10 Cheap And Easy Recipes Every Uni Student Should Know

Hello and well….actually I’m not even going to bother with the cringe-worthy formalities.
You need to save this post because we both know you’ll need it when you’re sitting by the toilet because you can’t stop throwing up cheap pizza, or when you’re hiding from the landlord because you can’t pay your rent since you spent all your money on more expensive pizza. These are 10 cheap and easy recipes every uni student needs to know, memorize and cherish. I’ll go through the recipes chronologically: what you can make for breakfast, till that all so needed late night snack.

NOTE: The quantities of ingredients may vary depending on your taste and can be varied as much as you like. And these recipes can be perfected very easily when you make them a few times (3 to 5). The instructions for these cheap and easy recipes should be simple enough as they have been written with all our 2 year-old readers in mind.

1. Cheese Omelette

You can use this recipe to make a normal omelette as well (if you’re a wimp). And vegetables are purely for more flavor, you can make it without those, too.

What you’ll need:

• 2 eggs
• Salt
• At least 1 tablespoon of butter
• A non-stick frying pan (Use extra butter if you don’t have one)
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup coriander
• 1 Slice of cheddar/mozzarella cheese
• (Can use green chilies to spice things up)

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Put pan on stove and turn on the heat to just less than medium heat.
2. Heat and put butter onto pan.
3. Saute chopped onions until they turn brown.
4. While they’re cooking crack two eggs in bowl and add salt and any other spices you want,  such as pepper or chili powder.
5. Whisk eggs until loads of small bubbles form in the bowl.
6. Add tomatoes & coriander to browned onions (and a little more butter in pan if you can’t see any).
7. Add the bowl mixture to the hot pan, scraping down the edges with a spatula so the egg doesn’t burn.
8. Once the bottom solidifies and forms a thick enough layer start adding cheese on one side of the circle (No need to if you just wanna make a boring, normal omelette).
9. Flip one side of omelette onto the other so that it forms a perfect semi-circle (This will take a few takes before you get it perfect).
10. Just wait for the cheese to melt and the egg to cook through; but be careful not to overcook the egg!
11. Take it off the stove, eat it alone, eat it with some jam and toast, or chop it up if you suddenly have a craving for scrambled eggs instead.

2. Pizza

Oh yes. A good lunch but this will require a little trip to the grocery store first. I’ll tell you how to make the perfect “medium” pizza, but you can scale the ingredients accordingly, depending which size you prefer.

What you’ll need:

• 1 medium pizza dough
• A baking oven
• 1 & 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 2 cups of chicken chunks or sausages
• 1/2 cup of canned sliced olives
• 1/2 cup of canned sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of sliced capsicum
• A whole block of mozzarella (Trust me, the more the better)

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Cover 99% of the dough with pizza sauce (Leave the edges as you see on a normal pizza).
2. Start adding the vegetables and cooked chicken/sausages on top (Just cook the capsicums first for 5 minutes or so).
3. Top it off with the cheese and keep in mind this will be the binding for the pizza.
4. Cover the uncovered edges with some olive oil to avoid it getting burnt and all hard and gross.
5. Put into pre-heated oven at 450 degrees F, or 230 degrees C, for 12-15 minutes.

3. Stuffed Chicken

Easier than you think, trust me.

What you’ll need:

• 2 Chicken breasts (minimum)
• 1 cup of feta/mozzarella Cheese
• Spinach (425g/15 ounces)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs (Can be bought but are optional)
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Cook spinach in garlic and olive oil until done.
2. Slice one side of each breast and add the cheese and spinach inside the slit.
3. Secure the side using toothpicks.
4. Roll breasts in bread crumbs.
5. Place in baking dish and pour melted butter on them.
6. Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F/176 degrees C.

4. Oreo Milkshake

A little night snack that, to be honest, no one can REALLY say no to.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups of vanilla ice-cream
• 1/2 milk
• 4 Oreos
• Ice cubes (Because no one like a warm milkshake)

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Shove it all in a blender, including the ice cubes.
2. Turn on blender.

5. Brownies

Number one reason for diabetes, but who cares right?

What you’ll need:

• Brownie mix
• Whatever the brownie mix calls for

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Follow the instructions at the back of the box.

You’re a uni student, you’ve got this!

6. Beef Nachos

It’s good to have this recipe around in case you need a quick snack to throw together for game day.

What you’ll need:

• 2 packs of Doritos/tortilla chips/corn chips
• 3 cups of mince beef
• 1/2 cup of sliced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of green onions
• 1/2 cup of Olives
• 1/2 cup of Capsicum
• Looooooooaaaaaadssss of chedder cheese (At least of 225 g)

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Cook beef on medium heat in non-stick pan until it is brown and fully cooked.
2. Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees F/ 204 degrees C.
3. Line the bottom of an oven safe rectangular dish with tortilla chips.
4. Put cooked beef on top, with a mix of the vegetables, and continue layering until all the beef and vegetables are added.
5. Top it off with all the cheese you’ve got.
6. Place in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese melts.

7. Good ol’ Mac & Cheese

No explanation needed.

See Also

10 Courses At McGill You Didn’t Know About

What you’ll need:

• 4 Cups of elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup of Butter
• 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flower
• 2 1/2 cups of whole milk
• 2 teaspoons of dry mustard (If you can find it)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
• Salt

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

And this looks complicated but that’s just because they’re brief steps…

1. Cook 4 cups of macaroni. (It’ll have to bake too so make sure it’s still a little al dente. Check it after 5 mins of cooking). Add a teaspoon of salt.
2. Put butter and flour in large saucepan.
3. Whisk mixture over medium-low heat until totally combined.
4. Turn off heat and whisk for a another 5 mins.
5. Add milk and mustard.
6. Cook at low heat and whisk again for another 5 minutes.
7. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add 1/4 cup of the above mixture into the egg and whisk until cool.
8. Then add the egg mixture into the cooking saucepan (Adding the egg in the first place would have made the egg into scrambled eggs).
9. Whisk until combined and add the grated cheese.
10. When it’s all melted, turn off heat.
11. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and then to your preference, add in pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and ground thyme.
12. Add the drained Macaroni to the mixture and stir.
13. Now it is ready to serve, but you can add more cheese on top and bake it at 350 degrees F/177 degrees C for 20 to 25 minutes.

8. Oreo Truffles

For whenever that sweet tooth hits hard.

What you’ll need:

• At least 6-8 Oreos (Doesn’t really matter how much – if there’s leftovers, it won’t go to waste)
• 226 g/8 ounces of cream cheese
• Any kind of milk chocolate or dark chocolate

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Crush Oreos in the packet and take the crumbs out into a bowl
2. Add cream cheese to create a weird chunky mixture
3. Start making small balls from the mixture and put them in the fridge for 30 min
4. Take them out and dip them in the melted chocolate
5. Put it in the freezer till they solidify

9. Classic Club Sandwich

Because who doesn’t wanna seem classy and posh?

What you’ll need:

• 1 1/2 cup of boiled chicken
• cheese slices
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Salt and black pepper
• Eggs as required
• 1/2 bowl mayonnaise (Though some might find that ew; so, optional)
• 2 tablespoons of mustard paste (Also depends on your preference)
• Butter
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce leaves
• Toasted slices

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Boil the chicken with garlic cloves, salt and black pepper.
2. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the boiled egg slices and butter the toast.
3. Mix the mayonnaise and mustard paste (Now you know why I made it optional).
4. Apply the mayonnaise mix on the slices.
5. Place sliced eggs on mayonnaise and mustard coated slices
6. Now place buttered toast and put lettuce leaves, cheese slice, tomatoes and cucumber slices and then the cooked chicken.
7. Cover with mayonnaise and mustard paste coated slice.
8. Can be served with chips obviously.

10. The Nutella Mug Cake

Oh c’mon, we all saw this one coming. Sprinkles are also advised, just so that you don’t let a perfectly good Nutella cake go to waste.

What you’ll need:

• 1 Large egg
• Nutella
• All-purpose flour
• 2 mugs

Instructions (Read all instructions first):

1. Whisk the egg in a bowl.
2. Add 5 tablespoons of Nutella into each mug.
3. Add half of the egg into each mug.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of flour in both.
5. Microwave each mug for 1 minute.
6. Add powdered sugar on top to make it look cool(er).

What are your favorite cheap and easy recipes uni students should know? Share in the comments!

Featured image source: hello-pet.com