Simple and Budget-Friendly Student Recipes

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We suggest preparing a few simple dishes popular among students. They are not only simple but also filling, nutritious, and affordable!
It is important for students to eat a balanced diet since studying requires considerable resources – both physical and mental. Mostly, this is fast food that does not require much time spent in the kitchen and expensive specialties. We also suggest cooking several simple, nutritious, hearty dishes. It is worth remembering that despite the desire to save money, you should not buy low-quality, cheap food products. This can harm your health and cause poisoning or associated diseases.
Nevertheless, you won’t spend a lot of money on the recipes we’ll share with you because we know that students are always trying to save money. For example, they buy used textbooks, take advantage of student discounts, and ask for affordable custom assignment help from services like AdvancedWriters when they have problems with their studies.
Cheese Soup
A very filling, tender, and aromatic cheese soup does not require much time to prepare. This budget student recipe is very simple, and even malicious “non-lovers” of first courses will appreciate the wonderful taste of the soup. It is an excellent option for student dinners.
Ingredients
- Chicken fillet – 500 g/1.1 lb
- Processed cheese – 2 packs (180-200 g/6.3-7 oz each)
- Noodles – ½ cup
- Potatoes – 4 medium
- Onion – 1 medium
- Carrot – 1 medium
- Herbs – 1 bunch
- Butter – 2 tbsp.
Steps
- Wash the chicken fillet. Cut it into pieces. Put it in a pot, fill it with water, and put it on the stove.
- Peel the onion and cut it into small pieces.
- Grate carrots on a coarse grater.
- Make a sauté of onions and carrots.
- While a sauté is cooking, peel and cut the potatoes.
- Throw the finished sauté and cut potatoes into the pot.
- Cut the cheese into cubes (don’t buy cheap cheese; it won’t dissolve in your soup).
- Finely chop the washed greens.
- After 10 minutes of boiling the potatoes, add the noodles to the pot. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add salt and spices to the soup.
- Add processed cheese and cook the soup until the cheese is completely dissolved.
- When the cheese is dissolved, add the herbs and remove the soup from the heat.
You will get a tasty cheese soupt hat will fit any student’s budget. However, you may need some time to cook it, which students don’t always have. If you have to choose between making a delicious soup or writing an essay, for example, it is better to give preference to the soup, especially since specialized services can always help you with writing. You can read more about them in the source that has a list of the best writing services.
Ramen Noodles Stir-Fry with Beef

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If a student writes to me, asking, “What is the quickest and easiest recipe for ramen noodles?” I will show them this one.
Ingredients
- Ground beef – 450 g/1 lb
- Ramen noodles – 255 g/9 oz
- Frozen mixed vegetables – 450 g/16 oz
- Water – 2 cups
Steps
- Place the ground beef in a frying pan and cook until crisp, then drain off the fat.
- Pour 2 cups of water into the pan and add the noodles with seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Then add the vegetables. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables get tender. Serve hot.
Pasta Salad Jars
If you need to write a cook essay, you may choose this interesting recipe. If you are a student and do not want to spend money on snacks in cafes, then this salad is what you need because you can take it with you anywhere.
Ingredients
- Frozen broccoli – 400 g/14 oz
- Chicken breast fillet – 1 pcs
- Chicken broth – 350 ml/1.5 cups
- Pasta (e.g., bowtie or farfalle) – 200 g/ 12 oz
- Mini mozzarella – 125 g/4.4 oz
- Cherry tomatoes – 100 g/3.5 oz
- Olive oil – 60 ml/2 tbsp
- Greens – 50 g/1.8 oz
- Salt to taste
- Glass jar with lid
Steps
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli. Cook for another 5 minutes. Drain the pasta with broccoli in a colander.
- Cut the chicken fillet into cubes.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the chicken fillet for 5 minutes; add salt. Pour the broth in and simmer for another 5–7 minutes.
- Add the pasta with broccoli to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to a large bowl, add the greens, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, salt, and mix. Put the salad into a glass jar and cover with a lid.
Tortilla Sushi
In sushi shops and cafes, there are rolls made from tortillas on the menu. I write about recipes regularly, and I am sure that any student will love this one. It has a lot of cheese and vegetables plus smoked chicken. It is not necessary to order expensive rolls somewhere at a sushi bar; you can make them at home without much effort or skill. Such an appetizer is eaten in an instant. Surprise your dormmates and guests.
Ingredients
- Flatbread (cheese tortilla) – 3 pcs
- Curd cheese (farmer’s cheese or ricotta) – 150 g/5.3 oz
- Chicken (smoked) – 100 g/3.5 oz
- Cucumber – 1 medium
- Tomato – 1 medium
- Lettuce leaves – to taste.
Steps
- Cheese tortilla is best for making rolls.
- I used smoked chicken leg quarter, but white breast meat will also work.
- Cut the cucumber, tomato, and chicken into strips; it is advisable to remove the skin from the cucumber.
- Place the flatbread on a bamboo sushi mat, which should be covered with plastic wrap (a bag).
- Place a strip of curd cheese in the center.
- You should coat the flatbread in a circle so that it is well-secured when rolling.
- Spread the filling generously: lettuce leaves, vegetables, and chicken.
- Starting from the edge, roll the roll 🙂, pressing it tightly with the mat.
- Try to form a square roll.
- If you have never rolled rolls before, this option will work without much effort; the method will be clear from the first try.
- I noticed that the more filling, the tighter the roll can be rolled.
- The amount of ingredients is approximate; everything will depend on your generosity (and vice versa). I had three flatbreads, and the output was 24 pieces.
- You need to cut the roll in half with a sharp knife, put the two halves together and trim the edges (this can be done to make them look neat, you can leave them), at the same time cut the halves in half and then the resulting halves in half again.
When making rolls at home, remember that you are an untrained sushi chef, sometimes a little uneven and clumsy, but such rolls are tastier and much cheaper than those in cafes.
Egg Muffins
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Do you also start your morning with scrambled eggs or an omelet? If you are tired of serving eggs this way, join us – let’s make egg muffins! Eggs are mixed with milk or cooking cream; various fillings are added – from sausages and chicken to feta cheese and greens. Then, the muffins are baked in muffin tins for 20 minutes. The result is a healthy and tasty breakfast for the student, which, by the way, can easily be taken with you outdoors.
Ingredients
- Chicken eggs – 3 pcs
- Milk – 60 ml/2 oz
- Flour – 1 tbsp
- Sausage – 150 g/5.3 oz
- Green onions – 2 pcs
- Red bell pepper – 1 pc
- Cheese – 50 g/1.8 oz
- Sweet paprika – ½ tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Steps
- Dice the sausage and bell pepper, finely chop the green onions.
- Beat the eggs with milk and a spoonful of flour. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
- Combine the egg mixture with the sausage, onion, and pepper. Add paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix.
- Place the finished mixture in silicone molds. If necessary, grease them with vegetable oil beforehand. Sprinkle each piece with cheese on top. Bake at 180°C/350°F for 20 minutes.
- Cool the egg muffins with sausage for 10 minutes, remove from the molds, and serve.
You can also make yourself a steak bagel, just like in McDonald’s. Follow this recipe to find out how to cook with culinary perfection.