Taking some time out of the busy student life to eat multiple meals a day is a challenging task. It is where easy meals for college students play a crucial role. It helps them manage various areas of their academic and personal life. Many students look at cooking as a time-consuming task, so let's clear some doubts. In this blog, we will discuss 15 easy meals for college students that are affordable and can be of great help in busy schedules.
Table of Contents
1. Sandwiches & Wraps
2. Simple Macaroni and Cheese
3. Cheesy Ramen Noodles
4. Creamy Pesto Mac with Spinach
5. Pizzadillas
6. Pizza Roll-Ups
7. Peanut Butter Banana Quesadillas
8. Homemade Garlic Bread
9. Trail Mix
10. Apple Pie Overnight Oats
11. Burrito Bowl
12. Curried Tofu Salad
13. Cheesy Pinto Beans
14. Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
15. Coconut Curry Ramen
Easy meals, as the word describes, are the foods that require less effort to prepare. Easy meals for students are nothing but a blessing considering basic cooking practices, minimal preparation steps and rich taste. So, let us look in brief at the factors that make the meal easy for college students.
Time management for students is crucial during their college life. So, preparing meals that are easily made in 20-30 minutes helps students manage their studies and other important activities without skipping a meal. With a quick preparation guide, cooking and eating a meal never feels like a burden or time-consuming activity.
Preparing food that requires fewer ingredients is another factor that makes the meal easy. These are affordable and are easily stored for longer periods. However, using few ingredients does not mean that you have to compromise on taste, it simplifies the meal recipe.
Preparing meals that require one kitchen utensil offers high convenience because the cooking and cleaning process becomes effortless. These meals involve recipes with minimal steps that make cooking a fun and easy task for students learning to cook.
Most college students look at cooking as a time-taking task. In most instances, the decision about what to cook daunts students and the ultimate option chosen is skipping meals. So, here are some easy-to-cook meal ideas that can help you save time even on your busiest day without skipping a meal.
One of the most common and easy meals for college students are sandwiches and wraps. It is looked upon as a grab-and-go option that comes with multiple possibilities. Most students prefer this meal for breakfast because it is time-saving and prepared easily with the available ingredients.
Students in college highly prefer meals that require minimal effort, are tasty to eat and provide the needed nutrients. Macaroni and cheese is one such easy recipe for college students that is even customised by adding some vegetables.
Cooking a meal never felt easy for college students but, with ramen noodles, having a tasty meal becomes easier. It is one of the classical student meal ideas considering its affordability, easy preparation and the option to customise it with other components like veggies.
It is a possible option for dinner and one of the easy meals for college students to prepare with no additional utensils required. A creamy pesto mac blended with spinach can be a mouth-watering meal option for you that can be easily customised with veggies and flavours according to individual taste.
Creativity in cooking can sometimes lead to meals that are highly flavourful and require no time to prepare. One such meal is pizzadillas, which are made out of blending pizza and quesadillas. It is a popular meal as you can enjoy the flavours of pizza without putting in much time.
From the family of pizza, another tasty meal for students is pizza rolls. It is prepared using tortillas with favourite pizza toppings. These roll-ups can be a great night snack as it is easy to make.
A healthy meal that comes with the nutrients of peanut butter combined with slices of banana. It is prepared by spreading peanut butter on tortillas, adding banana slices and toasting it to prepare a crunchy and crisp meal.
Another dish idea in the list of easy meals for college students is garlic bread is among the popular food choices among young adults. Further, blending it with a salad or past can be a flavourful meal option. It is easy to cook, start by spreading a layer of butter on the bread, garnish it with some garlic powder and toast it completely for a perfect meal.
Trail Mix is a quick meal option which you can carry with you and have even during small breaks. This meal is the go-to food option for students concerned about their health. The meals come with a combination of nutrients providing health benefits. A bowl of trail mix is the perfect option for a one-time meal.
This meal can become one of your favourite meals, considering it requires no cooking. If you are someone with a busy morning schedule, overnight oats garnished with apple pie flavour is a delight to eat. This meal is not only a quick meal but also provides health benefits.
A quick-to-make meal, Burrito Bowl can be the top food option that you can prepare in minutes, even on your busiest day. It is one of the healthy meals for college students prepared by mixing rice, beans, some veggies and any source of protein according to your taste.
If you are also exploring an ideal protein intake source, then curried tofu salad can be your reliable option. It is a healthy vegetarian meal because it is rich in protein with no artificial ingredients required to prepare. For college students, this meal can be a perfect dinner packed with nutrition.
Cheesy pinto beans are one of the versatile student meal ideas that can eaten solely or served as a side with rice or a tortilla. It is an easy-to-make dish packed with protein that requires fewer flavourings and ingredients.
Curried chickpeas blended with a simple yet tasty dish. It is a proven dish idea and can be one of the perfect and easy recipes for students. Above all, it is a vegetarian option, making it an ideal option for international students who avoid non-vegetarian dishes.
Eating cheesy ramen noodles is quite a popular meal among students. However, ramen blended with coconut curry is a creative option. It is one of the popular recipes for students that is flavourful to eat and can be easily customised with ingredients for additional protein or nutrients.
With the busy college life, students often skip their meals or eat outside, which is not an affordable option. Above all, various student accommodation in UK provides healthy meals, but it is also not a budget-friendly option. Therefore, meal planning becomes crucial for students because it helps save time and effort. Planning your meals effectively will ensure that you have something healthy to eat without spending much time in the kitchen searching for recipes.
With the variety of easy meal options available, try to cook meals that are rich in nutrients and provide you with some health benefits. You can plan your meals for every week to save time and ensure the consumption of healthy fats, carbohydrates and required proteins.
One of the most crucial meal-planning tips is preparing food in batches. It includes cooking larger quantities of food and storing them in cold storage for further use. This tip is beneficial because you can rewarm your food anytime you want. Above all, it is useful because no cooking time is required and you never have to avoid your meal.
Using leftovers for a new meal is also a useful tip. It avoids food wastage and you don't have to spend hours cooking a new meal. The use of leftovers in cooking ensures the optimum use of the grocery. For example, transforming roasted veggies into a stir-fry for a quick meal.
To sum up, this easy meal guide can be a blessing for college students. You can take some time out amidst your busy schedule to enjoy healthy and tasty meals. The list of easy meals provided in this guide can easily customised to personal tastes. Above all, following some meal-planning tips can make your cooking easier and more convenient. So, go ahead and plan your meals for today and try something new from the list given above.
Having meals like rice, pizza rollups, and peanut butter sandwiches can be looked upon as affordable options for college students. Further, making bulk purchases and batch cooking can also help you save some money.
No, the majority of the meals suggested do not require any special kitchen equipment. These meals can be cooked with the help of a pan, microwave and other basic equipment.
Yes, you can eat healthy food without cooking meals every day, as it just requires proper planning. Try to prepare food in batches and store them to enjoy healthy meals for multiple days.
No, you cannot cook in your dorm legally unless it is allowed and you are provided with a kitchen facility. The majority of dorms do not allow cooking because of safety purposes.
Yes, these meals are affordable and budget-friendly as you can prepare these meals with the help of basic ingredients and leftover foods.
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