5 Cheap Breakfast Dishes That Should Never Cost More Than $10

Restaurant brunch is a particular pleasure—who doesn’t love mimosas and mingling? But from a spending standpoint, it’s a pretty bad deal when the average cost of brunch in New York City is $70 for two at mid-range restaurant. Many of the most popular dishes on any given menu can be assembled for just pennies in your own kitchen, with groceries you already have on hand. Save your precious cash to splurge on specials that are better off with a chef’s touch (like a smoked salmon tartine or braised short rib breakfast tacos), and make these fivecheap breakfast dishes for yourself at home.

• One jar of tomato sauce: $3
• Half a dozen eggs: $2
• Cheese, herbs, and other toppings: $0.50 or so
• Two slices of toast: $0.50
• Approximate price of shakshuka: $6

Check your pantry. You’ve got tomato sauce, right? And I know you have eggs in the fridge, so consider your one-pan breakfast a done deal. Just heat marinara sauce in a skillet, dress it up with herbs, crack in a few eggs, and bake. Maximum flavor, minimal mess. Sopping up extra sauce with bread even cuts down on cleanup. You have no excuse not to make shakshuka at home.

• One slice of bread: $0.25
• One avocado: $1
• Salt, pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other toppings: $0.50
• Approximate price of avocado toast: $2

You could make (and Instagram) avocado toast for a whole army in the time it takes to walk, drive, bike, bus, or ride the subway to a trendy brunch spot. Once you’ve been seated and served (finally!), you get to be annoyed all over again because there’s just a stingy swipe of avocado on a slice of bread. Swing around to the corner store and buy a bag full of avocados for the price of one mushy green restaurant toast. You’ll find a way to use them up.

A dozen eggs: $4
Approximate price of any egg dish: $7 at most

You like to order your eggs scrambled, fried, over easy—whatever fries your bacon. Too many people fall for the $15 breakfast plate of two eggs your way, one or two measly pieces of breakfast meat and a slice of toast. You’re a human with two hands. Plopping eggs in a pan is almost a basic instinct, and having someone cook eggs for you is a luxury you just can’t afford on a budget (unless they’re poached, which is only acceptable because perfecting that technique is hard AF).

3 medium oranges for freshly squeezed juice: $2.50
Half a glass of bubbles: $1.50
Approximate price of one mimosa: $4

A fancy-ass Champagne bottle, designed with a 19-carat diamond and a 18-carat white gold logo, was recently sold for $1.8 million. All that moolah could grant you a lifetime supply of mimosas. Grab a $10 bottle of Prosecco, Cava, or some other inexpensive sparkling wine (I’m not above André), juice a few oranges, and toast to bottomless booze and a fat wallet.

1 single-serving yogurt carton: $1.50
½ cup granola: $1
Fresh fruit: $1.50
Approximate price of a yogurt parfait: $4 (but honestly, probably less)

Unless the restaurant is putting a little extra effort into sourcing excellent yogurt, you’re spending too much for a breakfast that could come straight off the shelves of your local grocery store. At home, you’re free to choose whichever fruit you like—melon, berries, kiwi, pomegranate—without paying a few bucks more for a drizzle of honey. Better yet, you can make your breakfast Pinterest-worthy by freezing a batch of yogurt popsicles.