20 Cheap Breakfast Ideas Under $1 a Serving

Breakfast has a reputation for being the cheapest meal of the day, and it earns that reputation only if you skip the drive-thru. A sausage biscuit and a coffee runs you five or six bucks before you've even sat down. Do that five mornings a week and you've spent well over a hundred dollars a month on food you could make at home for pocket change.

Here's the good news. Almost every breakfast worth eating can be built for under a dollar a serving if you buy the base ingredients and portion them yourself. Below are twenty that clear that bar with room to spare. The per-serving figures assume everyday grocery prices, not sale prices, so you'll likely do even better.

1. Oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar

A big canister of rolled oats runs about $4 and gives you roughly 30 servings. Add a pinch of cinnamon and a teaspoon of brown sugar and you're eating a warm, filling bowl for about $0.20 a serving. This is the workhorse of cheap breakfasts.

2. Scrambled eggs on toast

Two eggs and a slice of bread. Even with eggs running higher than they used to, this lands around $0.55 a serving. Protein, carbs, and it takes four minutes.

3. Peanut butter banana toast

One slice of bread, a tablespoon of peanut butter, half a banana. Filling and satisfying for about $0.40 a serving.

4. Overnight oats in a jar

Oats, milk, and a spoon of jam or frozen berries, left in the fridge overnight. Grab and go for roughly $0.45 a serving. Make five jars on Sunday and your weekday mornings are handled.

5. Homemade breakfast burritos (freezer batch)

Eggs, a little cheese, and a tortilla, wrapped and frozen. Reheat one in ninety seconds. Batch them out and each one costs about $0.80 a serving, less than a quarter of what the frozen-aisle version costs.

6. Greek yogurt with oats stirred in

Buy the big tub, not the little cups. A cup of plain yogurt with a handful of oats runs about $0.70 a serving and keeps you full for hours.

7. Banana pancakes from scratch

Flour, an egg, milk, and a mashed banana make a stack for about $0.35 a serving. The boxed mix isn't even cheaper, and this tastes better.

8. Boiled eggs and fruit

Two boiled eggs and an apple. Prep a dozen eggs at once and each breakfast is about $0.75 a serving. No cooking on the actual morning.

9. Cream of wheat

Same idea as oatmeal, different texture. A box makes a lot of bowls at roughly $0.25 a serving with a little milk and sugar.

10. Toast with cheese, broiled

A slice of bread, a slice of cheese, two minutes under the broiler. Hot and cheesy for about $0.45 a serving.

11. Yogurt and frozen berry smoothie

Frozen berries are far cheaper than fresh and just as good blended. Yogurt, frozen fruit, and a splash of milk make a smoothie for about $0.85 a serving.

12. Egg and potato hash

A diced potato fried up with an egg on top. Potatoes are one of the cheapest foods in the store, so this comes in around $0.60 a serving.

13. Bagel with peanut butter

A bag of bagels is cheap per unit. Half a bagel with peanut butter runs about $0.50 a serving and holds you until lunch.

14. Cinnamon sugar toast

Bread, a little butter, cinnamon and sugar. Old-school and about $0.20 a serving. Kids love it and so does your wallet.

15. Grits with butter

A Southern staple for a reason. A big bag of grits makes dozens of bowls at roughly $0.25 a serving.

16. Refried bean and egg tacos

A spoon of canned refried beans and a scrambled egg on a small tortilla. Cheap protein for about $0.65 a serving.

17. Homemade granola over yogurt

Bake oats with a little oil and honey once, use it all week. Granola over yogurt lands around $0.80 a serving, well under the boxed cereal it replaces.

18. Cottage cheese with fruit

Half a cup of cottage cheese and some sliced fruit. High protein for about $0.75 a serving when you buy the big container.

19. Toast with a fried egg and hot sauce

One egg, one slice of bread, a shake of hot sauce. Simple and filling for about $0.45 a serving.

20. Rice porridge (congee)

Leftover rice simmered in extra water until creamy, topped with an egg or a little soy sauce. One of the cheapest hot breakfasts on earth at roughly $0.30 a serving.

Bottom line: You don't need to spend five dollars every morning to eat a real breakfast. Stock a canister of oats, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter, and you can rotate through most of this list for under a dollar a serving without ever feeling like you're cutting corners. The drive-thru is convenience you're renting by the day. The pantry is convenience you own.

One note. Prices vary by where you shop and what your grocery store charges that week, and everyone's dietary needs are different, so treat these as starting points rather than promises.

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