Top 10 Recipes for College Students
It’s that time again! Time to settle in for the semester and really hit the books… But don’t let food take the back burner. You need to keep yourself nourished and full of energy to make it through those classes, study sessions, and probably a part-time job, too. I know it’s easier to just stop and grab some fast food, or how when you’re totally stressed nothing sounds better than take-out pizza, but I promise you, a home cooked meal will take you much further.
I know what it’s like to be a busy, stressed, and BROKE college student. That’s where I was when I started this blog and these recipes really helped me pull through. I decided to put together this list of the top ten Budget Bytes recipes for college students to help those who are still working through those difficult years. What makes a recipe good for students? It needs to be easy, filling, totally tasty, good as leftovers, or a good way to squeeze in some vegetables. They might not be all of those things at once, but I tried to pick recipes that hit as many of those attributes as possible.
So… Here are my picks for the top ten recipes for students. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
Top 10 Recipes for Students
Dragon Noodles – Because, they’re Dragon Noodles. They’re practically famous. Everyone loves them and they take just minutes to prepare. It’s the perfect alternative to take-out and they’re super customizable. Add chicken or vegetables for a more well rounded meal, or leave it sweet and simple for a fast nosh.
Curried Chickpeas with Spinach – When the autumn nights start to get a chilly bite, warm up with a hot bowl of these hearty curried chickpeas with spinach. Packed with flavor, this vegan dish is delicious and filling enough to finally bring vegetarians and carnivores together over one meal.
Spinach Feta Grilled Cheese – Grilled cheese is the ultimate study/comfort food. Take it up a level with some frozen spinach, a little garlic, red pepper flakes, and feta. You now have a super fancy grilled cheese AND a good dose of vegetables. WIN.
Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili – Whether you’re out tailgating or spending the night in with your roommates, a good pot of chili is never a bad idea. This easy version uses Mexican chorizo to add a blast of flavor and a little bit of sweet potato for extra texture, color, and nutrients. Bonus: this freezes well and makes GREAT leftovers!
Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta – Dinner is done in under 30 minutes with this one, which is great when you have a ten page paper due the next morning. Don’t drop the big bucks at Macaroni Grill, impress your date (or yourself) with your own fancy pants pasta for fraction of the cost and time.
Easy Oven Fajitas – These fajitas are perfect for when you need to feed a crowd (hello, hungry study group?). The meat and vegetables (or just vegetables) bake effortlessly in the oven, then your guests can serve them selves with tortillas and toppings, like sour cream, cilantro, or lime. So easy, SO delicious.
Chunky Lentil & Vegetable Soup – I call this my “back up” soup because it’s great to just make up a big batch and then keep single servings in my freezer for those nights when you are SO tired that you can barely think about food. It’s super nourishing and absolutely packed with flavor. A big bowl of this will feed both your body and soul to help you power through those stressful times.
Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas – Quesadillas are the perfect snack (just ask Taco Bell). This spicy vegetarian mix of black beans, corn, onion, and cheese is 100x better than anything you’ll get at the drive through. More flavor, more fiber, more filling, and still extremely easy. Promise.
One Pot Sausage & Mushroom Pasta – Is there anything more comforting than pasta and red sauce? I think not. This one pot version cooks the pasta right in the sauce for fewer dishes and more flavor. I may not ever cook pasta another way.
Southwest Chicken Skillet – Here’s another one skillet classic. No chopping required, just stir the ingredients together, then let it cook. …and the leftovers are even better. Love it! (Use a store bought rotisserie chicken for fast prep)
What was/is your favorite recipes to help you get through the semester? Share in the comments below!
Nice post.
Wow, thank you very much for the recipes, for me as a student it’s very useful information :)
Yesterday I cooked a couple of dishes according to your recipe, it turned out very tasty, I want to say that for a long time I have not tasted anything tastier.
I want to do something similar to a blog for students, where students could find something useful for themselves, such as life hacks, food recipes, how to do homework. But here’s the irony, I can not do this blog because of a lot of homework and because I need to write a lot of essays. But fortunately yesterday classmates advised me online service on writing essays. Now I will have free time to make this dream real :)
Hey, Beth, I wanted to thank you for the recipes that you have shared. Tonight I tried the spinach and feta, which was delicious. Although you’ve received some distasteful comments, I would like to encourage you: I am a student with a social life, a part-time job, messy roommates after whom I clean up literally every day, and I do some volunteer work. Half of the time, I can’t make all my bills quite on time, but I’ve found that it’s not what I make that helps, it’s what I save. For example, my phone bill is literally less than $50 a month and it still does all of the things that any other provider does. Sharing bills with others and keeping my own portion low where I can is great, but I still had a lot of trouble affording to eat until I started looking at websites like this. We buy what we can on sale, use coupons, and look online to price-shop. Putting in that literally ten extra minutes a week can bring your food bills down to half. Also, when we eat healthily, we began to need to eat less often or in number than when we starve for half of the week. Posting things like this gives me variety and ideas, helping me to figure out what I want this week and how to afford it. Thank you again.
Thank you!! Your encouragement is very much appreciated. :) I’m happy I can help. <3
Here is another great recipe your college kid can make or you can make for them. They reheat very easily and are also good cold right out of the fridge. I double the recipe and make 48 each time for my son and his suite mates.
http://www.emilybites.com/2011/07/lasagna-cupcakes.html
These recipes look amazing!!! Cheap and easy to make. It may seem like a lot in the beginning, but once you buy the spices once, they’ll last for awhile. Thank you so much!!!
For those writing negative comments about how this is expensive, I don’t think you’ve done the math or planned efficiently.
Love these! I found your blog when I was a poor graduate student! You have some great recipes! My groceries would include eggs, tortillas, onions, peppers, shredded cheese, sweet potatoes, canned beans, pasta, quick oats, whatever extra fruit and veggies were on sale…possibilities were endless with condiments like sour cream, salsa…..my budget was $25 a week for food and your blog helped me figure out how to cook efficiently and NOT be hungry!
Thank you so much for this!!! These recipes look delicious, healthy and easy, which is perfect because I’ll be living independently for the first time this summer. I’m definitely gonna try these, thanks again!
This is pretty unrealistic. Your “broke” college student budget is vastly different from mine. I live with 4 other girls and I cant remember the last time we had the money to buy meat. Sausage? Feta? Mushrooms? These are all expensive ingredients. I wish this had recipes with ingredients college students ACTUALLY have in their kitchens. Rice, potatoes, sliced bread, canned beans and vegetables. The things college kids can actually afford.
Hi Nova
Spend some time looking over the budget bytes website, Beth gives alot of really great suggestions on how to eat healthy within your budget, so that your not just relying on the typical college kid food. I think you will find you can afford most of these recipes, when you shop smart and “bundle” your recipes for the week:)
So, let’s see. 6 out of 10 recipes don’t use meat, sausage, etc. The recipes that use sausage use a small amount for flavour. All the recipes have a price breakdown and are under $2 per serving. If the prices in your area are higher, then substitute for what is affordable. When I come across something unexpected, I stop, read what is being proposed and analyse the numbers, to see if they hold up. Try it – it is a good skill for a college student.
Before this round-up, these were some of my go-to meals feeding an apartment of college students. We still make the quesadillas and chickpea curry regularly, even after graduation. Love these recipes and you hit the nail on the head when it comes to which recipes on your site are appealing to a college crowd.
I love how the world has this unrealistic idea that students have a lot of time on their hands. To have time to cook gourmet meals like this, lead a social life, keep a part time job, all A’s, get 10 hours of sleep every night showing up to class fully rested and awake ready to learn, and be involved in things that prepare for the future. Internships, getting involved around the campus to get awesome bullets for your resume, oh and dating, just having a love life. And that if we plan and schedule right we should have time to set our lives in order and still have time left over…
Lovely display but I was aiming for something cheap, easy, quick, but still delicious, this may have all that but I’m still poor. Might have to try this on a weekend though. Early in the semester though, before projects and mayhem.
I’m a junior in an engineering program and am also always at a loss for time. The way I make it work is that I only cook one day a week, and eat leftovers of that all week. Takes me maybe 2 hours on a Sunday or in the evening after classes (mine end at 4) once a week to have quality food to eat all week.
I’ve -never- had much difficulty cooking myself dinner from Beth’s recipes, including several of the ones listed here. Honestly, I usually spend more time going to Meijer (across the street!) and buying my groceries than I spend cooking these.
Besides, think of it like this: You will almost always spend less money making food this way then whatever it is you are doing currently (unless living with parents) AND you will be practicing a more important skill than what you probably learn in 50%+ of those classes. I eat every day, three times a day. I use differential equations maybe twice a week.
PS: I wouldn’t expect more time in the day to fall out of the sky after graduation unless you fail to find a job. Learn how to balance and prioritize now so you don’t set up to fail later.
PS: the recipe for brown rice orange salad says 1 cup of almonds, then instructs to slice them. (what?!), so ya, just buy sliced almonds – one cup from the bulk bins if you can. (who slices almonds?) The picture shows slivered almonds, which is fine, too. I dry-toast on the stovetop – I’d burn them if I put them in an oven. I hope someone tries this, cuz it’s totally that good! http://cookingmatters.org/recipes/brown-rice-and-orange-salad
Hello Beth – and everyone! I’m so happy I found this recipe online to cut-and-share. I discovered it when I volunteered for Cooking Matters and it is now my favorite thing ever: Brown Rice and Orange salad. Perfect for busy college students and moms and SO healthy! Take note: this makes 12, 1/2-cup servings. It’s a lot! But if you need to eat out of the fridge, this is an explosion of flavor and texture, ready-to-eat. Beth – I bet you could riff on this like crazy! Enjoy: http://cookingmatters.org/recipes/brown-rice-and-orange-salad
Oooh, I definitely want to make this! Thanks for sharing!! :D