Easy student recipes
Student recipes needn’t be boring. We’ve selected easy recipes that are cheap, quick and tasty, to help you eat well as you study or if you’re heading off to university for the first time. Some of our favourite cheap student meals include tuna and broccoli pasta bake, spaghetti bolognese and a warming veggie chilli.
Get some basic student recipes under your belt, including a classic tomato sauce, smashed avocado on toast and traditional pancakes for Shrove Tuesday – plus chocolate cookies to share with new friends.
With a few ingredients, you can transform cheap student meal staples like rice, pasta and eggs into dishes like sausage, fennel and mascarpone orzo, smoky jollof or turmeric eggs with spinach. Lentils are another great option – try our red lentil dal or coconut dal – and you can swap the packaged stuff for the real deal with our easy chicken ramen bowls.
Lucky enough to have an air fryer at university? Our air fryer chicken breast salad is a must-make, along with a speedy marinated air fryer salmon.
If you need to stretch that student budget, check out the rest of our budget recipes and cheap healthy ideas, too.
Showing 1-16 of 108 recipes
Air fryer recipes
Air fryer baked potatoes
If you like your baked potatoes extra crisp, an air fryer is the way to go – it saves energy...
Lentil recipes
Dal dhokli
Dal dhokli is a traditional Gujarati dish of thin, silky dal with dumplings. Nisha Parmar shares her recipe, which makes...
Rice recipes
Moujadara (Lebanese rice and lentils)
Food writer Angela Zaher shares her recipe for moujadara. This traditional Lebanese dish of rice and lentils is served with...
Sustainable recipes
Fridge-raid thoran
Spice up your leftover greens with this bright, tropical thoran. It’s a particularly useful recipe to have on hand after...
Lentil recipes
Parsnip, carrot and red lentil dal
Sweet root vegetables give a twist on coconut dal in this simple vegan supper. Parsnips and carrots are cooked with...
Brunch recipes
Turmeric eggs with spinach and pickled shallots
The spinach yogurt base in this delicious turmeric eggs recipe takes inspiration from Turkish eggs. The eggs are fried in...
Air fryer recipes
Air fryer sausage and pepper stew
If you’ve never made sausages in the air fryer, we implore you to try it! They become perfectly browned (like...
Tofu recipes
Sriracha tofu with shaved broccoli and edamame salad
This sticky, spicy tofu is a genuine crowd pleaser. Cook it right, and you’ll even bring round the tofu-sceptics. Serve...
July seasonal recipes
Mediterranean feta pasta salad
Classic Greek salad meets crowdpleasing pasta salad in this Mediterranean hybrid. Fresh seasonal veg, sun-dried tomatoes and a big block...
Aubergine recipes
Sticky peanut butter aubergines and lentils
Criss-crossing, then roasting aubergines provides an incredible vehicle for flavour, as any aromatic paste spread on top will gently melt...
Working from home lunch recipes
Super herby tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is one of those rare dishes where herbs are treated as the star important ingredient, rather than a garnish...
Nut recipes
Creamy vegan cashew and artichoke pasta
Whizzed cashews provide the perfect base for creamy vegan sauces, as this super-quick pasta recipe demonstrates. Lightened with lemon and...
Casserole recipes
Chicken sausage casserole
This deeply satisfying one-pot combines light chicken sausages, beloved chorizo and creamy beans and chickpeas in a rich tomato sauce....
Easy student recipes
Spaghetti aglio e olio
Aglio e olio is simple Italian cooking at its finest. Originally from Naples, this pasta dish shows how just a...
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