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Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Rolled oats cooked in milk with peanut butter and brown sugar. The cheapest filling breakfast on this site.

vegetarianbreakfastoatspeanut-buttervery-low-costfast
SERVES 4 531 CAL / SERVING 2 min PREP 10 min COOK $4.48 TOTAL
OVERDRAFT KITCHEN
★ ITEMIZED GROCERY RECEIPT ★
Peanut Butter Oatmeal
SERVES 4 · OTTAWA · 2026
300 g (3 cups) large-flake or quick rolled oats $0.83
1 L 2% milk (or water for lower cost) $2.70
4 tbsp peanut butter $0.30
4 tbsp brown sugar or white sugar $0.15
1 tsp cinnamon $0.05
0.5 tsp salt $0.02
optional banana, sliced (1 per 2 servings) $0.43
SUBTOTAL$4.48
GST / HSTyou've suffered enough
TOTAL$4.48
COST PER SERVING
$1.12
— — — TEAR HERE — — —
8 06420 00448 8
THANK YOU FOR SPENDING LESS
THE METHOD
1

Bring milk (or water) to a gentle simmer in a medium pot over medium heat. Do not boil.

2

Stir in oats, salt, and cinnamon.

3

Cook 4–5 minutes for large-flake oats (2–3 minutes for quick oats), stirring frequently, until thickened to your preference.

4

Remove from heat.

5

Divide into bowls. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

6

Add sliced banana if using. Serve immediately.

When the math doesn't work

Buy oats in the largest container available — per-kilogram cost drops significantly.

  • Cooking with water instead of milk reduces the cost to approximately $0.45 per serving and removes about 120 calories.
  • Any nut butter works in place of peanut butter. Sunflower seed butter is a good allergy-safe alternative.
  • This recipe works for any meal, not just breakfast.
Nutrition Per Serving
531 Calories
19g Protein
72g Carbs
18g Fat
7g Fiber
340mg Sodium
~15% DV Iron~25% DV Calcium

Estimated values per serving.

Gluten-Free

This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.

  • Replace regular rolled oats with certified gluten-free rolled oats (GF oats are slightly more expensive — typically $5–$7 for 900 g)

Oats are naturally gluten-free but are often processed in facilities that handle wheat. Only certified GF oats are safe for celiac disease.

Pricing updated June 2026 using Ottawa No Frills and Ottawa Walmart averages. Prices verified at Ottawa No Frills, June 2026. Oats estimated from 1.8 kg container at store-brand price. Milk $0.15/100mL (4L jug $5.98), 1L = $1.50. Peanut butter estimated from 1kg store-brand jar.