When money is particularly tight—or you can’t find meat thanks to COVID-19 panic shopping—eggs are a great and cheap protein source. Cheap egg dishes fill up your family and get you through the hard times. You can feed a family of four easily for under $2 by serving eggs as your main source of protein.
I recently read an article about what you can and can’t freeze over on Passionate Penny Pincher that surprised me. Apparently, you can freeze eggs. I have never frozen uncooked eggs before and you can be sure I’ll try her advice if eggs are getting ready to go bad. I rarely have that problem as we eat our eggs up or scramble them and feed to the doggies. However, you never know when you might need this tip.
The post got me to thinking about all the different ways you can use eggs and what a great and cheap protein source they are. In these uncertain times, when meat is hard to find on grocery store shelves, you might have access to eggs from your own chickens or from a local farmer. Eggs are cheap and easy to find for the most part. With that in mind, here are some ways to mix things up so you aren’t eating scrambled eggs for every meal.
Cheap Egg Dishes Recipes
Some of our favorite recipes using eggs, include:
- Breakfast casserole – add whatever you like in your eggs, such as veggies and sausage and a bit of cheese.
- Scrambled eggs and toast – I add heavy whipping cream to make the eggs fluffy.
- Fried rice – I add two eggs to my fried rice to up the protein. You can also use riced cauliflower for a healthier dish.
- French toast – dip bread into cinnamon seasoned eggs and fry them up in a pan.
- Breakfast sandwiches – who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?
- Egg sandwiches – fry up that egg and put it on bread with some cheese. Ooey, gooey and yum.
- Hard boiled eggs – great for snacks or in a chef salad. I’ve not had trouble finding lunch meat, so a chef salad is a great meal alternative right now.
These are just a few ways you can eat eggs so you don’t get tired of them. Some of our favorite recipes from around the Internet are listed below:
Best Cheap Egg Dish Recipes
I searched online for some truly amazing cheap egg dish recipes. I get tired of eating the same thing sometimes and this lets you mix it up. Eggs take on the taste of what you add to them. Here are my favorites that I’ve found:
Cloud Eggs
Food Network shows how to make cloud eggs in this video. This is impressive enough for a fancy brunch and helps mix things up for those tired of eating eggs.
Keto Pizza
The Diet Doctor shows a healthier option for pizza crust. You most likely have all these ingredients on hand. If pepperoni is hard to find, just top with what you have in your pantry, such as canned mushrooms, black olives, etc.
Skillet Baked Eggs with Spinach
At first glance, this dish looks kind of disgusting, but the photos don’t do it justice. The eggs take on the flavors in the meal and make this cheap egg dish recipe one of the most outstanding I’ve ever tried. You simply have to whip this up for dinner one night. If you’re a spinach lover, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Should You Get Some Chickens?
The other day, my husband commented that we should get some chickens. I have to admit the idea is tempting. To have your own source for eggs sounds like a pretty good idea right now. I think we’re all looking for ways to be more sustainable on our own after seeing empty grocery store shelves for the first time in our lives.
However, I have to ask myself if the dream of fresh chicken eggs really is realistic for me. First, I know nothing about chickens. Second, I hear they tear up your yard. We have coyotes and I worry the chicks would attract them. I don’t even know how to collect chicken eggs (I’m sure I could learn). Then, there is the whole situation of what do you feed them and how do you care for them and the costs involved.
In the end, eggs are super cheap to buy (even fresh ones from a local farmer). It’s probably smarter to not have chickens other than for controlling what you feed them and knowing they are high quality eggs. I am not a farmer and I could never, ever kill one to eat it. So, they would live out their lives as my little pets, providing eggs here and there.
Part of me longs to get a few acres and have farm animals such as chickens and a dairy cow. The other part of me realizes that isn’t very realistic at my age. It’s a lot to take care of and this season of not knowing what food will be there when will pass. We will go back to the world where we walk into a store and find exactly what we need and even what we don’t need. It may take time, but the ravages of COVID-19 will pass and life will return to normal. Until then, I’ll keep getting my eggs from the store and admiring other people’s chickens from afar.
