Breakfast is the easiest meal to make cheap without making it sad. These staples cost pennies per serving and keep you full long enough to skip the mid-morning vending machine.
1. Steel Cut Oats
Steel-cut oats cook into a big, hearty pot for cents a serving and reheat all week. Make a batch on Sunday and loosen it back up with a splash of milk each morning.
2. Complete Pancake Mix
A box of complete pancake mix puts breakfast on the table in five minutes since it needs only water. That makes weekend pancakes possible even when you’re out of eggs and milk.
3. Natural Peanut Butter
Natural peanut butter is cheap, shelf-stable protein that keeps for weeks. It separates, so stir it once and store the jar upside down; it’s great on toast, stirred into oats, or with a banana.
4. Instant Grits
Instant grits cook in minutes and make a warm, filling base for either sweet or savory mornings. Go savory with a little cheese and black pepper, or sweet with butter and a touch of sugar.
5. Whole Grain Cereal Family Size
Family-size cereal boxes drop the per-bowl cost considerably for busy mornings. Look for one with whole grain as the first ingredient so it actually keeps you full past 10 a.m.
Mix and match a couple of these and you’ve got a week of breakfasts for the price of a single coffee-shop pastry.
As an Amazon Associate, EveryDayDealHQ earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publishing and are subject to change.