6 Budget-Friendly Tips For Learning To Cook Off-Campus

By Elise Nelson on April 15, 2021

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Moving into off-campus housing is a liberating step for many college students, especially after you’ve lived in a tiny dorm room. There’s plenty of room in off-campus apartments and houses for you and your roommates to divvy up and decorate as you please. In addition to providing extra space, off-campus housing can be an excellent learning experience. You’ll have a much bigger space to take care of, so it’s a great stepping stone for moving into your own place after college. One major difference between on-campus and off-campus housing is that you’ll (probably) have a bigger kitchen, which means you have room to learn one major life skill: cooking. It’s not as hard as it sounds, and there are plenty of affordable ways to cook on a college student’s budget. Check out these tips for learning to cook in a simple and cost-effective way.

learning to cook off campus

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Start with basic staple foods

There’s no need to jump into complicated recipes when you’re first learning to cook. Start out with some easy and affordable basics! Every off-campus college student should master three foods: eggs, pasta, and rice. You can pick up each of these basics at the grocery store for under $5, and there’s plenty of room to get creative. From scrambled to sunny side up, you can cook your eggs however you please. For pasta, you can add different sauces and toppings to your favorite dry pasta shapes. The same goes for rice since you can add any seasonings or veggies.

Research ingredient substitutions 

It’s perfectly fine to switch up recipe ingredients in favor of making it more affordable, once you’re comfortable doing so. You’d be surprised at just how many ingredients are replaceable, which is great for saving money and for last-minute recipes. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, there are a few substitutes for eggs, including mayonnaise! Margarine and vegetable shortening are common substitutes for butter, while allspice can be recreated using cinnamon and ground cloves. Just be sure to research substitutions before you proceed, as some are best used only in certain circumstances (like baking only). 

Grocery shop with a budget and a plan

You’ll want to head into the grocery store with a game plan and a budget. Before your first cooking sesh, add some cooking essentials to your shopping list like oils, flour, sugar, canned goods, etc. These are always great to keep on hand at home. Then, try to map out some meals for the week and take note of the necessary ingredients. Be on the lookout for any grocery coupons or student discounts and try to stick to store brands to save some money!

learning to cook spices

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Keep basic herbs and spices on hand

When you’re first learning to cook, you may only have a handful of simple recipes to rotate through. Practice makes perfect, so you’ll want to keep trying these recipes over and over. However, repeat meals can get very boring, very quickly. Spices and herbs are a great and inexpensive way to jazz things up! Garlic, basil, chili powder, cinnamon, onion powder, nutmeg, and even taco seasoning are just a few herbs and spices to keep in your pantry. These add a ton of flavor to basic meals like pasta and rice, so you can keep switching it up. Experimentation is a crucial part of learning to cook.

Watch cooking videos on YouTube

You don’t need lessons from your city’s top chef to learn cooking skills. (Though wouldn’t that be cool?) Cooking lessons come at no cost from one very useful resource: YouTube! Cooking videos are a great tool, especially if you’re more of a visual learner. Studying recipes and cookbooks often isn’t enough to fully understand what you’re doing. You may have seen Tasty videos floating around at one point or another – this channel is excellent for recipe walkthroughs. Bon Appetit, Binging With Babish, and Food Network are also great cooking YouTube channels. You can learn everything from basic starter skills to more complicated recipes.

Get creative with leftovers

Cooking your own meals can often lead to leftovers, but don’t throw them out! Leftovers are great for busy days when you don’t necessarily have time to cook a full meal. Plus, they can save you some money, because you can plan to eat leftovers one or two days a week instead of buying ingredients for new meals every single day. Instead of eating the exact same thing, you can get creative and use your leftovers to whip up something new. For example, chicken is very versatile – you may want to cook a chicken dinner one night and then cut up the leftovers to put in a salad the next day. This way, you’re cutting out some cooking steps yet still eating a new meal!

Moving into off-campus housing is a great opportunity for learning to cook on a budget. If you’re able to get a smaller meal plan at your school, you may even wish to start out one semester by eating some meals in the dining hall and cooking the rest at home. Ease into cooking skills and take your time. Before you know it, your roommates will be begging for your delicious homecooked meals.

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