By Robbie Irving

Image by Katie Smith, Via Unsplash

Cooking away from home can be tough, challenging and expensive. This guide will hold your hand through the supermarket and show you where to find the cheapest ingredients for the best recipes.

CHEAPEST SUPERMARKET

The supermarket with the best value for money is Aldi, giving you the best range for your recipes. If not Aldi, you should aim to shop at Lidl or Tesco, avoiding Waitrose at all costs. Aldi proves to be the best place to buy all your essential ingredients. For example, a bag of penne pasta and a jar of tomato and herb sauce altogether costs 86p, allowing you to make an easy pasta dish for under £1.

JACKET POTATO

The easiest meal to make is a jacket potato. The first and best route is buying the potatoes individually and uncut for 24p. The potatoes need to be pricked then placed into the oven on a baking tray at 200C or gas mark six for roughly an hour and 15 minutes. However, a more time effective option is buying two ready cooked microwavable jacket potatoes for £1.55. These only take four minutes in the microwave but it is a waste of money. As this meal is a blank canvas there are endless possibilities for toppings such as baked beans, grated cheese and sliced bacon.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

Another easy meal is chicken fajitas. An amazing meal on a budget as they can be made multiple times during the week. All you need is a range of spices, tortilla wraps, chicken breasts and any vegetables you fancy. The whole meal cost comes to £6.09, with a multiple pack of chicken breasts for £2.99 and the tortilla wraps and spices for £3.10. To start, toss and marinate as many chicken breasts as you need in bowl with two garlic cloves, a half tablespoon of cumin and a full tablespoon of chilli powder. Now add some oil to a frying pan on a high heat and cook your marinated chicken breasts for five minutes, until golden brown. Cook your vegetables in the left-over oil. Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, assemble and enjoy your fajitas.

CHICKEN BURGERS

This is a great meal on a budget because you can use the left-over ingredients from the previous meals mentioned above. This recipe needs the left-over chicken breasts used for the fajitas that should be smashed down to make big and even burgers. Massage the chicken breast with some garlic cloves, a splash of olive oil and salt and pepper then leave to marinate for 15 minutes. After the chicken has marinated, place it on a griddle for two – three minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, toast your burger buns on a pan set to high heat until they are lightly charred. Finally, it is time to assemble your burger with whatever toppings you like. A couple of cheap toppings like a bag of iceberg lettuce and a sliced tomato will cost you just £1.30.

These three simple meals are extremely cost effective and easy to make as a student. When buying your ingredients try to buy them in multiple packs as they are usually cheaper and leftovers can be used for other meals during the week.

Budget meals on a student salary