What are you making tonight?

Every student recipe on here, priced on its own page wherever every ingredient prices out. Search it, or pick a mood.

Nando's At Home

Do not spend £16 on Nando's. Peri peri chicken, chips and garlic bread for a fraction of it.

Katsu Curry

Crispy chicken, sticky rice and a creamy curry sauce out of a 99p jar. Quick and cheap. If you have more time, use real chicken instead of the breaded patty.

Confident30 mins

Chicken Fajitas

The quickest meal on here, and it still tastes like a Friday.

Confident25 mins

Spaghetti Bolognese

Mince, tomatoes and time. The longer it simmers the better it tastes. A whole pack of mince makes two generous portions or four smaller ones.

Confident40 mins

Sunday Roast

Ruffled roast potatoes, honey carrots, and gravy made in the broccoli water.

Advanced70 mins

Lasagne

Bolognese, a proper white sauce and a golden cheese top. This might be one of the best things you can make on a student budget.

Advanced75 mins

Chicken Pesto Pasta

£1.71 Pesto pasta! all ingredients from ALDI.

Confident25 mins

Creamy Sausage Pasta Bake

The cheesiest, creamiest pasta bake, and it is mostly waiting.

Confident30 mins

Bangers And Mash

The smoothest mash you will ever make, and the trick is a sieve.

Confident40 mins

Full English Breakfast

There is no topping this when it comes to breakfast.

Confident20 mins

Kidney Bean Chilli

No mince and no shortcuts on the simmer. Twenty minutes with the lid off is what makes it a chilli rather than bean soup.

Confident35 mins

Red Lentil Dhal

Lentils, spice fried properly in the oil rather than boiled, and twenty minutes of not much attention. The cheapest hot dinner on this site that still tastes like somebody cooked it.

Confident30 mins

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

Sweet potato that actually goes soft, chickpeas that take on the sauce, and half a tin of coconut milk doing the heavy lifting.

Confident35 mins

Crispy Tofu Noodle Stir Fry

Tofu that is crisp instead of wobbly, which is entirely about pressing it first and then leaving it alone in the pan.

Confident20 mins

Chicken Stir Fry

Quick, cheap and actually filling. A bag of frozen stir fry mix means there is nothing to chop.

20 mins

Butter Bean and Tomato Spaghetti

Butter beans instead of mince, and the trick with the starchy pasta water that turns a thin sauce glossy.

Confident20 mins

Egg Fried Rice

Probably the easiest way to turn leftover rice and a bag of frozen veg into an actual meal.

15 mins

Peanut Butter Porridge

Porridge that is actually worth eating. The peanut butter goes in while it cooks rather than on top, which is the whole trick.

Beginner10 mins

Chicken Salad Sandwich

One breast, cooked and shredded, with mayonnaise and something crisp. About a third the price of the shop version and fifteen minutes, nearly all of which is the chicken.

Confident15 mins

Bacon Sandwich

Three rashers a round, white bread, butter and whichever sauce you are prepared to argue about. The only technique in it is starting the bacon in a cold pan.

Beginner10 mins

Jacket Potato with Beans and Cheese

Baking potatoes in the microwave, a tin of beans between them and grated cheddar on top. The oven version has a better skin and takes an hour and a half, which is exactly why this one exists.

Beginner15 mins

Tuna Mayo and Sweetcorn Sandwich

One tin of tuna, half a tin of sweetcorn and just enough mayonnaise to bind it. The shop version is mayonnaise with a bit of tuna in, which is the wrong way round.

Beginner5 mins

Banana Pancakes

£0.91 - One ripe banana, one egg and a bit of flour. A cheap, easy and actually delicious way to start your morning.

Beginner15 mins

Apple Crumble

Super easy and delicious Autumn snack!

Confident30 mins

Proper Beans on Toast

Everybody already knows how to do this badly. Two extra minutes and a couple of things from the cupboard make it worth eating.

Beginner10 mins

Mushroom and Spinach Omelette

Three eggs and whatever green is about to go off. Ready faster than most things and it keeps you full until lunch.

Confident15 mins

Sausage and Egg Muffin

The drive-through one, done at home for a fraction of it. Fifteen minutes, one pan and a toaster.

Beginner15 mins

Crispy Potato Hash

The one that works when the fridge is basically empty. Potatoes, an onion and whatever pepper is going soft. No meat, no dairy, no bread, so it suits almost everybody.

Beginner25 mins

Egg Mayo Sandwich

Three hard boiled eggs mashed with mayonnaise and a lot more salt than you think. It rests entirely on not overcooking the eggs, because a grey ring round the yolk tastes the way it looks.

Beginner15 mins

Pesto Pasta Salad

Pasta, pesto, tomatoes and spinach, eaten cold. Three minutes of work either side of the pasta boiling and one pan for the whole thing.

Beginner15 mins

Smashed Chickpea Sandwich

A tin of chickpeas crushed with lemon and olive oil instead of mayonnaise. It does the same job as tuna mayo for about a third of the price, and it keeps in the fridge overnight.

Beginner10 mins

Tuna Pasta Salad

Cold pasta, tuna, sweetcorn and mayonnaise. Made tonight it is tomorrow's packed lunch, made now it is lunch in fifteen minutes.

Beginner15 mins

Cheese on Toast

Worth doing under the grill rather than in the toaster, because the cheese has to bubble. Two minutes longer and it is a different thing.

Beginner8 mins

Jam on Toast

Nobody needs telling how. It is here because it is what a lot of mornings actually look like, and because a jar of jam is 49p and lasts months.

Beginner3 mins

Crumpets and Jam

A pack of six is 45p. Toast them longer than you think, because a pale crumpet is a sad thing and the holes want to go crisp.

Beginner5 mins

Wheat Biscuits and Golden Syrup

Two biscuits, hot milk and a spoon of syrup. Filling, about twenty pence, and it does not need anything switched on if you use cold milk.

Beginner3 mins

Yoghurt, Banana and Honey

The one for mornings when you are already late. Nothing gets cooked, nothing gets washed up except a bowl, and it takes about two minutes.

Beginner3 mins

Peanut Butter and Banana Toast

Five minutes, three things, and it actually keeps you going until lunch, which plain toast does not. No dairy and nothing from an animal in it.

Beginner5 mins

Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

Two slices, cheddar cut thick, one tomato. The only thing that makes it better than the one you already make is salting the tomato first and letting it drain.

Beginner5 mins

Cornflakes and Banana

Two minutes, one bowl, nothing switched on. Worth having in the plan because some mornings this is genuinely the right answer.

Beginner2 mins

Spiced Chickpea Wraps

Chickpeas fried until they crisp and split, fajita spice turned into a coating instead of a dust, fifteen minutes start to finish.

Beginner15 mins

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