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Author of The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living
and Have Yourself a Thrifty Little Christmas
Looking for a way to save money on your grocery bill? Looking for a quick supper to feed your family when you’re in a rush? Looking for something cozy and comforting to eat? Look no further than breakfast for dinner.
How breakfast for dinner saves money
Breakfast is often the most frugal meal of the day for many of us. Think about common breakfast foods – yogurt and fruit, scrambled eggs and toast, oatmeal, pancakes….you see what I mean? None of these things cost a ton of money, but they’re quick to put together (which means you won’t be tempted to go out and grab a pizza), and they’re satisfying.
Breakfasts are often heavy on grains and eggs, which, even in these days of inflation, are some of the thriftiest eats around. Really, the price of breakfast for dinner depends on you – your choices, your protein options, and the ratio of ingredients. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. That’s why the suggestions below, for the most part, are not recipes but ideas. You can make them fit your supplies and your budget.
Breakfast for dinner is cozy and satisfying.
A lot of folks, myself included, find breakfast to be the ultimate comfort food. I love sitting down to a big stack of pancakes with butter and maple syrup or a savory plate of eggs and potatoes. In a world where we’re often in a rush, sometimes we only have breakfast food on the weekend, so that in itself makes breakfast for dinner feel like a decadent treat, even with humble ingredients.
If you spin it right, you can easily get your kids on board with this. I used to let my girls get into their PJs early and eat breakfast for dinner in front of the television. This gives breakfast for dinner a celebratory air while costing very little. As with any thrifty thing, it’s all about the presentation.
Sometimes it’s not about the presentation – it’s just about quickly and inexpensively getting yourself fed after a long day. These are the moments you grab a bowl of cereal or you butter some toast and call it a day.
Whatever the reason, whatever the presentation method, breakfast for dinner offers a simple and inexpensive option for your menu.
50 Thrifty Breakfast for Dinner Ideas
Here are some tasty foods you can serve when you’re having breakfast for dinner. Choose one or more of the following.
- Scrambled eggs
- Toast with butter
- Biscuits and gravy
- Fried potatoes
- Cereal with milk
- Oatmeal
- Yogurt with fruit
- Huevos rancheros (basically eggs with salsa and beans)
- Pancakes
- Omelets
- Breakfast pizza
- Waffles
- Breakfast burritos
- Grits
- Rice porridge with brown sugar and cinnamon
- Cornbread with butter and syrup
- Breakfast sandwiches
- Toast with peanut butter and jelly
- Smoothies
- Breakfast skillets with eggs, potatoes, and veggies
- Chilaquiles and eggs
- Frittatas
- Breakfast bowls with fruit, a thick smoothie, and granola
- English muffin with hummus
- Egg in a hole
- Bagel with cream cheese
- Toast with banana and peanut butter
- Cottage cheese and fruit
- Homemade granola
- Cream of wheat
- Banana bread
- Homemade hash skillet
- Pancake and sausage roll-ups
- Kolaches made with crescent roll dough
- Savory crepes
- French toast
- Beans on toast
- Breakfast cookies
- Muffins and fruit
- Apple sauce and graham crackers
- Homemade granola bars and canned fruit
- Zucchini bread
- Potato pancakes
- Breakfast stir fry (small amount of sausage, ham, or bacon, cooked with veggies and eggs, and served over rice)
- Sheet pan eggs
- Cinnamon rolls topped with crumbled bacon
- Breakfast quesadillas
- Greek yogurt with honey
- Loaded breakfast potatoes
- Shakshuka
What are your favorite breakfast-for-dinner ideas?
Are you with us on #TeamBreakfastforDinner, or is it not your thing? Do you have other thrifty breakfast ideas to add to the list? Let’s talk about breakfast for dinner in the comments.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
7 thoughts on “The Budgetary Benefits of Breakfast for Dinner (and 50 Thrifty Ideas)”
I love breakfast foods.
I m with you on the comfort factor with any meal.
Two if my favorites are left over warmed up rice with warm milk n cinnamon or maple brown sugar.
My absolute favorite breakfast sammy is a BLT with a fried egg.
Great suggestions n options in this article. I never think to do breakfast burritos. Thanks so much!!
This brings back such good memories. When the kid was young, we did this once a week, put on our p.j.’s, turned off the phone and t.v. and had family game night. I’d forgotten about this. Going to start up again. Thanks.
lol.. older kiddo told us the other day that when the kiddos were younger, they thought breakfast for supper was a big deal. Now they realize it is a quick, easy, filling, and budget friendly dinner.
Even farmers’ wives make breakfast for supper.
always Organic oatmeal with banana, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, spoon of virgin olive oil, cinnamon, spoon of organic brown sugar
We had some leftover grits in the refrigerator, and my husband fried them with chopped jalapenos and cheese. They were so good (and a really cheap main course) that I’ve been trying to get him to cook extra grits every time so we can have some ready to go.
Pancakes made with real blueberries…
Breakfast Strata made with ham, green pepper, onion, dried bread cubes, and topped with cheese. I make a 9×9 (greased) with 2 C bread cubes, add your meat and vegetables, then pour over a mixture of 4 eggs, and 1 1/3 cups milk, or half & half, evaporated milk or whatever mixture you like. Add 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard and 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt when beating the eggs. Sprinkle cheese on top. Leave in fridge for 6-8 hours. To cook bake covered 45 min at 350* then remove cover for another 15 minutes. Strata is done when you shake a bit and it appears firm. Use whatever meat and vegetables you like. It’s a great dish to make however you choose.
We get breakfast the next morning with the leftovers.