Easy Recipes for College Students

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1. Chickpeas with spinach over rice will get me every time ;-)

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2. After seeing all the negativity from my peers, I felt the need to comment for the first time. As a poor grad student, this blog has been so helpful with keeping my grocery budget reasonable (under 250 a month to feed my boyfriend and I) and always providing a variety of dishes. I save so much money compared to my peers by hardly eating out and shopping the sales for pricier items like meat. My trick has been to make 2 different meals at the beginning of the week and eat the leftovers throughout the week for lunch and dinner. I’m currently eating my last portion of sesame chicken (SO good and way better than takeout). If people can’t prioritize cooking at home in college, they’re in for a rude awakening when they get real jobs and families. Making meals at home is so much better for your health and wallet, it’s worth making a priority.

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3. I love how a lot of these comments are from peers in college making excuses to not do something just because it looks tedious. Part of the college experience is learning how to prioritize and gain new skills.

   Your recipes saved me so much money thank you! Especially here in NYC every penny counts! You’re the best!

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4. Nice post.

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5. 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 :)

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6. 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.

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   1. Thank you!! Your encouragement is very much appreciated. :) I’m happy I can help. <3

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7. 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

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8. 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.

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9. 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! 

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10. 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!

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11. 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.

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    1. 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:)

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    2. 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.

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    3. All of my local supermarkets sell fresh bulk sausage at the butcher counter for about $4 per lb–you can buy as little as 1/4 lb. Ground chuck is on sale at a local high end store every Tuesday for under $3. Aldi’s sells fresh mushrooms for $1 per 8 oz package nearly every week and has tons of bargains for the budget challenged–like me. The supermarket salad bar is another friend to the financially strapped. I use it for baby greens–a small amount for about $7 per lb instead of a 3 oz package for $3.50 meaning that 2 salads worth costs me about $1-1.50 (if I forget to use them up before they wilt, I can add them to soup or stir fry). It’s also the place to pick up Feta cheese crumbles cheaper than packaged–just don’t buy stuff like carrots (usually $.79 a lb), onions ($.99 per lb), croutons (stale bread to make your own)–use it for small amounts of high end products like bacon bits, olives, expensive cheeses, seeds, nuts, dried fruits.

       And eggs, nature’s perfect protein–1 doz large this week at the closest market where I do most of my shopping cost $1.69, and they weren’t even on sale.

       I don’t have time or gas money to go lots of places every week, but judicious shopping can pay off.

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12. 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.

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13. 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.

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    1. 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.

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    2. It also takes time to go somewhere for a meal–travel, sitting and waiting for the food to come to the table, waiting for the bill, or just hanging out in the drive through line for something that probably isn’t very good for you. Add up those minutes and you will see that you waste at least as much time per week as Mike below spends cooking. Some of these recipes take longer than others, but things like the delicious and filling Tuna and white bean salad are beyond fast to throw together.

       Worried about cost? Soups and salads are cheap, and even in a dorm room, since most now have tiny refrigerators and microwaves, you can manage some salad greens, a hunk of cheese, a dab of butter or oil, and a few cans of beans, tuna, etc. A hot plate and skillet will expand your repertoire to stir fries, egg dishes (eggs cost about $.15 each), grilled sandwiches and quesadillas. An infamous big box store sells commonly used spices at less than $1 per container. You obviously read Beth’s blog–I’ve been relying on her ideas for years, and she never fails to surprise me with new revelations. I forwarded this link to my 19 yr old grandson, a college sophomore. Check out the archives–it’s a treasure beyond price.

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14. 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

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15. 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

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    1. Oooh, I definitely want to make this! Thanks for sharing!! :D

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