One thing I think all college students have in common: ramen. Ramen is cheap, easy to make, and generally pretty good, but I get sick of eating it sometimes. The same goes for mac n’ cheese and fruit loops. Even if they are cheap, that doesn’t mean you’re going to want it ten weeks into the semester AGAIN. I like to shake things up, but that doesn’t mean I’ll have the time, energy, or money to go and make a delicious meal. So I’ve found 5 easy, delicious meals for college students. There are also some links included for recipes or inspiration.
1. Spaghetti
Spaghetti is super easy with basic ingredients, but there is also room to enhance your flavors with some things you might have in your fridge. You just need a can of spaghetti sauce, noodle of choice, and some ground beef. You can always add in onions, garlic, more Italian seasoning, butter, and ALWAYS salt your pasta water. Adding some pasta water to your sauce might also make it more yummy. You can also buy frozen meatballs to substitute ground beef, since it can be expensive. Click here for tips.
2. Parmesan Garlic Noodles
These are seriously delicious, and you can eat them by themselves or add some chicken with it for more protein. This recipe is really nice because it’s all in one pot and really simple to follow. I used parmesan cheese from the plastic bottles you can find in Walmart and it still turned out yummy! I also buy a couple cans of chicken stock when they are on sale for recipes like this. The only thing I don’t usually have is garlic but that is also super cheap! Recipe
3. Hashbrown Casserole
I am always running out the door when I wake up in the mornings, because I value staying in my bed rather than getting ready (but who doesn’t?). That’s why I like to make this easy hashbrown casserole and then freeze it, so I can just put it in the microwave for a minute or two and breakfast is ready, plus its not cereal and more filling. I also like to add cooked sausage or ham to this as well. Recipe
4. Freezer Friendly Mini Shepherds Pie
These are awesome, because they are mini so you can unthaw them and have it for a couple meals during the week. Then in a couple weeks when you need a quick meal again just pull it from the freezer. These are super simple too and easy to assemble. Freezer meals are great because you’ve already done all the cooking, and not just for one week but a couple weeks. Recipe
5. Cold Coffee
I love some iced coffee in the mornings to get me started, but sometimes I don’t want to spend the time getting it just right and delicious enough for me to drink (I’m a picky coffee drinker). So when I found this recipe it was awesome because I can just pour a cup and take it with me to class, simple and easy! You just need 10 cups of coffee, ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, and ½ cup of vanilla creamer (or any creamer you want).