Is breakfast difficult at your house? I feel ya! My kids are often hungry before I’m even fully awake. They are happy with cold cereal, but honestly, they’d get more nutrition out of the box! Not to mention that between the eight of them, they’ll eat an entire family-sized (32 -40 oz) bag of cereal and a gallon and a half of milk, and they’ll be hungry again an hour later. So we’re talking around $8 for a meal that is not filling or nutritious. That’s a problem!

Good thing I have lots of quick, easy, filling and nutritious breakfast ideas up my sleeve, and each of them is far cheaper than cold cereal. Here are 9 of them:

 

Toast and eggs

Easy and quick to make, and the eggs can be made at least 5 different ways: scrambled, fried, poached, baked and boiled.

Eggs cost under 11 cents each, and bread is less than 8 cents per slice (only 3 cents per slice if you make it yourself!) so a breakfast of two eggs and toast is only 30 cents.

 

 

 

 

Rice and milk

We often use leftover rice as ‘cold cereal’ for breakfast the next morning. I keep a sugar/cinnamon shaker in the cupboard, so the kids just fill their bowl with rice, pour milk over it, and sprinkle on cinnamon sugar.

This frugal breakfast costs around 8 cents for a half cup of milk and 5 cents for a half cup of rice, so under 15 cents total. 

 

 

 

Huevos Rancheros

A breakfast burrito is a quick, filling, and highly portable breakfast. You can make them ahead of time, wrap them in plastic and freeze them for busy mornings, too. Scramble up a skillet of eggs with a little bit of salsa. Spoon eggs down the center of a tortilla, fold shut and enjoy. These cost less than 38 cents per serving.

 

 

 

Porridge

My kids don’t appreciate porridge as much as I do.  A bowl of hot, steel-cut oats is perfect on a wintry morning.

Oats cost about 5 cents per half cup, cooked and milk is about 8 cents per half cup, so this filling breakfast is less than 15 cents total. 

 

 

 

 

Soaked Granola with Natural Sweeteners

Grains should be soaked before eating in order to improve their digestibility and make all of their nutrients available. This granola recipe uses soaked grains and natural sweeteners so you can feel good about starting your day with it!

 

 

 

 

German Pancakes

I’ve also seen these called Puff pancakes, Oven pancakes and Dutch Babies. Bake these in muffin pans and they will be popovers. Whatever you call them, they are super yummy, nutritious and cheap! Your kids will eat these up like candy, and you can feel good about serving them. This delicious breakfast costs around 30 cents per serving.

 

 

 

 

homemade muffins

These quick and easy muffins honestly only take about three minutes to whip together, and 20 minutes to bake. What a small investment of both time and money (under 20 cents per serving!) for something that will make your family feel so loved. These muffins will bless your family and your budget.

 

 

 

 

 

Pancakes

Pancakes only take a few minutes to whip together and a few minutes to fry up. You can make them countless ways, too. My dad always scattered chocolate chips over the top of each pancake before flipping them. You can serve them with butter and syrup, or get creative and serve them with different pie fillings or fruit compote. Basic pancakes only cost about 20 cents per serving.

 

 

 

Waffles with Fruit Syrup

 

Waffles topped with fruit is one of our all-time favorite meals, and we eat it for dinner as often as we eat it for breakfast. Choose your favorite fruit for variety, and dress it up for special occasions with fresh whipped cream or ice cream atop the fruit. This delicious breakfast costs about 50 cents per serving.

 

 

 

 

 

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