Dorm Style Breakfast Ideas
Start your day off right with these simple and cheap breakfast recipes that can be made inside a dorm
What’s cookin, dorm room chefs?
Welcome back to another week of “Deliciously Inexpensive Dorm Dish Discoveries.” In this post, we will be diving into a group of foods rather than just a singular meal! This type of food isn’t my favorite, but it’s considered to be one of the most important meals of the day. Can you guess what it is? I’ll give you one more hint: when you eat this food at the right time, it can boost your brainpower. So, without further ado…. drum roll please… I welcome you to a post where I discuss the best recipes and tricks on how to prepare BREAKFAST in a dorm!
As I’m sure you all have discovered from previous posts, trying to find ways to cook fancy meals inside a dorm can be tricky and requires some creativity, but it is not impossible. I have never been a huge fan of breakfast foods but being a busy college student has changed my thinking about this important meal of the day. I usually don’t have time to grab lunch, so eating breakfast has saved many professors and students from seeing my hangry side (it’s not pretty). On the mornings when I have an 8 a.m. class, a bowl of fruit or yogurt usually does the trick, but I want to introduce everyone to the types of breakfast foods we don’t always get to eat. I don’t know about you, but I miss the summer mornings where I wake up smelling sizzling bacon and fluffy pancakes on the stove. I’m still figuring out a way to convince my roommate that she should cook this so I can wake up to the smell in my dorm, but for now, here are some tips on how to do it yourself.
Most people believe that breakfast foods are hard to prepare without a stove because things like bacon and sausage require extra heat, but there are easy ways around this. If you have a microwave, press iron, or a portable skillet (only the brave dorm residents use these), you can have a morning feast in no time.
Most college students munch on cereal and call it a breakfast, but in this post, I will be showing you how to make omelets, waffles, and breakfast burritos! If you’ve been following along, you’ll notice that these recipes incorporate previous ingredients. I try my best to reuse ingredients because it saves on the cost of groceries and cuts down on the clutter of food inside my dorm. I decided to incorporate eggs into two of my recipes because they are considered to be a breakfast staple. Don’t believe me? According to Food Network, eggs are the most popular breakfast food based on a survey where 65% of Americans rated eggs as their favorite morning meal.
Waffle Iron Omelete “Eggles”
Everyone seemed to enjoy the miniature waffle maker in my last post, so I decided to bring it back for another appearance in my recipes. If you thought quesadillas in a waffle maker were clever, wait until you see what it can do with an egg.
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1. 1 egg
Price: $1.51
Price: $2.20
3. Crumbled Sausage (Quick tip: Cooking sausage in a dorm can be a hassle and the microwaved version isn’t that great, so try finding sausage inside the campus cafeteria or order a sandwich with sausage and crumble it up for the ingredients in your breakfast. I’ve learned this tip from experience because I ordered a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel and forgot about it, so I used the sausage and ditched the soggy bagel bread.)
Price: $1.07
4. Salsa
Price: $1.98
Instructions:
1. Break egg inside a bowl and stir until everything is properly mixed
2. Add additional toppings that you typically enjoy inside your omelet
3. Heat waffle maker until the red light appears
4. Slowly pour mixed egg and toppings onto the waffle iron plate
5. Close the waffle maker and wait until the omelet begins to rise
6. Optional: Open waffle maker after the omelet is finished, add cheese to the top, and close waffle maker for melted cheese on top
Step-by-step Tutorial
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Dormified Omelet Waffle
If you’re a fan of hearty meals that fill you up, this is the dorm room breakfast for you. I never thought it would be possible to enjoy an omelet in a dorm, but here we are. I made these for my roommate and some friends that live in my building over the weekend, and everyone really enjoyed them. Not only is this meal perfect for a quick morning breakfast, but it’s an easy crowd-pleaser that you can make for your friends and family. This is the version I chose to make for myself, but you can customize the toppings to suit your preferences. As always, don’t be afraid to use your imagination. Cooking is not meant to be difficult and can bring people together when you step out of the box. The best thing about the mini “eggles” is that they’re surprisingly cheap at a price of $7 or less for up to a dozen omelets. All in all, I think these waffle omelets are a 10 out of 10 in my book.
Waffles
Cook time: 10 minutes or less
Ingredients:
1. Waffle Mix (This mix is super cheap and saves you from buying unnecessary ingredients such as flour and sugar. To top it off, all you need to do is add water and your pancake or waffle batter is complete.)
Price: $1.68
2. Cream Cheese
Price: $0.80
3. Cinnamon (I like the taste of a cinnamon and cream cheese combo because it reminds me of a Cinnabon Delight, but this ingredient is completely optional. If you really wanted to get creative with it, you could crush up Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for a creative topping.)
Price: $1.18
Instructions:
1. Create waffle batter by adding water to the desired amount of waffle mix
2. Heat waffle iron until the red light appears
3. Pour waffle batter into the waffle maker
4. Remove from waffle maker after it begins to look golden brown and crisp
5. Add desired toppings to the finished waffle
Dormified Miniature Waffles
Believe it or not, the purpose of the waffle maker isn’t just for Mexican food and eggs. Who would’ve imagined? This recipe is something I have tried in the past, but I continue to make them. It’s simple to make and would taste good without the additional toppings added. The batter linked above is a MUST HAVE for dorm room chefs like me because buying baking products for a place with no oven is a complete waste of money. I would say my version of this waffle is a spin on a Cinnabon with cream cheese icing, and I would give it a 7 out of 10. It’s a great dorm room hack, but it’s not my favorite.
Breakfast Burritos
Cook Time: 10 minutes or less
Ingredients:
1. 1-2 eggs
Price: $1.51
2. Tortillas
Price: $1.76
Price: $1.38
Price: $2.20
5. Taco Bell’s Spicy Ranchero Sauce
Price: $1.50
6. Salsa
Price: $1.98
7. Salsa Con Queso Cheese (For my cheese lovers out there: this a great addition but completely optional)
Price: $2.68
Instructions:
1. Start by cracking 1 or 2 eggs into a mug or small microwave-safe bowl
2. Stir until everything is mixed
3. Add peppers and cheese into the scrambled egg mixture
4. Microwave egg mixture in 30 sec. intervals and stir after each interval
5. Prepare tortillas by heating them in the microwave for 15 secs. (optional)
6. Smear the queso and sauce onto a tortilla and add eggs or additional toppings
7. Fold tortilla into a burrito or fold them into a taco shape
Dormified Breakfast Burrito
I wanted to save the best for last because this recipe will be sure to change your opinion on breakfast. I have never been one to enjoy morning foods, but I would eat this every day if I could. You might think this recipe is more extensive and requires more ingredients, but you could achieve this burrito with cheese, eggs, and tortillas or you could simply just scramble some eggs in the microwave. I like to splurge and go all out on my dorm room dishes for you guys, but don’t be fooled by the pictures. Truthfully, I usually simplify these recipes because cooking can be a chore. The reality behind dorm room cooking is that it’s not always about adding a bunch of flavors and creating a restaurant masterpiece. Sometimes we crave a simple snack that will hold us over while we study for a stressful exam, and these breakfast burritos could become that brain food snack for you. Just because you add eggs and call it a breakfast burrito doesn’t mean it needs to be eaten in the morning. Overall, I would rate these burritos a 10 out of 10. I can’t wait to cook these for my friends and roommate!
Well folks, that’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed these breakfast recipes and try them out for yourself! For all my sweet tooth viewers out there, next week will surely win you over. Thanks for reading,
Brianna (your amateur dorm room chef)
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Here is some fun trivia to discuss in the comments below: Do you know why chef hats have 100 folds? I’ll give you a hint. It has something to do with one of the breakfast foods I mentioned in this post.
Hi Brianna. Thank you for this post, I had no idea you can make so many interesting breakfast foods in your dorm. My favorite is the breakfast burrito; I wish I knew that recipe when I was still living in a dorm!
Hi Brianna! I honestly have no idea why chef hats have 100 folds. Great post! I love breakfast foods! Reading this post made me hungry. I really like that you reused ingredients from previous recipes. It saves money, and I won't have to find places to store a bunch of leftover ingredients.