10 Easy Student Meals That Don’t Involve Spaghetti Or Baked Beans

A lot of students come to uni not knowing how to cook and are learning as we go. It’s nothing to be ashamed off but it may be something people will get pissed off about if you keep setting the fire alarm off in student accommodation. If this is likely going to happen to you don’t cook between 12 and 7 am because people will be screaming at you.

As much as you will want to you can’t live off takeaways because the student budget doesn’t stretch that far, and you’re going to have to become more adventurous than beans on toast or spaghetti. So here are 10 very easy recipes that anyone can master to have a better diet through their uni life. 

1. Roast Chicken

Now here me out, it is actually a very good idea to be cooking a whole roast chicken. I’m talking about those £4/£5 roast-in-a-bag ones you can get from Asda, or Morrisons, or Lidl etc. which all you have to do is stick it in the oven for an hour and a half and you’ve got yourself a juicy, tender tasty chicken. 

And this chicken can be served like a roast chicken if you want to cook up some veg and little potatoes with it for a hearty meal. Or it can be sliced and put in the fridge for further meals throughout the week saving you the effort of cooking a full meal every night. 

2. Fisherman’s Pie

My mum always says that fish is the best brain food because of the omega 3 and other nutrients, so when big tests were coming up I’d try and eat more fish. I don’t actually know if the plan had any affect but I did well on my tests, so maybe. 

So if you want an easy and relatively healthy way of getting your omega 3 then try making a fish pie, it provides a few portions for throughout the week to save you cooking which also helps with the revision time. Or just lack of motivation to cook every night. 

All you need is potatoes and some cod or haddock and you’re half way there. The rest is just made up of butter, milk and cheese, so everything dairy. You can also add hard boiled eggs into it for extra flavour and protein. Play about with the recipes you find online to find the flavourings you like. 

3. Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie is a great way of getting some hearty food in you when you’re starting to get homesick I find. The gravy and crispy mashed potato on top are just heaven. And like with the fish pie, a shepherds pie will last you for a few nights. Well most likely, unless you have a big appetite… I mean it is best eaten fresh.

All you need is some mince, gravy and potatoes and vegetables if you prefer making it with them. The vegetables are up to you, but carrots and peas are always a good shout. 

4. Vegetable Bake

I think this is a great way of using up all the vegetables that are starting to reach their ‘eat-by’ date, then it saves anything going to waste. The recipes online like to include a wide variety of veggies, including carrots, onions, broccoli, courgettes, mushrooms, peas and sweet potatoes but you can swap and add the vegetables to your preference.

Then you just need some cheese sauce and cheese to pull it all together. If you want it to a bit more filling then you can add some pasta into the dish and breadcrumbs if they are on hand, but it isn’t needed. 

5. Fajitas

I love making these now, I didn’t realise just how easy they were to do. It is more on the expensive side to the others because I buy the Old El Paso fajita kit and put prawns in mine but you can do it on the cheap side as well if you wish. Stick chicken in it instead and it’s already cheaper. 

But all you need to do is chop some peppers up and any other veg you like, e.g. mushrooms or sweetcorn, and you’re half way to being done. You just need to let the spices soak up into the meat and veg while you warm up the tortillas and you’re sorted.

6. Chilli Con Carne

I loved making this, it was especially delicious when it had been cooking in my slow cooker all day. You prepare it before you go off to uni, leave it on low all day and then you have yourself a tasty meal all ready for you.

You just need to cook your rice, unless you’re using the ready in 1 minute rice, in which case I can’t blame you. I can never get the portion size right with rice, and it will always stick to the pan. Rice in a bag is a saviour. 

Anyway, for chilli all you need is mince meat (quorn if needed) and then some kidney beans, onions and garlic, tin of tomatoes and puree and beef stock. The spices you want to add are up to you and what you have to hand. Cumin is always a good shout, and chillies obviously.

If you want it really easy then you can buy ready made chilli sauce which only requires adding to your beef mince and then you are done. Very easy. Just depends on your preference and how much time you have to spare.

7. Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

Currys are always a popular dish on a takeaway menu, if you’ve got your mates round and you’re ordering in you know a curry is on its way. But these are full of MSG and oil that make them highly unhealthy, so why not get that great taste but at a fraction of the calories and blocked arteries. 

BBC Goodfood has an easy recipe for you to follow on how to make a chicken and sweet potato curry that requires few ingredients. It just requires chicken thighs (which are very cheap), korma paste  and then some sweet potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, onions and garlic to finish it off. Well technically the rice finishes it off, but any good student will have plenty of random half empty rice bags in the cupboards to be used up. 

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8. Stir Fry

I find these especially easy and I used to live off them before I got sick of them. They only take 5-ish minutes to cook depending on if you’re adding meat to it or not, in which case perhaps 10 minutes. 

Asda does a great lazy approach to making a stir fry, all you need is a packet of the vegetables that are already cut up, some rice noodles or egg noodles depending on your preference, some beansprouts and a sauce to go with it. I love the soy and garlic sauce that they have there. 

But if you would prefer to work with vegetables you cut up yourself so you can chose what goes into it yourself then go for it. It all works out at relatively the same cost, cheaper if you make the sauce yourself.

9. Butternut Squash Soup

Soup is a great way to get much needed nutrients in to your body without over bloating yourself. It doesn’t have to be butternut squash but my flat mate made this a few times while we were living in the accommodation and my god did it smell good. So I thought I would share the recipe.

It’s an easy recipe if you have a sharp knife to actually cut the butternut squash in half, if you don’t then you are going to struggle a bit more. But once the squash is sliced and roasted in the oven for about 45 minutes its easy peasy, you just have to scoop it out and mix with the cooked onions and garlic in a blender. What could be easier? 

You can also add chillies to give it a bit of extra flavour if you wish, a great addition to a chilly winters day. 

10. Risotto

This seems the most complicated of all the meals but it is actually really easy, it’s just that it requires a lot of stirring and the slow addition of the stock to let the rice absorb it. So it’s not that it is hard, it just requires a bit more effort and a watchful eye.

But the risotto is very versatile, you can make it with chicken, even using the left over chicken from your roast, this will make a very tender risotto. You could also make the recipe more seafood based, using fish and mussels in it, Lidl does a great bag of frozen seafood mix that you could add.

Or if you want to keep it vegetarian then you can make a great asparagus and pea risotto, or even tomato and roasted veg for a change. Like I said, very versatile. You could never make the same risotto twice if you didn’t want to.

So there we have it, 10 easy student meals for you to try in the weeks coming. If you get the ingredients sorted in a weekly shop and plan your meals accordingly to the ingredients you’ll have on hand you can save yourself a lot of money and waste products. It seems like effort but it will make your life a lot easier, and you’ll be at less risk of food poisoning and going into your overdraft.

Comment below what you think of these recipes and if you have any other fall back student meals you think others could benefit from.

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