At my recent internship at Red Frog Events, I was known as “the girl who keeps a jar of peanut butter in her desk drawer.” As a vegetarian, I find that eating five-ish mini meals a day works a lot better for me than three big meals, and an apple with peanut butter is one of my staples. Fun fact, did you know that those water bottle holders on the sides of backpacks fit a jar of peanut butter perfectly?I honestly take a jar with me everywhere now- babysitting, the gym, even to a friend’s house in case they, for some odd reason, don’t have food for me. I live in constant fear of being hungry and without a snack.

But that’s another post for another day. This post is about peanut butter, and more specifically, how to make it a healthy snack to share in a group setting. You see, an apple with peanut butter is a great, filling, and nutritious snack, but it’s kind of awkward to serve if, say, you’re hosting a Super Bowl party and want to have a healthy snack option besides the multitudes of chips, dips, frozen pizzas, and cake pops that people have signed up to bring (but man, those cake pops were delicious).

Enter apple nachos, a dish so amazing and easy that I can’t believe I haven’t made it before. I found the recipe on this blog originally, and adapted it a bit to suit my tastes and my party guests.

I know it looks like a mess, but it’s a beautiful, delicious, and easy mess. I promise. Here, let me explain…

Apple Nachos (serves about 10)

-One bag of apples (I bought the small Fujis from Trader Joe’s, and I think it would be a reasonable estimate to assume one small apple per person)

-Four tablespoons natural peanut butter (can use more or less depending on your affinity for peanut butter)

-Any other desired toppings (I used cinnamon and a trail mix from Trader Joe’s, but you could also use raisins, pecans, walnuts, M&M’s, chocolate chips, granola, Nutella, caramel sauce, pumpkin spice… you get the picture)

1. Slice your apples. You can use an apple slicer, but since I don’t have one, I just sliced the apples thinly.

2. Layer and arrange the apple slices on a platter.

3. Drizzle your natural peanut butter over the apples. I found natural peanut butter to be the best option because it’s already runny and all I had to do was stir it a little to mix in the oil. However, if you have regular peanut butter on hand and prefer using that, you can just melt the PB in the microwave. Start with one minute and then use 30 second increments.

4. Sprinkle your toppings over your abstract apple work of peanut butter art. Pause and sneak a handful- no one’s looking. Continue to layer the toppings until you’re satisfied with your masterpiece.

What else would you add to apple nachos? Any tips on what the best apple variety to use? Am I the only person in Chicago who doesn’t leave her house without peanut butter?