Breakfast is the least costly meal of the day. You can get so much more for your money. If you really were on a strict budget, eating breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner would make it so much easier to stay in your budget!
One of the cheapest things to eat for breakfast is oatmeal. It is healthy and inexpensive. You can add all kinds of fruit, dried fruit, nuts and seeds to it to change it from day to day if you wish, but oatmeal is fine just on its own. Some people like to add brown sugar or honey. There are lots of options.
Don't go to Mac Donald's for breakfast! Make your own breakfast foods for less. You can make egg McMuffins, Fried Egg and bacon biscuits, eggs and sausage on a bagel, etc. and put the sauces you like on it or add onions or peppers. It is cheaper and a better quality than you would get at a fast food restaurant. Although many breakfasts don't take long to make, if you feel like you don't have time to make breakfast in the morning then make it the night before and just microwave it in the morning.
Below are some basic breakfast items and the cost as well as several good breakfast recipes including the cost analysis and link for each. The prices are Walmart's regular prices, but YOU CAN EASILY FIND CHEAPER PRICES WITH SALES OR AT OTHER STORES. Assuming that you don't shop around or don't want to shop for sales, these are the prices.
Oatmeal: 9 cents per serving
Bacon: 25 cents
Hash browns: 21 cents using frozen; 15 cents using fresh potatoes
Sausage: 18 cents each
Cold Cereal: 11 cents and up
Oatmeal Packets: 17 Cents
Granola Bars: 16 cents and up
Homemade English Muffins: Only 4 cents each! Click on the title for the link to the recipe.
Cost analysis:
Milk: 19 cents
Sugar: 2 cents
Water: 0
Shortening: 12 cents
Flour: 42 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Total cost for the recipe: 76 cents
Servings: 18
Cost per serving: about 4 cents
You can also try this English Muffin Bread if you don't want to mess with making your own English muffins and frying them.
Toast: Cheapest Homemade No Knead Artisan Bread
This is one of the cheapest breads I have made and it tastes great. It is so easy. It makes you feel like a real baker even if you don't know the first thing about bread. I have used this recipe over and over because it is a family favorite. The only problem is that it won't last long. Once you take a bite, it is hard to stop!
Flour: 21 cents
Water: 0
Yeast: 6 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Total Cost for the Recipe: 28 cents
Servings: 8 large slices
Cost Per Serving: 3 1/2 cents each
Pancakes:
I got this recipe from an extended family member. I have no idea what the origin is. It could even be from a Betty Crocker cookbook for all I know.
1 cup flour: 7 cents
1 Tablespoon Sugar: 1 cent
1 teaspoon baking powder: 3 cents
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: 1 cent
1/2 teaspoon salt: 1 cent
1 cup buttermilk: (substitute w/milk with a little bit of vinegar added) B:43 cents, M+V: 19 cents
2 Tablespoons oil: 4 cents
1 egg: 11 cents
Total Cost for the Recipe: 47 cents
Servings: 6
Cost per serving: 8 cents
Mix all ingredients together. Put a little bit of oil on a griddle or frying pan. Heat pan on medium heat. Drop 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the dough into the pan for each pancake and cook until brown on the bottom. Flip pancake over and cook until it is brown on the other side.
Breakfast Sliders
These are so easy. I make my own bread/rolls for these so I can make them small and cute, but you can use any rolls from the store. Slice the roll in half. Then, fry or scramble eggs. I then melt cheese over them. After that, I put some eggs on each roll and add a half slice of bacon, ham or sausage. Put the top on the roll and you have your slider. Some recipes make a dozen at once in a 9x13 pan. Because there is so much variation in size and in what you put on it, I am just going to guesstimate the average cost. You can also use hot dog buns or hamburger buns or bread or anything you have around the house! Make it yourself or buy it. This is a fun breakfast regardless of how you decide to make them.
Cost Between 15 cents and 65 cents
Deviled Eggs with Bacon
Click on the title for the link to the recipe. If you like deviled eggs, these are even better. This is a nice option to the typical eggs and bacon for breakfast. They are easy to make and don't cost too much!
Cost Analysis:
Eggs: $1.30
Bacon: 75 cents
Mayonnaise: 22 cents
Relish: 13 Cents
Onion: 8 cents
Paprika: 1 cent
Cost for the entire recipe: $2.49
Servings: 24
Cost per serving: 10.5 cents
Copycat Casey's Breakfast Pizza
The person who made this for this post said that their family really liked the breakfast pizza. They made a homemade crust instead of a store bought one to save money. Click on the title to find the recipe. Once again, if you bought things on sale, you could reduce the price by a couple of dollars.
Cost Analysis:
Pizza Crust: 53 cents (would be $1.98 if you bought it)
Cheese sauce: 43 cents
Sausage gravy: 27 cents
Eggs: 44 cents
Pork Sausage: 96 cents
Bacon: 75 cents
Mozzarella Cheese: $1.11
Cheddar Cheese: $1.11
Total Cost for the recipe: $5.60
Servings: 6
Cost per Serving: 94 cents
Soft Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
One of the other Spendwise Moms made these bars. Feedback on these bars were that they tasted good. If I was going to reduce the cost of the recipe more, I could substitute canola oil for the coconut oil. But, because of the larger number of servings, the original recipe without substitutions fits well into our budget. Click on the title to get to the recipe.
Cost Analysis:
Oats: 35 cents
Oat Flour: 12 cents
Cinnamon: 2 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Peanut butter: 29 cents
Coconut Oil: 72 cents
Honey: 57 cents
Brown Sugar: 13 cents
Vanilla: 2 cents imitation, 50 cents if real
Egg: 11 cents
Egg yolk: 11 cents
Chocolate Chips: 44 cents
Total cost for the recipe: $2.89
Servings: 12
Cost per Serving: 24 cents
Basic Muffins
This is my youngest daughter's favorite muffin recipe. It is SO easy and they taste good. They are richer because you use sour cream instead of milk and the doughy tastes almost like a coffee cake dough would. This makes about 15 muffins.
Recipe:
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces sour cream
Directions:
Beat eggs. Add sugar. Pour in oil and vanilla and mix. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream to egg mixture. Fold in 1 cup of blueberries,(blackberries, chocolate chips or just plain muffins with Streusel on top taste the best in my opinion) Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. I usually check them a couple of minutes early to see how they are doing. Place on a cooling rack to cool. Enjoy!
If you prefer to make fewer muffins, here is the recipe cut in half:
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces sour cream
Follow directions above. This will make about 7-8 muffins.
Cost Analysis using Walmart prices:
Eggs - 40 cents
Sugar - 23 cents
Oil - 16 cents
Vanilla - 2 cents ( if you use pure vanilla, the cost is 25 cents)
Salt - 1 cent
Baking soda - 1 cent
Sour cream - 84 cents
Flour - 14 cents
Total cost for the recipe: $1.81
Servings: 15
Cost per serving: 12 cent
Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal is not always a favorite breakfast food. The texture can be mushy and it turns people away from eating it. This recipe is for Baked Oatmeal. It is cheap to make and it tastes good. It almost feels like eating an oatmeal cake or cookie for breakfast.
Here is the recipe I made up:
1 1/2 cups Quick Oats (can use rolled oats if needed, but quick oats make a smoother batter):
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine, or you can try oil if you don't have either of the others
Basic Instructions:
Mix oats, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
Add egg, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Stir until well mixed together.
Add any chopped fruit, nuts or dried fruit at this time.
Place in greased square pan and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
Cool and enjoy. Can refrigerate leftovers for a couple of days or freeze to eat at a later date.
If you add the cinnamon and nutmeg, it enhances the flavor, but if you don't have it or don't like it then just skip it.
This is a good recipe to add fruit like apples and berries, nuts, or dried fruit such as raisins, Craisins, etc. Other possible additions: Caramel sauce
The cost using Walmart's regular prices:
Oats - 52 cents
Brown Sugar - 10 cents
White sugar - 6 cents
Baking Powder - 4 cents
Nutmeg - 3 cents
Cinnamon - 2 cents
Salt - 1 cent
Egg - 20 cents
Milk - 18 cents
Vanilla - imitation is 3 cents, pure is 75 cents
Butter - Margarine is 8 cents, Butter is 28 cents
Total Cost: $1.27 with imitation vanilla and margarine (add 92 cents if you use real vanilla and butter)
Recipe makes 8 servings
Cost per serving: 18 cents with imitation vanilla and margarine
27 cents with real vanilla and butter
Optional Cost of Caramel Topping if you choose to make it:
Brown sugar - 10 cents
Butter - 11 cents if using margarine, 37 cents if using butter
Water - free
These are fantastic. There is no doubt about it. They may not be as healthy as other choices, but if you want a yummy breakfast then try these.
Cost Analysis:
Flour: 20 cents
Sugar: 8 cents
Baking Powder: 8 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Butter: 75 cents or Margarine 21 cents
Chocolate Chips: $1.98
Eggs: 22 cents
Vanilla: 4 cents imitation; $1.00 real
Milk or 1/2 and 1/2: Whole milk is a good compromise for 8 cents
Powdered Sugar: 47 cents
Vanilla: 1 cent
Milk: 8 cents
Total cost for the recipe: $3.48
Servings: 12
Cost per Serving: 29 cents
Eggals
I was introduced to these last month when we had visitors. They are a bagel with an egg, ham/bacon/sausage and cheese. Needless to say, they taste good. We used bagels from Bagel Works that were discounted. It increased the cost by 7 cents, but was definitely worth it!
Bagel: 32 cents
Cheese: 19 cents
Egg: 11 cents
Bacon, Sausage or Ham: about 25 cents for any
Total cost: 87 cents
You can definitely cut the cost by skipping cheese or meat. The nice thing is that you can make it your way!
Sausage, Gravy and Biscuits
Biscuits: 5 cents each for homemade or 40 cents total; 18 cents each for refrigerated store bought
Gravy: Two at 98 cents for 15 oz.
Sausage: $2.99 for 1 pound
Cost for entire recipe: $5.35
Servings: 8
Cost per serving: 67 cents
Quiche
I think that quiche is a great thing to have when you are trying to clean out misc. vegetables that need to be used. You can also hide things in it like onions or kale or peppers if they are cut small and if you have something with a strong flavor like bacon or sausage. One of the biggest downfalls of making quiche is having to make a crust. But, I found this easy recipe that is so fast that making a crust is no problem at all. Since it uses oil instead of shortening, it isn't as messy either.
Cost Analysis:
Crust:
Flour: 7 cents
Oil: 8 cents
Water: 0
Salt: 1 cent
Total cost for crust: 16 cents
As long as you have cheese, several eggs and a little bit of milk, it doesn't matter so much what you add to the quiche. Usually the only time I make it is when I am cleaning out the fridge and have bits and pieces of meats, cheeses, and veggies that either need to be used or I am tired of them being around.
As for the cost of the recipe, I will do an easy example, although it will vary depending on what you want in your quiche or what you happen to have in the fridge.
Cheese: 1 1/2 to 2 cups $2.22
Eggs: 6 at 11 cents each or 66 cents
Meat: about $1 of whatever you choose
Veggies: About $1 of various kinds you like
Total cost for quiche including crust: $5.04
Servings: 6
Cost per Serving: 84 cents
You can reduce the cost by cutting the cheese down, skipping or reducing meat, using cheap veggies or buying things on sale.
Cinnamon Rolls or Other Sweet Rolls
There are lots of good recipes online for sweet rolls. Most will cost about the same, so I am just going to do the cost analysis on one. Click on the title to get the recipe if you are interested in making them.
Cost Analysis:
Sugar: 12 cents
Oil: 19 cents
Milk: 37 cents
Flour: 28 cents
Yeast: 23 cents
Flour: 6 cents
Baking powder: 2 cents
Baking soda: 1 cent
Salt: 1 cent
Margarine 21 cents or Butter 75 cents
Brown sugar: 30 cents
Cinnamon: 10 cents
Cardamom: 5 cents
Cream Cheese: 37 cents
Margarine 21 cents or Butter 75 cents
Milk: 3 cents
Vanilla: 2 cents imitation or 25 cents real
Powdered sugar: 41 cents
Cost for whole recipe: $2.98
Servings: 12 Large
Cost per Serving: 25 cents
Yogurt Parfait
Homemade Granola is so easy to make and doesn't cost very much. You can put exactly what you want in it as well. I will link to a frugal recipe here, but there are a lot of good ones on the internet. I leave out the almonds and cranberries and just make it without fruit or nuts sometimes. I will also add different nuts, seeds, or dried fruit if I want.
Cost Analysis:
Oats: $1.03
Salt: 1 cent
Oil: 11 cents
Honey: 85 cents
Vanilla: imitation is 7 cents or real is $1.49
Total Cost of Granola: $3.49
Servings: 10
Cost per serving: 35 cents
Yogurt: 32 cents
Total cost for a parfait: 67 cents
Toad in the Hole
My son remembered hearing about this in the movie "Bednobs and Broomsticks". When he came across this recipe, we had to try it. Everyone really liked it, kids and adults alike. Click on the title to get to the recipe. We used a polish sausage one time and three different kinds of brats another time. I used a little less than a pound because I wanted to find a cheap sausage to use.
Cost Analysis:
Flour: 11 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Pepper: 3 cents
Eggs: 33 cents
Butter: 19 cents or Margarine 6 cents
Oil: 2 cents
Sausage: $2.78
Total cost for the recipe: $3.47
Servings: 4-6
Average cost per serving: 70 cents
Breakfast Burritos or Breakfast Quesadillas
These are easy to make. All you need is tortillas, eggs, cheese and meat. You can also add veggies if you want.
Cost Analysis:
Tortillas: $1.63
Eggs: $1.10
Meat of your choice: $2.50
Cheese of your choice: $2.22
Total Cost: $9.09
Servings: 10
Cost per Serving: 91 cents
French Toast Sticks
These were a hit. I would definitely try them if you have little kiddos. They are a good size for them. Click on the title to get to the recipe.
Cost Analysis:
Texas Toast: $1.41
Eggs: 44 cents
Cream: $1.17 or use Half and Half for 74 cents
Cinnamon: 8 cents
Sugar: 2 cents
Vanilla: 7 cents imitation or $1.49 real
Total cost for the recipe: $2.76
Servings: 6
Cost per Serving: 46 Cents
Homemade Buttermilk Syrup and Waffles
The family member who offered to make this syrup said that it was so good they would never buy store bought syrup again. I am definitely going to try this next time we have company. There are waffle recipes on the internet, but I am just going to make this easy and use frozen waffles for my cost analysis. Click on the title for link to the recipe.
Syrup:
Brown Sugar: 10 cents
Sugar: 17 cents
Butter or Margarine: 75 cents for real or 21 cents for margarine
Salt: 1 cent
Buttermilk: 11 cents
Baking Soda: 1 cent
Vanilla: 50 cents for real or 2 cents for imitation
Cost for Syrup Recipe: 63 with margarine and imitation vanilla; 1.65 with butter and real vanilla
Servings: 6-8
Cost per Serving using the average of 7: 9 cents with margarine and 24 cents with butter
Waffle: 13 cents
Total cost with waffle: 22 cents with margarine and 37 cents with butter
Chorizo Breakfast Tacos
The feedback I got from this recipe was that it was a hit with adults, but not so much with kids. Click on the title to get to the recipe.
Cost Analysis:
Chorizo: 52 cents
Eggs: 77 cents
Water: 0
Salt: 1 cent
Pepper: 3 cents
Corn Tortillas: 38 cents
Pepper Jack Cheese: 28 cents
Avocado: 20 cents
Pico De Gallo: 90 cents
Total cost for the recipe: $3.09
Servings: 4
Cost per Serving: 78 cents
Banana Bread French Toast
The family member who made this said it was fantastic. There is a restaurant here in town where I first learned about banana bread french toast. I had never thought of branching out like that before, but it was really good. The link to the recipe can be found by clicking on the title.
Cost Analysis:
Eggs: 22 cents
Half and Half: 37 cents
Brown Sugar: 15 cents
Cinnamon: 1 cent
Nutmeg: 7 cents
Salt: 1 cent
Butter: 38 cents for butter or 11 cents for margarine
Banana Bread: $1.66
Additional Bananas: 46 cents (these really could be optional if you want to save $)
Lemon juice: 17 cents
Walnuts: 34 cents (these could also be optional if you want to save $)
Total cost for the recipe including the cost of the banana bread: $3.57
Servings: 4
Cost per Serving: 90 cents
I must say that I didn't think this recipe would fit in the budget after I saw all of the ingredients and then had to add the banana bread ingredients as well. But, I didn't have to cut anything out, including the bananas and walnuts to put on top at the end. It would only be 65 cents per serving if you eliminated them.
Cost Breakdown for the Banana Bread for the French Toast
Sugar: 23 cents
Oil: 16 cents
Bananas: 69 cents
Sour Cream: 42 cents
Vanilla: 3 cents for imitation or 50 cents for real vanilla
Flour: 11 cents
Baking Soda: 1 cent
Salt: 1 cent
Cost for Banana Bread: $1.66
It is amazing how many breakfast recipes you can easily make for under a dollar. I didn't have to do a lot of tweaking with these recipes because the majority of them already fit into the budget. If you want to eat lots of good food and stay in a tight budget, try eating breakfast all day. There are a lot of choices out there. Why would I want to go out to eat when I have so many choices to make that cost so little.
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