Here is my guide to the cheapest, easiest and quickest meals to make as a university student with three years experience living away from home.

If you’re a uni student who is stuck on what to cook, here are my top 5 easiest meal recommendations:

– Pesto Pasta: a go to uni meal which is very quick, easy and cheap! Try mixing it up by using red pesto instead or green or adding cream to make the sauce thicker and maybe even some chicken, mushrooms and red onion.

– Spaghetti Bolognese: this is my go to meal and a great one for batch cooking, don’t forget the cheese and garlic bread! Check out this recipe.

– Fajitas: another one of my favourites and a good way to get vegetables into your meal. The leftovers also make a great lunch the following day!

– Sausage and Mash: variety is always good so sausage and mash is a great one especially for the winter months, experiment with cheesy mash and don’t forget the gravy!

– Homemade Pizzas: a great one to do with your friends, get pizza bases, tomato puree and a mixture of toppings and have fun creating your own!

Other Tips:

• Batch cooking meals is a great way to save money, make a big portion and split it into a few containers and freeze them to eat on another day. It also makes things quicker and easier (if you’ve had a busy day at uni or work all you need to do is come home and reheat your portion from the freezer).
• Many supermarkets offer coupons or deals, especially if you shop there regularly, make sure to download the various supermarket apps and make use of this (Lidl and Asda are particularly good).
• Equally there is usually a special buys section with different deals each week, and look for food being reduced that might have a short date – things like bread and meat can be frozen.
• Uber Eats and Deliveroo often offer deals on groceries from nearby supermarkets, this can be up to 50% and it means you can order your food directly to your door with no extra hassle lugging it back to your house.

Find out more

Cooking as a university student