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French Toast

Bread, eggs, and milk fried in butter. The cheapest breakfast that still feels like one.

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SERVES 4 420 CAL / SERVING 5 min PREP 15 min COOK $3.92 TOTAL
OVERDRAFT KITCHEN
★ ITEMIZED GROCERY RECEIPT ★
French Toast
SERVES 4 · OTTAWA · 2026
8 slices white sandwich bread, slightly stale is best $0.99
4 large eggs $1.32
250 mL milk $0.68
2 tbsp butter, for the pan $0.38
60 mL maple or table syrup, to serve $0.36
1 tbsp sugar $0.03
1 tsp vanilla extract $0.10
1 tsp ground cinnamon $0.05
1 pinch salt $0.01
SUBTOTAL$3.92
GST / HSTyou've suffered enough
TOTAL$3.92
COST PER SERVING
$0.98
— — — TEAR HERE — — —
8 06420 00392 6
THANK YOU FOR SPENDING LESS
THE METHOD
1

Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a wide shallow bowl until fully combined.

2

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and melt a knob of the butter.

3

Dip a slice of bread into the egg mixture, letting it soak 5–10 seconds per side. Don't oversoak or it falls apart.

4

Lay the bread in the pan and cook 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown.

5

Wipe and re-butter the pan as needed and repeat with the remaining bread.

6

Serve hot with syrup.

When the math doesn't work

Stale or day-old bread soaks up the egg better and is often marked down — buy the discount rack loaf for this.

  • No vanilla? Skip it. A little extra cinnamon covers for it.
  • Table syrup (No Name) is a fraction of the cost of real maple syrup and works fine here. A sprinkle of sugar also does the job.
  • Scale the egg mixture, not the bread: 1 egg plus 60 mL milk soaks about 2 slices.
Nutrition Per Serving
420 Calories
14g Protein
58g Carbs
14g Fat
2g Fiber
430mg Sodium
~15% DV Iron~12% DV Calcium

Estimated values per serving.

Gluten-Free

This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.

  • Replace white sandwich bread with gluten-free sandwich bread (GF bread runs about $5–6/loaf and adds roughly $3 to the dish)

Eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon are all naturally gluten-free. Only the bread needs swapping.

Pricing updated June 2026 using Ottawa Walmart and Ottawa No Frills averages. Prices verified June 2026. Great Value white bread $2.48/loaf (~20 slices, 8 = $0.99). Eggs $0.33 each. Milk $1.50/L. Butter $1.36/100g. Table syrup and spices estimated.