Quick and easy meals to make on a student budget

 

• Gigi Hadid’s viral spicy vodka pasta (without the vodka) 

We couldn’t ignore this one, it has everything a hungry student is looking for and what’s better, you will probably have all the ingredients in your cupboard (or your flatmates cupboards!) It also only takes 20 minutes. 

What you will need: 

• 16-18 oz Pasta shells 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 pinch pepper 
• 1 teaspoon Chilli flakes 

• 1 pinch salt 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1 garlic clove 
• 1 small onion, diced 
• 118ml cream 

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste 
• Basil (optional) 
• 3 tablespoons vegetarian parmesan cheese 

 

It’s incredibly easy to make. 

Start by dicing your onions and sauteing them in a frying pan.  

Boil your pasta and once it’s ready make sure you save some water for the sauce. 

In a pan, put the onions, butter, cream, tomato paste and pasta water together to make your sauce. 

Stir this together and add the parmesan cheese and then throw in the pasta in with the sauce and stir well so it’s all covered and then serve with or without the basil as garnish. 

All that’s left to do is enjoy! 

 

 

 

• Feeling toastie? 

Who doesn’t love a good toastie? They’re cheap, filling and so quick to make. Toasties can also be healthy and nutritious, giving you fibre, grains and calcium and if you’re worried about added calories or fat, you can choose lower-fat cheese and bread. 

What you need: 

• Bread 
• Toastie filling 

That’s it! Whatever your dietary preferences or restrictions are, this is the most flexible meal to make and perfect during the summertime when you’re looking for a light meal.  

Just put the filling in your bread and either use a toastie maker or toaster bags to pop it into the toaster and it’s all ready to enjoy! 

Some of our favourite toastie creations are, Cheese toastie dipped into Tomato Soup, Chicken, pesto, mozzarella and basil and Ham, Caramelized onion chutney, stilton and rocket. 

 

 

• Speedy anchovy and broccoli pasta 

The clue is in the name with this one, it only takes 15-minutes to make. There’s a little spice and it’s a tasty meal to master! 

What you need: 

• 180g of dried pasta 
• 6 anchovy fillets 
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 tbsp chilli flakes 

• 1 tbsp fennel seeds 
• 1 broccoli (finely sliced) 
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 
• Parmesan (optional) 

 

Make sure you have a heatproof bowl that fits snug on top of a large saucepan without any gaps, so it can work as a lid but isn’t touching the water. 

Fill the pan with boiling water and season with salt.  

Add the pasta, cover with the bowl, and cook for 2 minutes.  

Remove the pan from the heat after 2 minutes but keep the bowl in place and leave for 6 minutes. 

In those 6 minutes, put the anchovies and their oil into the bowl above the pan and stir to help them break down as they heat through.  

Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, as well as the chilli flakes and fennel seeds and cook for 1 minute to infuse then stir in the broccoli slices.  

Keep stirring this around in the oil to help it warm through. Do this until the 6 minutes are up. 

Remove the bowl, drain the pasta but make sure to keep a mugful of the pasta water. 

Pop the pasta back into the pan and add the broccoli mix and a little of the cooking water. 

Mix it together over a medium heat until the pasta is coated.  

Stir in the vinegar and serve with a sprinkle of remaining oil and some grated parmesan (if you like) 

 

 

Cook up a storm with these recipes and you will basically become a master chef… ok maybe not but you definitely will enjoy some tasty food that you can quickly cook up. 

Don’t forget to get photos of your meal creations to share with us, we can’t wait to see them! The kitchens at Project Student are perfect for cooking up a meal, whether you prefer to eat solo or together with your flatmates.