4 Cheap & Easy Student Recipes

One of the best things about living on your own is being able to cook whatever you like, and discovering tasty new recipes.

To get you started on your culinary adventure, we share four essential student recipes which will keep your body nourished and your wallet happy.

Before you get going, here are a few tips and tricks for mastering the kitchen:

1. Take out and chop up ingredients in advance of cooking for a smoother, less stressful experience!
2. Wash up as you go to avoid a pile of dishes waiting for you at the end of the process!
3. Read the recipe before you start cooking, and plan ahead – is there anything you can do whilst you’re waiting on something to cook?
4. Always keep an eye on your cooking.
5. Making larger quantities of a meal can be great for sharing with your flatmates, or for reheating over the coming days. If you do the latter, make sure that you store the food properly, remember the use-by dates of your ingredients and know when it’s time for the leftovers to be thrown in the bin.
6. Substitute as needed – once you get a hold of the basics, you will discover a range of shortcuts 
7. Remember that it’s all a learning experience, and don’t be afraid to experiment! Living on your own gives you freedom to cook whatever you like, however you like, and find out what works best for you.

You might also find it handy to learn about some common recipe abbreviations, such as:

So now that you know the basics, let’s get cooking!

Vegetable Jalfrezi Curry (Vegetarian) 

Image Source: Stock photo. Not actual recipe.

(8 servings)

Adapted from jamieoliver.com

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 1 red chilli
• 1 piece of ginger (around 5cm long)
• 2 cloves of garlic (or 2 tsp of garlic paste)
• 1 bunch of coriander (around 30g)
• 2 red peppers
• 1 cauliflower
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 small butternut squash
• 1 tin of chickpeas (around 400g)
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• Half a jar of Jalfrezi curry paste (half of a 285g jar = 143g)
• 2 tins of plum tomatoes (around 400g each)
• 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 2 lemons (or 2 tbsp lemon juice from a bottle)
• 200g of natural yogurt
• Salt and pepper

Equipment

• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Colander
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Two small bowls for your ingredients
• A large casserole or thick-bottom pan with a lid
• Can opener 

Method

1. Wash your vegetables: chilli, coriander, tomatoes and peppers
2. Tear or cut off the green leaves from the cauliflower, then break/cut it into florets around 2cm in size. Wash the florets all at once using the colander for ease!
3. Peel, halve and roughly chop the onion, placing it in a bowl once chopped
4. Finely slice the chilli and add it to the onions
5. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic, then add to the onions and chilli
6. Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks; add the stalks to the onion bowl and set the leaves aside for later
7. Carefully halve the butternut squash, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard them. Slice the squash into wedges around 2.5cm in size, leaving the peel on but removing any thick skin. Then, roughly chop it into smaller pieces. Place in the second, empty bowl
8. Drain the chickpeas and add them to the butternut squash bowl
9. Halve, de-seed and roughly chop the peppers, adding them to the butternut squash bowl
10. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan on medium-high heat, and swirl a little to make sure the bottom of the pan is covered in the oil
11. Add the contents of the first bowl to the pan: onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks; cook for 10 minutes (or until the onions are softened and translucent), stirring frequently
12. Add the peppers, butternut squash, chickpeas and Jalfrezi curry paste to the pan, and stir well to coat
13. Add the cauliflower to the pan, alongside the fresh and tinned tomatoes. Break up the plum tomatoes with the back of your spatula/spoon
14. Fill the now-empty tomato can with water, then add to the pan, together with the vinegar. Stir again
15. Bring the dish to the boil; once bubbling, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on. Check the mixture and stir it every 10 minutes or so to prevent it from burning. If the mixture looks too runny after 30 minutes, remove the lid for the rest of the cooking time
16. If serving with rice, cook the rice according to instructions on the packet
17. Squeeze juice out of the lemons into a bowl, making sure to remove any seeds
18. When the veggies are tender (check with a fork/knife), taste the curry and season it as you like it with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice
19. Enjoy with poppadoms or fluffy rice, a few dollops of natural yogurt and coriander leaves!
20. If you’re not sharing with flatmates or made too much, set the pot aside to cool down and, once cool, place in the fridge under a lid (never put a hot dish in a fridge!) to reheat over the next day or two.

Chilli Con Carne (vegan)

(6 Servings)

Adapted from olivemagazine.com

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 350g of vegan mince
• 2 onions
• 1 red chilli
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 1 green pepper
• 2 tbsp of chipotle paste
• 2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 tsp of ground coriander
• ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp of sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 1 tbsp of tomato puré
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (400g each)
• 250ml of vegetable stock (vegetarian stock cube mixed with 250ml of boiling water)
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tin of kidney beans (400g)
• Cooked rice to serve
• Optional to serve: diced avocado, chopped coriander

Equipment

• Tablespoon and teaspoon (or a set of measuring spoons)
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Pan or pot with a heavy bottom
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Two small bowls for your ingredients
• Can opener (unless the cans of tomatoes and beans you bought have a peel-off lid)

Method

• Chop up the onions, garlic and chilli and set aside
• Chop up the pepper
• In a small bowl, mix your spices and herbs: cumin, coriander, cinnamon, sweet smoked paprika, dried oregano. Set aside
• Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in the pan/pot
• Fry the onions, garlic and chilli until softened and fragrant
• Add the peppers and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently
• Stir in the chipotle paste, spices and oregano, tomato puré, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and stock. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer
• Lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes
• Add the vegan mince and kidney beans, stirring to mix
• Simmer for another 15 minutes, adding a bit of water if it gets a little thick
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Cook rice in the meantime according to instructions on the packet
• Serve the chilli with the cooked rice. You can also add toppings of chopped avocado and coriander.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Image Source: Stock photo. Not actual recipe.

(6 servings)

Adapted from olivemagazine.com

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 150g of diced pancetta
• 500g of beef mince
• 6 pork sausages (or sausage meat) – look for ones with high meat content
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 celery sticks
• 2 carrots (you can buy these pre-grated)
• 2 tins of canned cherry tomatoes (around 400g each)
• 2 tbsp of tomato puré
• 300ml of chicken stock (1 chicken stock cube mixed with 300ml of water)
• A small bunch of fresh basil
• 500g of spaghetti pasta (or a handful if you’re just cooking for yourself)
• A handful of Parmesan cheese

Equipment

• Colander
• Pan/heavy-bottom pot with a lid (tip: If your pan isn’t deep enough to fit the whole dish in it, use it to fry the meat, then cook the rest of the dish in a large pot with a lid)
• Spatula/wooden spoon
• Kitchen knife
• Chopping board
• Grater
• Peeler
• Measuring jug
• A bowl for your ingredients
• Can opener 

Method

1. Chop up the onions, garlic and celery. If you have whole carrots, peel and grate these (or chop them finely if you do not have a grater), and set all aside
2. If you have whole sausages, cut the skins horizontally and remove the meat into a bowl. Throw the skins away
3. Heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, wide pan
4. Add the chopped pancetta and cook until golden/brown
5. Add the mince meat and cook until browned, breaking it up with the spatula/wooden spoon
6. Add the sausage meat and keep cooking until browned; try to break it up into smaller pieces, similar in size to the minced beef
7. Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots; give everything a good stir
8. Cover the pan with a lid and cool on low heat for around 10 minutes, until the veggies soften. Stir a couple of times to make sure the mixture is not sticking to the bottom of the dish
9. In the meantime, boil some water. Place the stock cube in a measuring jug and pour in 300ml of boiling water; stir until the stock cube is melted
10. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and chicken stock to the pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring a couple of times and making sure that it is not burning
11. 10-12 minutes before the sauce is done, cook your spaghetti (check the packet for the exact cooking time) in lightly salted water, then drain using the colander
12. If you’re cooking for a group, toss the spaghetti into the sauce and stir to coat. If you’re just cooking for yourself, place the pasta in a bowl and top with the sauce. Set the rest of the sauce aside to cool, and as soon as it has cooled down, cover it with a lid and place it in the fridge
13. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top, and enjoy!

Tuna Melt Jacket Potatoes 

(2 servings)

Source: olivemagazine.com

Jacket potatoes make for an incredibly easy and wallet-friendly meal, and the number of possible toppings means it can be easily adapted to a variety of diets. You can even use the above recipes as toppings!

Ingredients

• 2 baking potatoes
• 1 tin of tuna in spring water
• 4 spring onions
• A small bunch of chives
• 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 50g of grated cheddar
• Salt and pepper

Equipment

• 1 baking tray
• Kitchen foil or baking paper
• An oven glove
• A bowl
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife
• Can opener (unless the tuna can you bought has a peel-off lid)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220 degrees; make sure to wait until it has reached the correct temperature before cooking
2. Scrub the potatoes until they are clean
3. Put kitchen foil or baking paper on a baking tray, then place the potatoes on top
4. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, then sprinkle with salt
5. Place the potatoes in the oven, and set a timer for around one hour
6. In the meantime, chop spring onions and chives
7. In a bowl, mix tuna, the spring onions and chives, mayo and half of the cheese; cover with cling film and set aside until the potatoes are done
8. When the timer goes off, check your potatoes; pierce the potato with the sharp tip of a knife. If it feels soft and fluffy inside, your potatoes are done! If there is any resistance, put the potatoes back in the oven and check them again in 15 minute intervals – make sure they don’t burn!
9. Once cooked, cut each potato in half, and scoop out some of the inside into the tuna bowl, leaving around 1 centimetres of potato inside of the skin to create a “shell”
10. Mix the potato and tuna together, then spoon the mixture into the potato shells
11. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top
12. Put the potatoes back in the oven until the cheese has melted and is golden in colour
13. Enjoy with a nice green salad on the side!

Or, if you really just don’t feel like it…

Cooking can be fun, but we know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

If you find yourself too tired to put a meal together, or aren’t feeling entirely confident yet, you may be in luck – many campuses have a variety of cafés and restaurants on site, meaning a good meal is never too far away.  

At Newcastle, we’re lucky to host a whole range of places to eat on campus – whether you’re looking for something cheap, healthy, or a comfort food! For a full list of places to eat, why not refer to our Where to Eat on campus page?