So you’re living in the dorm and want a break from the food at the dining hall? You’re in for a treat as we have three dorm meal ideas that you can easily prepare.
But of course, it is important that your pantry is well stocked. We’re not talking about instant noodles but real food that you can enjoy. It is always great to have something easily available, whether you are looking for a snack, or for something to quickly prepare.
Being a student time is very valuable, as you have to move between classes, prepare for exams, attend events, and many other things. Therefore, it is always a good idea to have some essentials readily available for snacking, for those busy days! Here are some pantry essentials that you should stock.
3 Pantry Essentials for the Best Dorm Meal Ideas
Cheese
What’s great about cheese is that you can eat it alone or add it to the meal for more flavor. You can cut different types of cheese for some wine night with your girlfriends. Also, if you buy older grated cheeses, such as parmesan, it can be stored for a long time. Therefore, you can buy it well in advance and enjoy it pretty much for months to come.
If you are looking to incorporate cheese into a delicious meal, then tacos and burritos will not be complete without some cheese on it. Here, you can go with mozzarella, cheddar, or American cheese. So better make sure you stock up on these in your dorm.
Bread
Having a loaf of bread around the dorm is great for when you are in a hurry and just have a few minutes to eat. You can put it on the toaster or spread some peanut butter or any other spread of choice and you’re already good to go.
For a more hefty meal, other dorm meal ideas for bread include grilled cheese sandwich or any other combination you might think of.
Meat
Not all college students have the luxury of time to prepare their dorm meals. But if you are serious about cooking you should always have meat in your dorm pantry.
It does not have to be fancy. You can have something as simple as canned tuna or perhaps some deli meat. Stock up on some frozen meat like ground beef for pasta or chicken breast. These are very versatile ingredients as they can be used for a variety of dorm meal ideas.
What Kitchen Gadgets should you have?
The ingredients are nothing if you don’t have the right tools to cook them with. Most dorms usually have a microwave oven and a mini-fridge. Everything about the best mini-fridge for your dorm you can find at Pixel Fridge.
Also, if you would like better meals, you may want to bring a slow cooker. These can be very handy as you only need to prepare the ingredients, leave it on the slow cooker and let it do its magic. With this nifty gadget, you can make a stew or even pork loin, check more details here.
3 Dorm Meal Ideas you need to try today
Overnight Oats
Breakfast is a meal that you should never miss. If you want energy for the whole day, don’t go for the McDonald’s drive-through. But if you find yourself rushing every morning because you are always running late, why not try and prepare your breakfast the night before?
Overnight oats are one of the best dorm meal ideas because they don’t take much effort. But even if you only need 10-15 minutes to prepare them the night before, your oats will be packed with flavor.
Make sure that it should be a balanced meal. Aside from your rolled oats, add some Greek yogurt instead of milk onto your mason jar. Put some chia seeds and your favorite fruit like blueberries and then put it inside the fridge the night before.
The next morning, all you need to do is grab the jar and you can even eat on the go!
Mac and Cheese
No, we are not talking about the instant one you find at the grocery. You don’t need to settle for the boxed kind as a stovetop mac and cheese is actually very easy to make!
Instead of a stovetop, you can make everything in the microwave! In your microwave-safe bowl, just put the pasta and add the same amount of water. You need to heat it on high for intervals of 2 minutes until your noodles are tender. Make sure that you stir after you heat okay?
Once the noodles are the perfect texture, just add your choice of cheese and of course some milk. You then just heat it for another 30 seconds and voila – the perfect lunch or dinner for a college kid like you!
Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Ah, sloppy joes. For many people, they are the ultimate comfort food. It’s something you want to consume after a long day of studying or exams. They are delicious and super easy to make. Also, you can make many variations of them, such as charburger, or taco sloppy joes.
Do yourself a favor and do not settle for the canned ones. They are nothing compared to the real thing. The great thing about them is that they can actually be easy to prepare. If you have a crockpot, this slow cooker sloppy joe recipe is perfect for you.
All you need to do is cook the meat first and transfer it to the slow cooker along with other ingredients like tomato sauce, spices and more. The best thing about the crockpot is that you can just leave it there for at least three hours and you’ll have perfectly cooked sloppy joes after.
You can serve this for game day and invite your friends over to your dorm because this is the type of meal that you share with a lot of people. In addition, you can easily make this recipe ahead and refrigerate for days to come.
