I’m Rachel, a third year musical theatre student at Edge Hill University. From a global pandemic to cost of living crisis, the past three years has been tough on students. One thing that I’m particularly conscious of is money and trying to get the most from my limited budget.
To help you get the most out of your money, I have created a series of cheap recipe ideas for students. Each one is packed with flavour and with a few simple changes, you can easily adapt them to become a cheap vegan student meal. So, kiss goodbye to beans on toast and let’s get cooking.
Cheap breakfast ideas for students
Skipping breakfast is common amongst university students. It can lead to lack of concentration and increased stress levels. I have a few cheap and cheerful breakfast smoothie recipes that are designed to satisfy you for longer and won’t cost you the earth. They can be thrown together in a hurry and taken with you on your morning commute to campus.
Time saver smoothie recipes
Get your five a day and stay full until lunchtime for under £1.50 per smoothie.
Top tip: Prep in small bags/boxes and freeze, then simply add your choice of milk, water or juice and blend away.
Green breakfast smoothie
Prep time: 5 mins
Make time: 5 mins
Ingredients
Spinach 1handful (£1.09 for 1kg of frozen spinach/3p)
Pineapple 50g (£1.95 for 500g of frozen pineapple/20p)
Mango 75g (£1.95 for 500g of frozen mango/30p)
Avocado 1/2 (£1.39 for 2/35p)
Cucumber 1/3 (75p for a full cucumber/25p)
All ingredients are from Aldi*.
Total cost per smoothie: £1.13
Blueberry smoothie
Prep time: 5 mins
Make time: 5 mins
Ingredients
Strawberries 100g (350g of frozen strawberries is £1.49/42p)
Banana 1 (14p)
Blueberries 75g (£2.15 for 400g frozen blueberries/40p)
Raspberries 50g (£1.49 for 350g of raspberries/21p)
All ingredients are from Aldi*.
Total cost per smoothie: £1.17
Tropical smoothie
Prep time: 5 mins
Make time: 5 mins
Ingredients
Strawberries 100g (350g of frozen strawberries is £1.49/42p)
Mango 100g (£1.95 for 500g of frozen mango/40p)
Pineapple 50g (£1.95 for 500g of frozen pineapple/20p)
Raspberries 50g (£1.49 for 350g of raspberries/21p)
All ingredients are from Aldi*.
Total cost per smoothie: £1.23
*All prices shown are Aldi and based on the cost available at the time. Prices may vary depending on where and when you choose to shop.
How about making a smoothie bowl?
Smoothie bowls may take more time and care, but it feels like having ice cream for breakfast so it’s totally worth it!
All you need to change for this is the quantity of fruit and liquid to get your desired thickness, then pour into a bowl and decorate with whatever you like.
Top tip: Only use a small amount of milk for an ice cream-like consistency!
Optional add ins:
Mix in: Cocoa nibs, oats, peanut butter, or protein powder
Toppings: Chia seeds, desiccated coconut, granola
Cheap lunch recipes for students
How many of us have skipped lunch as a student? Either you’re too busy rushing around, or you grab something when you’re out and don’t get a chance to eat it. Lunch doesn’t have to be an afterthought. Here are three super easy, healthy, and cheap university meal ideas for lunchtime.
Food waste warrior soup recipes
Lunch is a great time to find all your leftover veg and put it to good use. These cheap uni meal recipes can be popped in the freezer and kept for months to make future meals simple and cost-effective. If you don’t have the exact ingredients, experiment with what you have at home. Soups are versatile, easy to make, and a great low-cost option. Top tip: Buy a thermal flask or mug and enjoy warm soup on the go between lectures.
Leek and potato
Serves 3
Cooking time: 20 mins
Using Aldi ingredients* = Total cost 70p or 23p per person.
Ingredients
Aldi leek and potato soup mix 150g (25p)
Vegetable stock 1 pint (75p for 4 pots/19p)
Crème fraiche 75ml (£1.05 for 300ml/26p)
Season with salt and pepper.
Method
Fry the leek and potato soup mix in a pan on a medium heat for 8 minutes.
Add 1 pint of vegetable stock to the mix and leave the whole thing for 10 minutes.
Turn off the pan and let the mixture cool.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Blend the mixture and add a dollop of crème fraiche to your bowl before eating.
Top tip: The recipe will taste equally as good without creme fraiche for a cheap vegan student meal alternative.
Tomato and basil
Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 mins
Using Aldi ingredients* = Total cost £2.19 or £1.10 per person
Ingredients
Tomatoes 500g roughly chopped (£1.38)
Garlic cloves 2 small, roughly chopped (4p)
Basil leaves 1 handful fresh (52p per pack/13p)
Tomato purée ½ tbsp (45p per tube/3p)
Olive oil 2 tbsp (12p)
Vegetable stock 300ml (19p)
Double cream 75ml (£1.19 for 300ml/30p)
Season with salt and pepper.
Method
Add the roughly chopped garlic to a pan with the olive oil and fry for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to the boil over a low heat.
After 20 minutes add basil, salt and pepper and blend the whole mixture.
Pour in the double cream and serve.
Top tip: Replace the double cream with a dairy free cream for a cheap vegan student meal alternative.
Carrot and coriander
Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 mins
Using Aldi ingredients* = Total cost 61p or 30p per person.
Ingredients
Olive oil ½ tbsp (3p)
½ an onion (3p)
Ground coriander ½ tsp (3p)
½ a potato (23p for 1 potato/11p)
Carrots, peeled 225g (1.5kg for 60p/9p)
Vegetable stock 600ml (19p)
Coriander about ¼ of a supermarket packet (52p per pack/13p)
Method
Roughly chop the onion, carrot, potato, and fresh coriander.
Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion and fry for a few minutes.
Add the carrots, potato and ground coriander to the pan and continue to fry.
Pour in the vegetable stock and continue to boil the mixture on a low heat for 20 minutes.
Once cooked, blend the whole mixture with the fresh coriander.
Pour the soup into bowls, add a sprinkle of the saved fresh coriander to serve.
*All prices shown are from Aldi and based on the cost available at the time. Prices may vary depending on where and when you choose to shop.
Cheap evening meal recipes for students
We don’t all have the time and energy to make a nutritious homecooked dinner after a long day at university. Thankfully, these cheap recipes for students will make it easy to enjoy a quick, tasty evening meal on a budget. There are two of my favourite crowd-pleasing evening meal ideas for you to try. Both can be adapted to make delicious vegan or vegetarian student meals. You can easily batch cook and freeze individual portions to save you time and money in the future.
Super speedy Mexican bean rice
This recipe is a quick, easy, and a cheap uni meal option that I have relied on to get me through some tough nights of study. My favourite part is that it can easily be adapted. Switch up the recipe and get rid of things that need using by adding and changing the fresh ingredients to suit whatever’s in your fridge.
Serves 2
Cooking time: 20 mins
Using Aldi ingredients* = Total cost £2.54 or £1.27 per person
Ingredients
Salsa (79p) or 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes (32p)
Onion (59p for 1KG of wonky onions. Estimated 100g = 6p)
Peppers (43p 1 red pepper)
Chilli (57p for 3 fresh chillies. Estimated = 19p worth used in recipe)
Sweetcorn (19p for 100g tinned sweetcorn)
Kidney beans (1 tin = 33p)
Rice (35p microwave rice)
Cheese (or vegan alternative) (£2.69 for 400g Red Leicester, Estimated 0.67p)
Method
Roughly chop the pepper, onion, and chilli.
Rinse your kidney beans and drain the sweetcorn.
Throw everything into a pan with whatever oil you want and stir occasionally until soft.
Microwave or cook your rice and add to the pan with your favourite mixture of spices (I use fajita spice, but you could simply use salt and pepper).
Stir everything until combined.
Add in your salsa and give it all a good mix.
Grate some cheese on top then either wait for it to melt or if you have an oven proof pan, pop it under the grill for a minute or two for a delicious crispy texture.
Although it would increase the price you could garnish with lime, avocado or sour cream.
Add chicken, minced beef or chorizo if you would prefer a non-vegetarian option.
Top tip: The leftovers can be made into filling burritos, simply buy a packet of tortilla wraps (approx. 90p) and add the remaining mix to your wrap for an easy meal when you’re on the go.
Cupboard raider sausage ragu
Pasta, sausages, and tinned tomatoes are staples in my student house and it’s so easy to make this hearty and healthy uni meal with minimal fuss and very few ingredients. Scale the recipe up and feed the whole house for under £1.27 per person.
Serves 2
Cooking time: 50 mins
Using Aldi ingredients* = Total cost £2.54 or £1.27 per person
Ingredients
Olive oil 1 tablespoon (6p)
½ onion (finely chopped) (59p for 1KG of wonky onions. Estimated 50g = 3p)
1 large garlic clove (crushed) (89p for 4 bubs, 2p for 1 clove)
Chilli flakes 1/8 teaspoon (59p for 29g, less than 1 gram needed, around 2p)
1 rosemary sprig (leaves finely chopped) (52p for 20g, need about 1g = around 3p)
Tomatoes (chopped) 1 400g can (32p)
Pork sausages 3 £2.39 for 4 = (around £1.79 needed)
Whole milk 75ml (95p for 568ml = around 12p needed)
½ lemon (zested) (15p per lemon, = around 8p needed)
Pasta 175g (41p for 500g = around 7p needed)
Method
Boil water and add to the pan with salt.
Chop your onion and rosemary, zest your lemon, and crush your garlic.
Add the olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat.
Squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins and fry until golden, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as you go.
Throw in the chopped onion, garlic, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and rosemary and fry until the onions are soft.
Add your pasta to the water and cook for at least 10 minutes.
Add the lemon and tomatoes and keep stirring until it comes to a simmer. Then lower the heat and add the milk.
Once everything is cooked to your liking, drain the pasta, and toss with the sauce.
Dish up and add parmesan (or a vegetarian/vegan alternative) and parsley to garnish (optional).
Top tip: This recipe can easily be made into a cheap vegan or vegetarian meal, simply swap the sausage with your favourite meat free alternative.
*All prices shown are from Aldi and based on the cost available at the time. Prices may vary depending on where and when you choose to shop.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been getting students to channel their inner chef with the new Student Life Learn2Cook programme. Regardless of your ability, we invite you to come along. Cook, connect and create. Our Learn2Cook programme gives you the chance to meet new people and learn some new dishes. The Student Life team has paid for all ingredients, so the programme has been completely free to take part in.
