My son and I watched a video about 15 popular foods during the Great Depression. That led us down the rabbit hole of social media surfing for Great Depression era recipes. We found and watched quite a few!

One of the videos we watched showcased an old fashioned peanut butter bread. As soon as my son saw the peanut butter bread spread with jelly, he wanted to try it!  So, I searched did an online recipe search and found a Peanut Butter Quick Bread that looked worth trying. It is a hearty bread, made with a combination of all purpose flour, oatmeal, ample sugar, and of course peanut butter! It almost has the flavor of a nice Peanut Butter cookie. You can find the original recipe here: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bread – Spaceships and Laser Beams

An Unexpected Math Lesson

As I made the recipe, I thought, “These ingredients aren’t cheap. Let’s turn this into a math lesson.” So, we calculated the costs, and it turns out that this bread cost us $5.73 to produce. I have to admit, it tasted pretty good, but maybe that had more to do with the full cup of sugar in it! We sliced it fresh from the oven, and it was soft, almost like banana bread. The combination of warm peanut butter dispersed through fluffy bread was a mouth-watering winner, especially when spread with grape jam. Although it held up for a couple of days, it’s best served warm, fresh from the oven. As it sat at room temperature over the days, the texture became drier. While it was yummy, if we have another Great Depression, we’re going to be eating a little cheaper than this. I believe that adding oatmeal to the bread provided a nice heartiness, fiber, and improved nutritional value, but it did increase the cost by $1.13 for this loaf.

If we were truly facing tougher times, I would be more inclined to opt for something with minimal ingredients, like the recipe in the following video: 1932 Peanut Butter Bread Recipe – (YouTube Video). In this video, Glen and Friends Cooking offers a 6-ingredient peanut butter bread recipe, which is more economical due to its simpler ingredient list. This depression era peanut butter bread only requires 2 cups of flour (instead of the oatmeal flour mixture in the first recipe) and scant amount of other ingredients such as a 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter, making it the more affordable choice. If you like old recipes like this one from Glen and Friends Cooking, be sure to tune into their YouTube show on Sundays when they showcase recipes from Old Cookbooks.

With the current rise in grocery prices, we are already having to cut back. One of the ways we keep costs within budget while still choosing healthy options is through price comparison shopping between Thrive Market and Azure Standard. What are some ways you’ve made your favorite recipes more cost-effective? Share your favorite frugal recipes in the comments below!

Update: New and Improved Recipe with Free Lesson Plan!

I experimented with a more authentic Peanut Butter Bread. Be sure to check out the article Great Depression Peanut Butter Bread Recipe & FREE History Lesson Plan which includes an easy recipe, printable recipe card, and free history lesson plan perfect for co-ops, homeschool, or summer learning.

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