College students have numerous responsibilities: attending class on time, participating in various extracurriculars, working a part-time job and helping their friends through a bad breakup. Many times students do not want to cook after class or work. Personally, the last thing I want to do after a 7 p.m. class is to make dinner.
Here are five low-effort nutritious meals that students can make. All of these times are estimates so depending on the machine, adjust accordingly.
Air Fryer Mozzarella Pesto Tomato Sandwich – 10 Minutes
One of my favorite meals to order is pizza. At lunchtime, I want pizza flavors without ordering it or having it as a leftover. For this recipe, I deconstructed the ingredients of a cheese pizza into a straightforward sandwich that can be customizable.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Step 2: Use two sourdough slices as it mimics the warm bread texture for a fresh pizza, but any bread will do.
Step 3: Take a piece of aluminum foil and coat it with butter or olive oil.
Step 4: Place the two slices of bread on top of the foil.
Step 5: On one bread, spread pesto sauce, diced tomatoes and mozzarella chunks. On the other piece, add more pesto and spices of your choosing. My classic spices are red chili flakes and salt.
Step 6: Place both slices in the air fryer for 6 minutes.
Step 7: Once out, the mozzarella will melt off the bread. Place the pesto and spice bread on top of the mozzarella slice.
Step 8: Cut in a diagonal.
This sandwich is the perfect balance of crunchy bread on the outside and soft on the inside. The melted mozzarella pairs well with the tomatoes and pesto. This sandwich is my go-to for lunch because most of the effort is completed in the air fryer.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can adjust it to a pan and cover a lid or plate to melt the mozzarella. I would put the pan on low heat once you cover it with a lid for 5 minutes.
Baked Feta Pasta – 40 minutes
This famous delicious Swedish baked pasta took over TikTok, and I use this as my weekly dinner staple because of how simple it is to make.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 2: Take a casserole dish, bread pan or deep oven pan and lightly coat it with olive oil.
Step 3: Season the oil with preferred spices. I use red chili flakes, red chili powder, salt, onion powder and minced garlic. Feta carries some salt, so I would go lightly on the salt.
Step 4: The traditional recipe calls for cherry tomatoes. I purchase the cheapest tomatoes in the grocery store. Additionally, I add red bell peppers for Vitamin C, B6 and antioxidant benefits. I chop these into small cubes (medium dice) and place them in the baking dish.
Step 4: Mix well inside the dish and place the feta block or crumbed feta in the center of the pan with the vegetable surrounding it. Then, place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Step 5: In another pot, fill water to two-thirds of the pot and boil the water. Always salt your water before adding the pasta. During the 30 minutes, boil the pasta. I prefer rigatoni and penne pasta.
Step 6: After 30 minutes, take the pan out and mix the drained pasta in the pan.
Step 7: Top with basil once done.
This recipe is delicious and filling and works well as a meal prep dish. This dish is customizable to your likings and you can add multiple vegetables at step 4.
Egg Fried Rice – 15 minutes
Egg fried rice is a classic low-effort, easy and cheap meal to make. My friends and I make this meal out of convenience when emptying our fridge. This meal is versatile and can be customized with different add-ons. The secret to a restaurant’s quality fried rice is day-old rice. The rice must be slightly dry to absorb the decadent seasonings and soy sauce flavors.
Rice Recipe
Step 1: Place one cup of rice in a pot and wash well.
Step 2: Once washed, add two cups of water. The ideal ratio should be one cup of rice to two cups of water.
Step 3: Cover the pot of rice with a lid and bring to medium boil for 8-10 minutes and turn down to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Some choose to season their rice at this step, but I personally prefer not to.
Step 4: Uncover the lid and let it sit on the turned-off burner. The rice can rest for 6 hours or overnight.
Fried Rice Add-In Recipe
Step 1: Add oil to your medium warm 10 -12 inch pan. Olive oil or vegetable oil will suffice.
Step 2: Add preferred veggies. This is an excellent meal for adding vegetables to your diet. If you have frozen mixed vegetables, they can be cooked for 2-3 minutes. If you have fresh vegetables, it could take 5-6 minutes. I usually add carrots, minced garlic, red bell peppers and red onions.
Step 3: Take 2-3 eggs and beat well in a separate medium bowl. Place my dry seasoning in the eggs like salt, red chili flakes and onion powder. Move cooked veggies to one side of the pan and cook the eggs on the other.
Step 4: The eggs will cook in less than two minutes, so stir constantly until medium cooked. The eggs should be a little runny, and then mix them into the vegetables. If you want to add meat, I would add it here.
Step 5: Add day-old rice to the pan. Mix well with veggies and eggs. Add soy sauce, green onions and cilantro as finishing touches.
Step 6: Turn off the burner and let the rice sit for a minute to absorb all the flavors.
While this dish is a little more labor intensive, it is very delicious and easy to make. College students can have difficulty achieving a balanced diet, and this is a subtle method to add vegetables into. This is also a fantastic dish for meal prepping. You can swap the eggs with tofu, and I suggest seasoning them with nutritional yeast and turmeric to get the color of the eggs.
Chicken Fajita Quesadilla – 25 Minutes
The unofficial secret to happiness is cheese and carbs. After a long day of school and work, you are craving a comfort meal, and a fajita quesadilla is a quick meal to construct. I usually make this in a pan, but an air fryer also works. Cooking chicken can be daunting, but I believe a medium flame for a total of 15-20 minutes should be enough to cook the chicken thoroughly.
Step 1: Warm two tortillas in a 12-inch pan or 45 seconds in the microwave.
Step 2: Marinate chicken with seasonings of choice. The classics are a teaspoon of oil, salt, cornstarch, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Turn the burner medium-high and put three tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch pan. I prefer canola or vegetable oil because of their high smoke points. Place the seasoned chicken inside and cover it with a lid for 8-10 minutes. After, flip the chicken for another 6-8 minutes with the lid on. You could make the chicken in the air fryer at 375°F for 8 minutes and then flip it for another 8.
Step 4: Once done, place the chicken on a plate to rest and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
Step 5: On a reduced flame, place an assortment of red, orange, yellow and green peppers with red or white onions. I’m not too fond of green bell peppers because of their bitterness, but you can add them.
Step 6: Cook onions and peppers until translucent and soft. This will take five minutes. During this step, shred chicken with a fork.
Step 7: Once the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the pan and place one tortilla in the pan. Sprinkle on preferred melting cheeses. I add cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Place the vegetables and chicken on top and cover them with a lid. Once the cheese has melted, add another layer of cheese and the second tortilla on top. Flip the whole tortilla over to my plate, and it is ready.
Step 8. I usually have a side of sour cream and salsa with my quesadilla.
This is one of my favorite comfort dishes to make. The chicken can be meal-prepped to cut down on time.
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business Spinach Wrap – 10 minutes
The classic spinach wrap is a comfort meal across campus for my friends here at Saint Louis University. This is my go-to order, and this is how to make it at home.
Step 1: Get a spinach wrap and add preferred cheese to the wrap’s center. I usually go with pepper jack or mozzarella.
Step 2: Add grilled chicken on top of the cheese. I would cook the chicken in the same method as the quesadilla. I prefer grilled chicken over buffalo chicken.
Step 3: Add spinach, lettuce or both to wrap. I prefer spinach.
Step 4: Add veggies of choice to the wrap. I usually go with carrots, olives, red bell peppers and jalapeños.
Step 5: Add sauce of choice to the wrap. I prefer Chipotle Ranch. To make this sauce, add an equal part of Chipotle sauce and ranch to a bowl and mix well. You can add lime juice and a tablespoon of mayo if you are feeling fancy.
Step 6: Place in the air fryer for two to three minutes at 300°F. If you don’t have an airfryer, you could place it on the stove and cover for 5 minutes.
This classic recipe is one I will take with me once I graduate because it is effortless and tasty.
These recipes are low-effort and nutritious meals that fit in the busy college schedule. A majority of these ingredients are low-cost and accessible. While I enjoy experimenting with new recipes, these five are my go-to classics when I want to eat a quick meal.