Easy Recipes for College Students | The Smart Slow Cooker (2024)

Between university meal plans and eating out with friends, most college kids aren’t overly concerned with cooking at home. But when you consider the cost of eating out versus an affordable home-cooked meal that can serve a number of friends, cooking for yourself starts to sound like a good idea.

Most kids go off to college knowing how to make basics like eggs, smoothies, and pasta. But if cooking skills are not expanded, then you risk getting bored with your own cooking.

Slow cookers and multi-cookers are often used by new cooks or non-cooks because they are perceived as easier than “regular cooking.” In reality, device-specific recipes aren’t easier, but they do offer unattended cooking. The benefit of slow cookers for college kids, is that students can make dinner early in the day when rested, versus the end of the day when they are hungry and tired.

The recipes below are good “starter” recipes. More than likely novice cooks will progress quickly to normal cooking. If not, then call in for pizza!

Cooking Tips for Students

• Learning how to meal prep as a student will set you up for a lifetime of successful cooking. Plus if you cook or grill in college, you will have many friends. 😃

• Cheap, healthy, easy meals you should know how to cook before leaving home:

  • Eggs: Fried, scrambled, hard boiled — serve with tortillas, bagels, toast, biscuits, fruit, avocados, salsa, grated cheese, etc.

  • Grilled Cheese: Serve with tomato soup.

  • Smoothies: Blend frozen fruit, juice, banana, and/or add some greens.

  • Pasta: Toss with olive oil and parm, or use bottled sauce or pesto. If burrata is on sale, try this easy no-cook Pasta with Tomatoes, Arugula, and Burrata recipe.

  • Grains: Grains are cheap and healthy. Oats can be served with fruit, honey, or even peanut butter — see sweet and savory oatmeal topping ideas. Grits can be served plain with butter or mixed with cheese.

  • Guacamole: Quick to make and serves a crowd with tortilla chips.

  • Roasted Veggies: Toss almost any vegetable with olive oil and S&P, cook at 400 degrees.

  • French Toast

  • Baked Potatoes

  • Salad: Any simple combination of leftover veggies plus salad dressing, something like this .

  • Rice: Inexpensive rice cookers are easy to use. See rice cooker recipes.

• Kettle grills are inexpensive and some dorms even include BBQ grills in courtyard areas. Learn the basics of charcoal grilling, then learn how to smoke on a grill.

• If you live with roommates, share the meal planning duties. A good start: each roommate is responsible for one meal a week. See more tips for how to cook at home.

Tips for Parents

• Send an occasional care package with a simple recipe card, nonperishable ingredients, and a note telling your kids any fresh items to buy.

• More than likely, some of the most comforting dishes you make are super easy. Think of the regular meals you serve and make sure your kids are comfortable cooking your family’s favorite basic foods.

• If your kid is within driving distance, pack an ice chest with a few frozen home-cooked meals that your student can reheat. Souper Cubes are great for freezing individual portions of just about anything.

Other Resources

• Review the USDA’s food safety basics.

• See a list of basic kitchen items to have on hand.

• See our collection of longer-cooking slow cooker recipes.