The Frugal Breakfast Amish Communities Made During The Great Depression

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If you like coffee smoothies because they combine your caffeine and breakfast in one go, consider another recipe: coffee soup. Sometimes called wet toast, this recipe was created by the Amish during the Great Depression as a cheap and filling breakfast made with readily available ingredients. Although the Great Depression was almost a century ago, the Amish still eat this dish today.

Coffee soup is exactly what it sounds like — hot soup with coffee as the liquid base. This is poured over stale bread torn into small pieces. Milk, cream, butter, or sugar are added, if available. The hot coffee softens the old bread and makes it easier to eat, almost like a bread pudding with more liquid. Some variations of the recipe use saltine crackers instead.

While the Amish are known for their resourcefulness, independence, and agricultural livelihood, they weren't immune to the effects of the Great Depression. According to the Lancaster Land Trust, they fared better than others during this time period but still had to closely monitor their food consumption and spending. That's why coffee soup made sense: It ensured old bread was used up, and it provided a warm meal that was also sweet and strong.

Compared to other Depression-era dinners like peanut butter and mayo sandwiches, it's easy to see the appeal of coffee soup. The dish has even made its way into mainstream media, with curious home cooks testing it out online.

To test out this dish and use up some leftover bread, start with strongly brewed coffee. In keeping with the theme of reducing food waste, try using the morning's leftover coffee straight from the pot. Tear up a few slightly stale slices and put them in a bowl. You could upgrade this to sourdough or brioche, but whatever you have on hand will suffice. Pour the hot coffee over the bread. From there, you can add classic toppings like milk and sugar or make it your own with additions like honey, butter, jam, chopped nuts, spices, or dried fruit.

In a 2025 YouTube Short, creator Lovina Zook (who grew up Amish) demonstrates making this soup by boiling milk in a pot and adding instant coffee, then adding sugar to taste. She pours the mixture over a bowl of saltine crackers, and her surprise topping is cottage cheese. Zook adds that she sometimes tops the dish with scrambled eggs, any type of cheese, or even meat. If you're ready to try out more Amish tips, check out their secret for keeping cookies fresh.