This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the site so I can continue to offer great content to you!
Whether you are the parent of a young adult leaving for college or a student, you are likely concerned with food. More specifically, you probably wonder what can I make that is easy, healthy, budget-friendly, and not boring? Well, today is your lucky day. I love easy meals and I think I am pretty creative in using the same ingredients in a variety of ways. Let me share with you 15 easy recipes for college students you will want to make over and over.
Before we jump in, this article assumes you have the following basics on hands: butter, oil, condiments (soy sauce, mayo, mustard), salt, pepper, brown sugar, and seasonings. I also am not including beverages in this meal plan. Lastly, I don’t provide instructions below but is you buy the chicken raw, I recommend cooking it all at once at the beginning of the week. You can either “saute” diced chicken in some oil or butter or cook it in the oven. Season to taste and store in the refrigerator for the week.
With this out of the way, let’s get started.
Breakfast
I like to keep it really simple for breakfast. Most people don’t have a ton of time in the morning. Therefore, I try to go with options that can come together in only a few minutes and can be eaten on the go as needed. Because most college students are on a rather tight budget, a combination of carbs, protein, and fat in every meal should be favored. It will keep you satiated for longer periods of time and provide you with good energy to go on with your day.
Below are 5 different breakfasts you can make with the following ingredients:
- Bagels (preferable whole grains)
- Nut butter (you can use a seed butter instead)
- Cream cheese (you can use a dairy free option as needed)
- Eggs
- Bananas
- Strawberry
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Bagel with nut butter and banana slices | Bagel with cream cheese and strawberry slices | Bagel with butter and a fried egg | Quick oats with banana slices and nut butter | Quick oats with strawberry slices and nut butter |
Lunch
It is easy to get in a rut at lunch and eat the same thing over and over. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Use your imagination to change things up. Below are 5 ideas using the following ingredients.
- Chicken
- Ham (you could replace with turkey, roast beef, salami etc)
- Eggs
- Tortillas
- Macaroni (or other noodles)
- Canned tuna (or canned salmon or chicken)
- Chicken noodle soup packet
- Tomato
- Lettuce
- Bell pepper
- Carrots
- Celery
- Tomato paste
- Cheese (could use a dairy free option)
- Cream cheese (could use a dairy free option)
- Crackers
- Chips
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Soup: Cook 1 packet of chicken noodle soup, add diced cooked chicken (1/3 of chicken), diced carrots, celery, and 1 tbsp of tomato paste. Serve with crackers. | Wrap: Add some mustard or mayo on your wrap, layer some ham, shredded cheese, lettuce, and diced tomatoes. Serve with carrot sticks and chips. | Macaroni salad: To cooked macaroni, add diced ham, bell pepper (1/3) and shredded cheese. Mix mayo, milk, salt, and pepper as a dressing. | Wrap: Mix 1 can of tuna with mayo or cream cheese, spread on a tortilla, add lettuce. Serve with celery sticks, and chips. | Wrap: Hard boil 2 eggs then mash with some mayo, salt and pepper, spread on a tortilla, add lettuce and diced tomatoes. Serve with carrots and celery left over and chips. |
Dinner
Last but not least, here are 5 deliciously easy recipes for college students to include in a dinner rotation. You will notice many of the ingredients are the same, this is intentional. The goal is to maximize variety and minimize the number of things to buy and therefore the cost. At the end of the article, you can find a printable for the complete grocery list and meal plan.
Here are the dinner ingredients:
- Chicken
- Ham (you could replace with turkey, roast beef, salami, etc.)
- Eggs
- Tortillas
- Macaroni (or other noodles)
- Rice
- Tomato
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Celery
- Bell pepper
- Tomato paste
- Cheese
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Mexican bowl: Rice topped with cooked chicken (1/3 of chicken), diced tomatoes, Lettuce, and shredded cheese | Tortilla pizza: Spread tomato paste on a tortilla, top with sliced ham (1/3 of ham), diced bell pepper (1/3), and shredded cheese | Fried rice: To rice add, diced carrots, cooked chicken (1/3 of chicken), diced celery, 1 scrambled egg, and soy sauce | Omelet: To 2 beaten eggs add, diced tomato, and top with cheese | Macaroni: To cooked macaroni add 2/3 of the tomato paste, sliced ham (1/3 of ham), and diced bell pepper (1/3) |
Snacks
As a bonus, here are a few snack ideas you can make with the ingredients you already have.
- Celery sticks and nut butter
- Banana and nut butter
- Cream cheese and crackers
- Nut butter and crackers
- Strawberries and cheese
- Tortilla, nut butter and fruit slices
- Cheese quesadilla
Budget and printables
This 10-day easy recipes for college students’ meal plan came to about $62 based on the prices in my area at the time of this article. It is also highly customizable based on your preferences. For example, you could replace the ham with turkey or replace any of the fruits and vegetables with something you like better.
If you’d like to try this meal plan for yourself or share it with a loved one, here are the printable for the grocery list and meal plan.
In conclusion..
I hope this article gives you confidence in your ability to eat healthy, quick meals on a moderate budget while enjoying interesting and varied meals. If you are interested in more easy recipes for college students, please let me know. I would love to do more articles like this if this is helpful.
Thanks for reading.
Cat xx