simple homemade treats as the rest of us.

Langston even had a lighter side. Her cornbread, Tasting Table notes, used only a quarter cup of cooking oil plus a teaspoon to coat the skillet, so not everything she made was swimming in butter.

Why a Simple Sandwich Still Makes Families Smile

The peanut butter and banana sandwich has outlived trends, diets and decades because it is honest food. It is cheap, it is quick, and it tastes like being cared for. Mary Jenkins Langston made it for the King of Rock and Roll, but you can make it for your kids after school, for a grandparent who remembers the 1950s or just for yourself on a rainy afternoon.

So toast the bread, melt the butter and put on an old record. Then tell us: would you make it the classic way with all that butter, or the lighter way?