1. Prep: The Essential College Cookbook by Kate Sullivan Morford

A simple guide to one of life’s most essential skills: cooking.

New to the kitchen? Living on your own for the first time? Don’t be intimidated! This useful guide has everything you need to cook yourself real meals with real food. Centered around 10 basic lessons to get you comfortable in the kitchen, this book will get you whipping up nutritious meals, satisfying snacks, and simple desserts for you and your friends in no time. Also included are notes on knife skills, essential (and nonessential) cooking tools, and stocking your pantry. This is your go-to guide for cooking basics.

Read more about Prep: The Essential College Cookbook by Kate Sullivan Morford.

2. The Plant-Based College Cookbook by Adams Media

Enjoy healthy, plant-based meals and avoid the temptations of the dining hall and vending machines with over 175 easy, recipes any college student can master!

Who says the food in college has to be unhealthy? Now, eating healthy is simpler than ever and can even be enjoyed when you’re at college!

The Plant-Based College Cookbook is perfect for even the busiest college student and features 175 totally doable (and delicious) recipes to help you stick to your plant-based diet while on campus. Enjoy a Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffin and Creamy Carrot Smoothie to make that 8am class feel a bit easier. Impress your roommates with some homemade Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Mango Citrus Salsa. And never skip out on dessert with some Cocoa-Nut-Coconut No-Bake Cookies and DIY Peanut Butter Cups.

With helpful advice on the kitchen basics and quick, effortless recipes, you can skip the temptations of the dining hall, eat clean, and even keep off that freshman fifteen!

Read more about The Plant-Based College Cookbook by Adams Media.

3. Healthy, Quick & Easy College Cookbook by Dana Angelo White

A cookbook for college students who want to eat well without breaking the bank, with 100 simple, nutritious, and delicious recipes.

You don’t need to survive on fast food for four years!

Every busy college student knows how difficult it can be to eat healthily and also do it on a tight budget, but eating healthy doesn’t need to be hard! Healthy, Quick & Easy College Cookbook has everything you need to make simple, delicious, nutritious recipes that you’ll love, and you won’t have to break your budget to do it. You’ll learn how to make breakfasts that will fuel your day, lunches that are simple but satisfying, and main dishes that will impress anyone – including your parents. You’ll also learn how to make healthier snacks that aren’t loaded with salt and sugar, sweet treats that are better than anything from a bag, and late-night treats that you actually won’t regret eating the next day.

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4. The Visual Guide to Easy Meal Prep by Erin Romeo

Conquer your healthy eating plan while saving time and money! In A Visual Guide to Easy Meal Prep, nutrition coach and meal prep master Erin Romeo, founder of Food Prep Princess (foodprepprincess on Instagram), shows you how to prep your food in five easy steps, with photos clarifying every detail.

Meal prep is the key component to any diet—whether you’re low carb, vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, or just trying to eat healthy! If you don’t plan to eat, then you plan to fail! With A Visual Guide to Easy Meal Prep: Strategies and Recipes to Get Organized, Save Time, and Eat Healthier, you’ll learn shortcuts to prep to reduce your time in the kitchen, budget-friendly meal prep ideas, and how to pack your food. Learn how to shop, how to prep and cut your food, and the best containers to maximize your food prep pantry.

In this highly visual guide, you’ll also get more than 75 recipe ideas for healthy meal prep, complete with photos to make your prep work quick and easy. So skip the unhealthy take-out food and save money and time with the shortcuts in this essential healthy living companion, with tips and tricks for all of your food planning needs.

Read more about The Visual Guide to Easy Meal Prep by Erin Romeo.

5. The Easy College Cookbook by Candace Braun Davison

No-fuss recipes for making tasty, affordable meals from the comfort of your dorm room

Being away at college doesn’t mean you can’t have delicious, homemade cooking. The Easy College Cookbook will teach you how to make incredible meals wherever you live with clever recipes that use typical dorm appliances, easy-to-find ingredients, and a few basic tools.

This college cookbook will help you bypass the typical constraints of cooking on campus―whether you have a tight budget, limited space, or no easy way to get to a real grocery store. Creative tips and tricks help make any dorm room the perfect place for a hearty exam-day breakfast, a laid-back dinner with friends, and everything in between.

6. The College Vegan Cookbook by Heather Nicholds

Go to the head of the class with budget-friendly vegan recipes

Cooking space, prep time, ingredient stocking, cost… it can be hard being a vegan in college. The College Vegan Cookbook makes it easy for you to ace your diet―even in the dorms―with simple, healthy, and fresh vegan dishes.

This vegan cookbook features 145 modern, whole-food recipes designed with college life in mind. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a full kitchen or just a hot plate on your dresser, you’ll be able to prepare tasty, affordable vegan meals.

Whole foods, great taste ―Create delicious vegan plates using real ingredients―not processed substitutes. 145 fast and easy meals ―Choose from simple and tasty recipes, including Blueberry Oat Muffins, Ramen Noodle Bowls, Barbecue Cauliflower Wings, and Microwave Brownie Mug Cakes. Vegan on a budget ―This vegan cookbook makes your money go further with serving costs for every recipe, plus tips like supplementing your pantry from the cafeteria.

When it comes to great ideas for plant-based meals, this standout among vegan cookbooks makes the grade.

7. Budget-Friendly College Cookbook by Sara Lundberg

Tiny fridge, tiny budget, big appetite—a college student’s guide to eating well

Early classes, final exams, and the occasional party—college students have enough on their plate without worrying about how to put food on it. The Budget-Friendly College Cookbook is your go-to guide for nutritionally navigating your college years on your own with tasty meals like BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza and Pesto Pasta in a Mug that require minimal appliances and ingredients.

Learn to cook on a very small budget, put your limited space to good use, and even avoid that notorious Freshman 15. From breakfast to desserts, many of these college cookbook recipes take less than five minutes to prepare, make use of ingredients that don’t require refrigeration, and are geared toward small portions. Walk away from college with a lifetime degree in a low-cost nutritional lifestyle.

The minimalist kitchen—Keep room clutter to a minimum with minimal equipment, tools, and only 5 essentials spices. The thrifty gourmet—This college cookbook is full of helpful tips like using dried beans that don’t go bad and “borrowing” a few ketchup packets from your local burger joint if necessary. Jazzy noodles—This college cookbook provides a number of delicious variations and tricks you can do with ramen, including Garlic Alfredo and Thai Noodle Bowls. Whether you live in a dorm or a tiny apartment, use this college cookbook to eat well on a budget.

8. The Instant Pot College Cookbook by Julee Morrison

The Instant Pot® College Cookbook is the definitive dorm room solution for easy, homemade meals. Cereal and pizza might be enough to sustain a crash study session, but the best brain food is a homemade meal. The Instant Pot® College Cookbook saves college students from four years of nutrient deprivation with quick and easy, budget-friendly meals.

From grab-n-go Breakfast Burritos to late night Macaroni and Cheese, this college cookbook contains 75 tasty meals that require no previous cooking or Instant Pot® experience to whip up. Using easy-to-find and affordable ingredients, The Instant Pot® College Cookbook saves students time and money too with good fast food that rivals any take-out menu.

9. The Everything College Cookbook by Emma Lunsford

Just because you’re a college student doesn’t mean you have to endure four years of Easy Mac and ramen noodles. Whether it’s your first day in the dorms or your senior year, there are ways to skip the dining hall and make a variety of quick, easy, and delicious meals from the comfort of your room.

This edition of The Everything College Cookbook is packed with 300 recipes perfect for a fast breakfast before your 8 a.m. class or a midnight snack to keep you energized as you pull an all-nighter. Learn to make everything from a Paleo Sweet Potato Hash to 3-Ingredient Vegan Pancakes to Healthy Banana Ice Cream!

Whether you only have an Instant Pot and a microwave or a full-sized kitchen, this book has the perfect recipe for you to make a healthy and tasty meal—all while sticking to your student budget!

10. The Ultimate Student Cookbook: From Chicken to Chili, Tiffany Goodal

Written by a chef who lived away from home on a limited budget while she was a culinary arts student, The Ultimate Student Cookbook enables college and university students to enjoy fresh and healthy food every day.

Recognizing the pressures and realities of student life, these more than 100 delicious require only 20 essential pieces of kitchen equipment and use fewer than 20 staples from the cupboard. It uses healthy, inexpensive ingredients available at any grocery store, and includes important guidelines on how to store food and observe good food hygiene.

Easy to use, encouraging to readers and packed with delicious ideas, this book will be a godsend to students living away from home — and to parents with visions of scurvy.

11. How to Feed Yourself by Spoon University

Learn how to fend for yourself in the kitchen with 100 easy, cheap, and fun recipes from Spoon University

There’s a time in life when you wake up and realize you’re on your if you don’t feed yourself, it’s buttered noodles for the rest of your days.

How to Feed Yourself gives you exactly what you need to take control of your kitchen—no matter what size­—and feed yourself depending on what’s in your fridge, what you’re craving, and what’s happening in your life. The goal isn’t to be perfect, but to finally cook like a real adult. No special equipment, skills, ingredients, or magic required.

These recipes are based on the foods you probably have lying around—eggs, chicken, pasta, fish, potatoes, toast, grains, greens, and bananas. Once you’ve got those basics down, you’ll learn how to make them into dishes like Really Legit Breakfast Tacos , Leftover Vodka Pasta Sauce , and Empty Peanut Butter Jar Noodles . Next, you’ll discover new flavor variations, including cinnamon toast three ways, how to make chicken not bland, and the seven best ways to stir fry.

The real world of feeding yourself is actually pretty great. Welcome. Go forth and cook like a real person.

12. The I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook by Andrea Lynn

Turn Trader Joe’s affordable, easy-to-prepare foods into delicious meals—even if you’ve never cooked before

With every ingredient in every recipes available at Trader Joe’s, this is the ultimate one-stop-shopping cookbook for quick-and-easy meals. College Cooking at Trader Joe’s offers you recipes that are a welcome relief from microwave mash-ups, fast food fiascos, and cardboard crust pizza delivery. You can whip up late-for-class breakfasts, backpack-friendly lunches, and as-hearty-as-mom-made dinners. And since all the ingredients come from Trader Joe’s, they’re both inexpensive and scrumptious.

Whether you’re a first-time chef or coed foodie, this is the perfect book to start you cooking. Designed to help you recognize the best finds and reap the fruits of Trader Joe’s smart buyers, many of the recipes utilize Trader Joe’s signature products to create unique meals.

12. Cook This Book by Molly Baz

If you seek out, celebrate, and obsess over good food but lack the skills and confidence necessary to make it at home, you’ve just won a ticket to a life filled with supreme deliciousness. Cook This Book is a new kind of foundational cookbook from Molly Baz, who’s here to teach you absolutely everything she knows and equip you with the tools to become a better, more efficient cook.

Molly breaks the essentials of cooking down to clear and uncomplicated recipes that deliver big flavor with little effort and a side of education, including dishes like Pastrami Roast Chicken with Schmaltzy Onions and Dill, Chorizo and Chickpea Carbonara, and of course, her signature Cae Sal. But this is not your average cookbook. More than a collection of recipes, Cook This Book teaches you the invaluable superpower of improvisation though visually compelling lessons on such topics as the importance of salt and how to balance flavor, giving you all the tools necessary to make food taste great every time. Throughout, you’ll encounter dozens of QR codes, accessed through the camera app on your smartphone, that link to short technique-driven videos hosted by Molly to help illuminate some of the trickier skills.

Featured below is chef Molly Baz creating a Mizo Apple Tart from her latest cookbook, Cook This Book. Her instructions are not only simple and easy to follow, but also informative and engaging. This is one book to learn many cooking techniques from.

13. Broke Vegan by Saskia Sidey

We all want to help do our bit to save the planet by moving towards a plant-based diet, but eating vegan can be expensive.

With over 100 plant-based recipes using supermarket staples along with hints and tips for making your food go further, Broke Vegan will have you cooking meals time after time that save money and save the planet. From easy weeknight meals ready in 20 minutes to feeding a crowd on a budget or saving time and money by batch cooking, Broke Vegan has got you covered.

Whether you’re making the move from veggie to vegan or just trying to make your money go further, Broke Vegan will bring variety and flavor to your meals without having to spend a fortune.

14. The Unofficial ALDI Cookbook by Jeanette Hurt

Discover the countless budget-friendly and delicious meals you can make with your favorite ALDI products!

Fans of ALDI, it’s time to celebrate your love of the best-ever grocery store with a cookbook dedicated entirely to your favorite products. You’ll find creative and mouth watering ideas that take simple, budget-friendly ALDI-brand ingredients and turn them into fantastic dishes. From healthy appetizers to restaurant-worthy comfort food classics and everything in between, you’ll be surprised at the amazing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners you can make after a shopping trip to your local ALDI.

15. The Student Vegan Cookbook by Hannah Kaminsky

Even if you are a student who has a tight budget, a crazy-busy schedule, and limited kitchen equipment, you still can make amazing vegan snacks, treats, and meals for yourself and your friends. The Student Vegan Cookbook shows you how, with tips, tricks, and hacks for dormitory-room and small-kitchen cooking and withlots of creative, nutritious, and delectable recipes—each one with its own photograph, something other college vegan cookbooks do not have—covering the whole day, from rushing-off-to-class quick-fix breakfasts to midnight (or later) treats for chilling and unwinding.

Award-winning vegan blogger Hannah Kaminsky has walked the walk, cooking delicious meals for herself and her roommates in her own college years. Fast-forward a few years and Hannah is now a professional food writer and photographer who has created a stunning book full of truly scrumptious, yet easy-to-make, vegan recipes.

Read more about The Student Vegan Cookbook by Hannah Kaminsky.

16. The Ultimate Baking for One Cookbook by Kelly Jaggers

Have your cake and eat it too without any leftovers or waste with these 175 essential, delicious, and decadent baking recipes perfectly crafted for one.

Baking for one is harder than it may seem. It’s tricky to make sure you have the right measurements and ingredients to recreate a more manageable amount of your favorite treats. The good news is that it’s now possible to prepare single-serving recipes that are full of flavor, easy to make, and economical with The Ultimate Baking for One Cookbook.

This cookbook allows you to make fresh, homemade baked goods for one without having an entire cake, dozens of cookies, or a full tray of brownies leftover. Each of the 175 single-serving recipes are quick and simple to make and will save you both time and money. And while the common ingredients can be found in everyone’s pantry, the results are anything but ordinary. From mug cakes to muffin recipes, you’ll be able to enjoy delicious versions of all your favorite desserts, no matter what the occasion.

Whether you live alone or are just searching for the perfect sweet treat, baking solo never needs to be challenging (or overwhelming) again!

Read more about The Ultimate Baking for One Cookbook by Kelly Jaggers.

17. The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook by Joanie Zisk

75 single-serving recipes for every solo chef who just wants a satisfying and delicious home-cooked meal for themselves.

Cooking for one is harder than it seems and it can leave anyone wanting to make a healthy, tasty meal either throwing out extra helpings or watching expensive ingredients expire. But it’s possible to prepare single-serving recipes that are full of flavor, easy to make, and economical if you have the right guide.

The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook allows you to make a fresh, delicious, home-cooked meal for one without creating a week’s worth of leftovers or leaving an abundance of unused fresh ingredients that quickly go to waste. Each of the 175 single-serving recipes are quick and simple to make and save you both time and money. And while the ingredients are common, the results are anything but. In addition to flavorful meals, this cookbook includes clever ideas of how to reduce food waste and source single servings of fresh ingredients.

With The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook, cooking solo never needs to be boring (or overwhelming) again whether you live alone or are just looking for a filling and enjoyable meal for yourself.

18. The One Pan College Cookbook by MJ Hong

Graduate from instant ramen and make delicious one-pan meals

Cooking can be a great way to explore new foods, develop new kitchen skills, and save yourself time and money. With The One-Pan College Cookbook, any college student can make nutritious, easy one-pan recipes—no prerequisite coursework required. These dorm-friendly dishes and techniques also provide handy knife, seasoning, and organization lessons every student will use well beyond undergrad.

19. The Ultimate College Cookbook by Victoria Granof

Students will discover the joy and simplicity of cooking for themselves with 60 recipes for easy, delicious meals that can easily be made in any dorm room or shared apartment!

The Ultimate College Cookbook offers sixty recipes for everything from breakfast to weeknight cooking and weekend gatherings, on-campus or off. Each dish is designed to be cooked in a dorm-friendly appliance, including microwaves, toaster ovens, electric burners, rice cookers, and slow cookers.

Don’t miss Baked Ravioli Lasagna (use frozen ravioli instead of pasta sheets!), Hot Chocolate Lava Cakes (baked in individual mugs), and even perfect jammy eggs cooked in a tea kettle (add them to noodle soups in a pinch). And with variations for easy twists (upgrade your oatmeal to Pumpkin-Spice All-Nighter Oats, or turn garlicky roasted cauliflower into something new with chili-laced miso), there’s no chance of getting bored in the kitchen.

20. Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown

A perfect and irresistible idea: A cookbook filled with delicious, healthful recipes created for everyone on a tight budget—and a cookbook with a strong charitable component: With every copy of Good and Cheap purchased, a second copy will be given to a person or family in need.

While studying food policy as a master’s candidate at NYU, Leanne Brown asked a simple yet critical question: How well can a person eat on the $4 a day given by SNAP, the U.S. government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program informally known as food stamps? The answer is surprisingly well: Broiled Tilapia with Lime, Spicy Pulled Pork, Green Chile and Cheddar Quesadillas, Vegetable Jambalaya, Beet and Chickpea Salad—even desserts like Coconut Chocolate Cookies and Peach Coffee Cake. In addition to creating nutritious recipes that maximize every ingredient and use economical cooking methods, Ms. Brown gives tips on shopping; on creating pantry basics; on mastering certain staples—pizza dough, flour tortillas—and saucy extras that make everything taste better, like spice oil and tzatziki; and how to make fundamentally smart, healthful food choices.

21. Twelve Recipes by Cal Peternell

When his oldest son was leaving for college, Cal Peternell, the chef of San Francisco’s legendary Chez Panisse, realized that, although he regularly made dinners for his family, he’d never taught them the basics of cooking. Based on the life-altering course of instruction he prepared and honed through many phone calls with his son, Twelve Recipes is the ultimate introduction to the kitchen. Peternell focuses on the core foods and dishes that comprise a successful home cook’s arsenal, each building skill upon skill—from toast, eggs, and beans, to vinaigrettes, pasta with tomato, and rice, to vegetables, soup, meats, and cake.

Twelve Recipes will help home cooks develop a core repertoire of skills and increase their culinary confidence. Peternell tells you what basic ingredients and tools you need for a particular recipe, and then adds variations to expand your understanding. Each tip, instruction, and recipe connects with others to weave into a larger story that illuminates the connection between food and life. A deeply personal book, it was written by the chef alone and it glows with warmth and humor as he mulls over such mundane items as toast and rice to offer surprising new insights about foods that only seem exceedingly ordinary. It’s a book you’re as likely to keep by your bedside as your stovetop. With Peternell as your guide, the journey is pure pleasure and the destination is delicious.

22. The Can’t Cook book: Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified! by Jessica Seinfeld

Are you smart enough to dodge a telemarketer yet clueless as to how to chop a clove of garlic? Are you clever enough to forward an e-mail but don’t know the difference between broiling and baking? Ingenious enough to operate a blow-dryer but not sure how to use your blender? If you are basically competent, then Jessica Seinfeld’s The Can’t Cook Book is for you.

If you find cooking scary or stressful or just boring, Jessica has a calm, confidence-building approach to cooking, even for those who’ve never followed a recipe or used an oven. Jessica shows you how to prepare deliciously simple food—from Caesar salad, rice pilaf, and roasted asparagus to lemon salmon, roast chicken, and flourless fudge cake. At the beginning of each dish, she explains up front what the challenge will be, and then shows you exactly how to overcome any hurdles in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions.

Designed to put the nervous cook at ease, The Can’t Cook Book is perfect for anyone who wants to gain confidence in the kitchen—and, who knows, maybe even master a meal or two.

23. The 5-Ingredient College Cookbook by Pamela Ellgen

More than 100 tasty and affordable 5-ingredient recipes for busy college students

College students don’t typically have a ton of time, money, or kitchen space to get fancy with their meals, which means good and cheap is the name of the game. This college cookbook makes it easy for students to prepare fresh, tasty, healthy meals for themselves on a budget, with more than 100 recipes that only take 30 minutes to throw together, and only require 5 main ingredients.

5 ingredients, 30 minutes, 100 recipes—Learn simple and fast ways to throw together dozens of favorites like Classic French Toast, Vegan Enchiladas, Greek Pita Sandwiches, Thai Chicken Ramen, and more.Kitchen basics—Brush up on fundamental cooking skills with an easy cookbook that includes tips and tricks on everything from using knives to storing veggies.A wide variety—Most of these student-approved recipes also include 3 alternate versions to keep things interesting and accommodate every taste.

Equip students with a college cookbook that makes it fun and accessible to cook fresh food for themselves—in college and for life.

24. Easy College Cookbook for Guys by Noah Stern

Heading off to college promises new and exciting experiences—like having to cook for yourself! Don’t panic, the Easy College Cookbook for Guys has your game plan with 75 tasty and affordable recipes and plenty of tips to help out beginner chefs. From snacks to meals for one to dinners you can serve friends or that special someone, this college cookbook will teach you everything you need to become a confident cook, even if you’re working with a dorm-sized kitchen.

Cooking 101—Discover simple cooking techniques along with genius hacks to save you time and energy in the kitchen. Intro to economics—Find tips for sticking to your budget, including what ingredients to have on hand and what to buy fresh.Equipment basics—Create your custom cooking space with info on the dorm-friendly tools and appliances you’ll need to make these easy cookbook recipes.

You may miss home, but you won’t miss out on home-cooked meals with the help of the Easy College Cookbook for Guys.