Easy Recipes For Dinner For Students
In today’s post: Find 50 easy meals for college students. These are simple meal ideas that don’t take lots of time or ingredients, but still taste great!
I am sending three kids off to college this fall! They’ll all be in apartments and cooking for themselves and they’ve been asking me for a list of easy meal ideas they can make in their college kitchens. I started by googling ideas and quickly found that most lists of college meals have some problems:
So I put together my own list of easy meal ideas for college students. These are things students can put together quickly using a small number of ingredients making just ONE serving at a time. But they all taste better than Ramen! And if you do want to cook for your whole apartment occasionally, I’ve included links to my favorite easy recipes everyone will love at the end of the post.
Easy High Protein Recipes
Before you head to college, make sure you have some basic cooking skills: learn how to brown ground beef, how to cook chicken in the skillet or oven, and how to make eggs a couple different ways. Then consider these two tips to make meal planning and cooking at college simpler:
Before we get to the list, you need to know the number one tip for cooking at college, which is to use your freezer. Keeping meat and veggies on hand in the freezer allows you to use just what you want for one meal and save the rest. Otherwise, you’ll end up eating the exact same things days in a row OR throwing away items you forgot to use up. I recommend keeping a stock of the following in your freezer to make putting together meals super quick and easy:
Frozen cooked meats can be defrosted in the microwave. Use the defrost setting for 20 seconds at a time until meat is defrosted and ready to add to your recipe. Or, you can heat the meat through in a small skillet with a little water to keep it moist, and add any seasonings while heating (like taco seasoning) if desired.
Easy Recipes That Kids Can Make
When you live at home, you might be used to having a fully stocked pantry and fridge full of a variety of foods. Once you move to college, you’ll be working with a much smaller range of items. That means it’s important to start learning to eat what you have on hand in different ways. Lots of the meal ideas below combine similar basic ingredients in different ways so you can eat the same ingredients a couple of times without feeling like you’re having the same meal.
It’s important to include fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet – just buy a couple at a time and eat them until they are gone. For example, if you buy a cucumber, chop it up and put it in a salad, then a sandwich, then include it in some pasta, etc., until you’ve eaten the entire thing. An avocado can go on toast, in a quesadilla, on top of nachos, in a sandwich, etc. Get used to eating what you have before you buy new items, and always try to add a fresh fruit or veg to your meal. Apples, bananas, and carrots are really inexpensive so you can always have some on hand.
Tortillas are a wonderful staple for college meal ideas! If kept in the fridge they’ll stay good longer then bread, and can be quickly stuffed with all sorts of different fillings. Try one of these ideas:
Instant Pot Recipes For College Students
Bean and cheese burrito: Spread a layer of refried beans on a tortilla and top with taco sauce or salsa and grated cheddar cheese. Microwave in 30 second intervals until cheese is melted and beans are hot; roll up and eat. Alternately, you can top it with a second tortilla and grill it on a large skillet to make a quesadilla.
Soft Tacos: Cook 1 pound of ground beef and mix in water and taco seasoning according to the seasoning packet directions. Make tacos by layering ground beef, cheese, salsa, and lettuce or salad mix in a tortilla. Freeze the taco meat you don’t use in single servings.
Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla: Spread a thin layer of ranch dressing on a tortilla and sprinkle with taco season or chili powder and cumin. Top with cooked chicken and grated cheese. Fold over or top with a second tortilla and toast on a large skillet until cheese is melted and chicken is warm.
Simple Recipes Teens Can Cook Themselves
Chicken Ranch Wrap: Place cooked chicken, iceberg salad mix or lettuce, sliced carrot/cucumber/tomato and shredded cheese in a tortilla. Top with ranch dressing, then roll up and eat.
Turkey Tortilla Rollup: Spread cream cheese across a tortilla and then top with sliced turkey and/or ham, sliced tomato and onion. Roll up and eat.
Pizza Quesadilla: Spread spaghetti or pizza sauce on a tortilla, then top with mozzarella cheese and pizza topping of your choice. Fold closed and grill like a quesadilla.
Top Easy Indian Recipes For Students Abroad
Greek Chicken Wrap: Place cooked chicken, lettuce mix, sliced tomato and feta cheese in a tortilla. Top with ranch dressing, greek yogurt, or hummus.
Nachos: Ok, nachos aren’t in a tortilla, but they’re close enough, and they’re a great way to use up leftovers. Layer any cooked meat on tortilla chips and add things like beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, avocado, etc. Grate cheese over the top and microwave 30-60 seconds until cheese is melted.
Eggs are a staple for college meals! They’re super inexpensive and last a long time, plus they’re a great source of protein. (And you’ll need to keep some on hand if you want to make brownies!)
Cheap And Easy Meals For College Students
Homemade Egg Sandwich: Layer a fried egg with a slice of cheese and a cooked sausage patty on a toasted english muffin.
Egg burrito: Cook a frozen hash brown patty according to package directions, or microwave or heat in a skillet. Scramble a couple eggs, adding in a sliced sausage link, chopped ham, or cooked bacon. Combine cooked hashbrown patty, eggs, meat, and cheese in a tortilla, adding salsa if desired.
Easy Tortilla Egg Roll: This is a GENIUS method for making a quick meal that’s a cross between an omelet and a burrito. Click here for the recipe
Dinner Recipes Ideas When There's No Time To Cook
Omelet: An omelet is a great way to use up leftover meat and veggies! Beat some eggs and cook them slowly in a buttered pan until puffed and almost cooked through. Top with leftover (cooked) meat and vegetables, plus cheese if desired. Fold it in half and eat. Click here for a single serving Western omelet recipe
Avocado Toast w/Egg: Toast whole grain bread and top with half an avocado (sliced) and sliced tomato. Top with one fried or poached egg.
Egg in a Hole: Melt a little butter in a small skillet. Tear out a hole in the center of a slice of bread and place the bread in the skillet. Crack an egg into the hole and top with salt and pepper. Cook until white of egg is set, then flip to toast the other side.
Quick And Easy Student Recipes
Single Serve French Toast: Crack an egg into a small bowl and add a splash of milk. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Transfer to wider container and dip 2 pieces of bread in the egg mixture, then cook on a skillet 3 minutes or so per side until cooked through. Serve with sliced banana and yogurt (or butter and syrup).
Breakfast Nachos: Eggs, beans, avocado, salsa, cheese and whatever else you have on hand on top of crunchy tortilla chips! Click here for the recipe
Pasta is a perfect college meal because it’s super cheap and you can make as much or as little as you want! Keep a box or two of noodles in your pantry and meatballs or cooked ground beef in your freezer, then all you’ll need is a jar of sauce to put together and easy spaghetti dinner. Check out these other ideas, like homemade mac and cheese for one and ways to upgrade instant ramen noodles!
Dinner Ideas For College Students
Spaghetti + Meatballs: Boil a handful of spaghetti noodles. Meanwhile, put a few frozen meatballs in a small saucepan and cover with jarred spaghetti sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover until meatballs are warmed through.
Cheese Ravioli: Buy either dried cheese ravioli in the pasta section, or refrigerated or frozen ravioli and boil according to package directions. Drain and mix in some jarred spaghetti sauce and heat through.
Easy Mac + Cheese: Make a single serving of homemade macaroni and cheese in about the same time as it takes to make a the boxed version – it’ll taste so much better! Recipe here
Freshers' Week 2015: 23 Cheap And Easy Meals And Recipes That Cost Less Than A Pint To Make For New University Students
Buttered Pasta w/Parm: Make a bowl of delicious pasta with butter, parmesan, and pepper in 10 minutes. It’s simple, but filling and delicious! Add cooked chicken if desired. Recipe here
Ramen Yaki Soba: Boil ramen noodles as directed, then fry them up with whatever vegetables and meat you happen to have on hand. Recipe here
Baked potatoes are another inexpensive option for easy meals you can make at college. If you like them, it’s definitely worth ordering one
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