Budget dishes for students to try

Being a student on a budget is a feeling that everyone is familiar with. So finding budget-friendly meals daily is a challenge every student has to deal with during their formative years. Here is a list of budget dishes for students that are tasty and wholesome. The recipes are simple, do not need many ingredients or fancy equipment, and have easy preparation. These dishes strike a good balance between comfort and health. When you’re stressed, you want comfort, but eating poorly can make you feel worse, and these dishes make for good leftovers.

Budget-friendly dishes for students

Curried chickpeas with spinach

Warm yourself up with a hot bowl of these hearty curried chickpeas with spinach as the fall nights start to grow cold. This vegan recipe is flavorful and satisfying enough to finally bring vegetarians and omnivores together for a meal.

The curried chickpeas with spinach are flavorful, nutritious, vegan, and gluten-free.

They also freeze well!

Pork and peanut dragon noodles 

These pork and peanut dragon noodles are sweet, salty, rich, and crispy. It’s a quick and simple comfort dinner for hectic study nights.

Try this very simple noodle stir fry the next time you’re tempted to order takeout. It will satisfy your take-out desires while giving you complete control over the ingredients.

To balance out the dish, add some boiled veggies. You can also try the original vegetarian dragon noodles.

Creamy pesto mac with spinach

This creamy pesto mac and cheese with spinach is the ultimate comfort food with a dose of vegetables thanks to a simple creamy sauce enriched with basil pesto.

Get your daily vegetable serving along with your cheesy comfort meal. The best part is that the recipe uses frozen spinach, so you can prepare it whenever you want without worrying about it spoiling in the back of your fridge.

Beef and cabbage stir fry

This quick and easy beef and cabbage stir fry is a hearty low-carb dish with great flavor and infinite modification options.

This dish comes together in no time with a bag of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots). Even better, it’s high in fiber and protein, so it’ll help you avoid the Freshman 15(15 pounds weight gain due to hectic student life). You can use ground pork, turkey, or chicken instead of beef.

Bowties and broccoli

This insanely simple dinner ‘cheat’ is ready in minutes and will keep you full for hours. Bowties and broccoli are all-time favorite weeknight dinners for students.

For decades, this has been the go-to emergency meal  for many.

Nothing beats spaghetti with a bit of butter and parmesan, and balance it up with broccoli florets, a little pepper, and red pepper flakes for kicks.

It’s ridiculously simple, and all the components can be kept on hand eternally, so it’s ready to go whenever you need something to eat quickly.

Poor man’s burrito bowls

These no-frills burrito bowls are quick and inexpensive. They’re the ideal filling weeknight supper for when the budget is tight.

We all know burrito bowls are essential, but they don’t have to be fancy to be delicious and filling. This is a no-frills, as-simple-as-it-gets burrito bowl since who has time or money for all those fancy toppings while you’re in college?

You can also plan and prepare them easily!

Pizza melts

Pizza melts combine two of the most favorite comfort foods-pizza and grilled cheese.

They’re quick, simple, and the ideal quick supper.

Make an easy pizza melt instead of getting takeout to satisfy your pizza craving.

You’ll receive all the pizza flavors for a fraction of the price and in a convenient single-serving size.

Easy pesto chicken and vegetables

This Easy pesto chicken and vegetable plan and the prepared meal are quick and simple to prepare, plus it keeps well in the fridge for wonderful lunches all week.

This very tasty, healthy, and filling meal comes together in minutes and takes only a few simple ingredients. The leftovers keep well, making them ideal for weekly lunches and breakfasts.

Spicy sriracha noodles

These sweet, tangy, and spicy sriracha noodles take only a few minutes to make and are a cheap takeout option.

The budget dishes for students would be an incomplete list without mentioning the classic dragon noodles. They’re more convenient, delicious, and entirely personalized than takeout. Add any vegetables you have on hand, or experiment with a bit of peanut butter or lime in the sauce.

Key takeaways

• Buying good food is extremely hard for students. Students must manage their expenses on a very tight budget to meet their basic needs. In this scenario, they also have to take care of themselves by eating healthy meals.
• No one can forget the student life struggles of managing expenses while dealing with hectic schedules. Looking for healthy meals is a challenging task that every student struggles with.
• Dishes like creamy pesto with spinach, beef cabbage stir fry, spicy sriracha noodles, and pizza melts are some budget-friendly dishes that students can plan and prepare while saving some money.

Did you find this blog informative? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Click here to contact us for more information on budget dishes for students. We would be happy to assist you with your queries.

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FAQs

Q1. What is the cheapest meal I can make?

Ans-Cheapest meals you can make on your own-

1. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
2. Pasta and jarred sauce
3. Bean and cheese burritos
4. Pancakes/waffles
5. Grilled cheese sandwiches
6. Chili cheese dogs
7. Sloppy Joe’s
8. Goulash

Q2. What are good cheap foods?

Ans-Here’s a shopping list of nutritious but reasonably priced goods to consider adding to your shopping cart-

• Apples
• Bananas
• Beans
• Brown rice
• Chicken
• Chuck roast
• Corn tortillas
• Eggs

Q3. How can I save on food costs?

Ans– Ways to save money on your groceries-

• See what’s on sale
• Make a grocery list and stick to it
• Use coupons wisely
• Use a calculator
• Shop at grocery stores or supermarkets
• Get to know the food prices
• Avoid shopping when you’re hungry
• Get to know the supermarket layout and where the reasonably priced healthy foods are located