Cook Smart: Uni Edition Guide

Easy, Affordable Cooking for Freshers

Starting uni? Between lectures, nights out, and everything in between, cooking can easily slip to the bottom of your list. According to a recent survey, 64% of students skip meals to save money, and many simply don’t feel confident cooking from scratch

If this is you, you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve pulled together the Cook Smart: Uni Edition Guide. A free, chef-backed toolkit to help you eat well, save money, and get kitchen-confident from day one. Think of it as your kitchen cheat sheet: a collection of simple recipes, clever hacks, and tasty ideas to help you cook smarter, stretch your budget further, and actually enjoy what’s on your plate.

Top Cooking Hacks for Students

Cooking at uni doesn’t have to mean soggy noodles or sad beans on toast. With a handful of smart hacks, you can whip up meals that taste great, save cash, and still leave you time for study, Netflix, and a social life.

1. The 5-in-a-Pan Principle

Grab one frying pan, five simple ingredients, and you can spin them into five completely different dinners. Think: smoky shakshuka with runny eggs, veggie stir-fry sizzling with soy, golden fried rice, saucy noodle bowls, or a spiced burrito bowl with beans and rice.

Why it helps you: fewer dishes to wash, less food waste, and a basket of basics that actually goes the distance.

Here are 5 simple recipes you can make with 5 simple ingredients:

2. Prep Once, Eat Twice

Cook once, eat twice (or three times). A bubbling pan of tomato sauce on Monday can become pasta bake, chilli topping, or a veggie curry base as the week goes on. Batch cooking is also a cost effective way to make, freeze, and reheat your favourite meals quickly.

Why it helps you: no boring leftovers, just flexible bases that save you time when deadlines (or nights out) hit hard.

Here are 7 leftovers you can repurpose for two further meals:

You can also browse Gousto’s 17 Batch Cooking Recipes for easy, freezable meals to save you time and stress.

3. Saucy Shortcuts

Forget the £3 jars. Raid your cupboard instead. Stir peanut butter with soy sauce and hot water for instant satay. Mix yoghurt with dill and lemon for a fresh dip. Heat olive oil with garlic and chilli flakes for a pasta sauce that tastes like it came from a trattoria.

Why it helps you: you’ll spend less, eat fresher, and start building the kind of kitchen confidence that makes you unstoppable.

Here are 5 no-cook sauces to spice up your meals:

4. Frozen Is Your Friend

Frozen peas, spinach, peppers… all as nutritious as fresh but cheaper and longer lasting. Chop onions, garlic, and ginger into ice cube trays and toss them straight into the pan when you’re cooking.

Why it helps you: no food going slimy in the fridge, no tears over onions, and meals on the table in minutes.

5. Cupboard Heroes

Always keep a few “hero” ingredients within reach: tinned beans, tuna, nut butters, stock cubes, dried herbs, chilli sauce. They’re the magic dust that turns a plain bowl of pasta or rice into a full-on feast.

Why it helps you: when your fridge is bare, you’ll still have the building blocks of a satisfying, affordable dinner.

5 Core Skills to Master Before Uni

“If you head to uni with just five core meals under your belt, you’ll eat better, spend less, and avoid the week-three noodle burnout.” – Sophie Nahmad, Lead Recipe Developer

These aren’t just recipes. They’re your secret weapons: meals that teach you essential cooking skills, give you confidence in the kitchen, and can be endlessly remixed with whatever you’ve got on hand.

1.  One-Pot Pasta or Stir-Fry
Learn how to balance carbs, protein, and veg in one dish. Cook pasta with garlic and tomato, or throw noodles in a hot pan with eggs and veggies.

– Quick to cook, minimal washing up, and teaches you flavour basics.
– Find  10 One Pot Recipes that all take 40 minutes or less to prepare.

2. DIY Chilli or Curry
Nothing beats a big bubbling pot of spiced chilli or warming curry. Add hidden veg, beans, or meat and make enough to portion out for the week.

– Teaches you to layer spices, batch cook, and save money by cooking once for days of meals.
– Gousto’s Classic Chilli Con Carne recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and can be adapted for 1 – 5 people or portions.

3. Oven Tray Bake
Chop up whatever veg you have, add chicken, halloumi, or tofu, drizzle with oil and spices, and roast until golden.

– It’s mostly hands-off, teaches temperature control, and makes enough for flatmate feasts or lunchboxes.
– This Sausage and Roasted Veg Tray Bake is tasty and simple to prepare.

4. Egg-Based Meals
Eggs are your budget-friendly best friend. Try shakshuka with tomatoes and spices, a cheesy omelette stuffed with veg, or fried rice with soy sauce and peas.

– High in protein, super versatile, and perfect for those “too tired to cook” nights.
– Gousto has a huge selection of delectable egg recipes to keep you going all year.

5. Basic Sauces from Scratch
Learn four essentials: tomato, yoghurt-dill, peanut, and white sauce. Each one transforms cheap carbs into something exciting.

– You’ll save on jars, boost your flavour game, and unlock endless meal variations.
– Gousto’s 3 Easy Cook from Scratch Sauces will broaden the range of meals you can cook quickly and cost-effectively.

Roux the World: Master This Kitchen Classic

A roux might sound fancy, but it’s actually one of the simplest and most useful skills you can learn at uni and mastering it gives you a powerful cooking shortcut that can transform the most basic ingredients into proper meals.

What is a Roux?

A roux (pronounced roo) is a simple mix of fat (usually butter) and flour, cooked together to form the base of many sauces, soups, and stews. Think of it as the building block that makes sauces thick, creamy, and smooth.

It’s the secret behind classics like béchamel (white sauce), cheese sauce for mac and cheese, rich gravies, and velvety soups.

How to Make a Roux

Ingredients that you’ll need:

• 2 tbsp butter (or oil)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• About 250ml milk, stock, or other liquid (added gradually)
  

Cooking steps:

1. Melt the fat: Put the butter (or oil) in a pan over medium heat until melted.
2. Add the flour: Stir in the flour and keep stirring for 1–2 minutes. This cooks out the raw flour taste.
3. Add liquid slowly: Gradually pour in milk or stock while whisking continuously. The roux will thicken into a smooth sauce base.
4. Season and adapt: Add salt, pepper, cheese, mustard, or spices depending on the sauce you’re making.

Think of roux as a “choose your own adventure”:

• Add milk > creamy béchamel (great for lasagne).
• Add cheese > mac and cheese sauce.
• Add stock > thick gravy or soup base.

For more saucy shortcuts, learn how to prepare 3 Easy Cook from Scratch Sauce Recipes for tomato sauce, white bechamel sauce, and pesto.

10 Brain Food Swaps to Keep You Sharp

What you eat doesn’t just fill you up, it fuels your brain. Late-night revision, early lectures, and long study sessions all demand steady energy and sharp focus, and the right foods can make a real difference. By swapping out less nourishing options for smarter snacks and meals, you’ll keep your mood steady, your energy levels up, and your brain firing on all cylinders.

Gousto Nutritionist Sarah Fancourt explains:

“What you eat shapes how you feel, focus, and even remember things. Swap a few basics and you’ll notice the difference in your energy, your mood, and your study sessions.”

Why it matters:

Whole grains release energy slowly, meaning fewer sugar highs and mid-afternoon crashes.

Protein keeps you satisfied and helps stabilise your energy, so you’re less likely to rummage for snacks.

Omega-3s (found in fish, chia seeds, walnuts) support memory and learning.

Fruit and veg are packed with antioxidants that that protect your brain and support focus over the long term.

10 smart swaps you can make today:

1. Pot noodles > quick stir-fry with frozen veg
2. White bread > wholegrain wraps with hummus
3. Sugary cereal > overnight oats with fruit and nut butter
4. Energy drink > iced green tea or water with lemon
5. Takeaway chips > crispy roasted sweet potato wedges
6. Chocolate bar > a few squares of dark chocolate with a handful of almonds
7. Crisps > air-popped popcorn or roasted chickpeas
8. Milkshake > banana blended with milk (or oat milk) and peanut butter
9. Instant ramen packet > wholewheat noodles with miso paste and frozen spinach
10. Shop-bought pastry > wholegrain pita stuffed with tuna and salad

Make these swaps part of your routine and over time you’ll feel sharper, steadier, and way more focused when exams roll around.

Savvy Uni Food Shopping Tips

Budget-Friendly Shopping Hacks

Your food shop doesn’t have to drain your student loan. Shop smart and you’ll cut costs without cutting flavour:

• Look for yellow-sticker bargains after 7 pm.
• Pick supermarket own-label instead of big brands.
• Buy big bags of rice, oats, or pasta and share the cost with flatmates.
• Visit world food shops for affordable spices, noodles, and pulses.
• Plan your meals before you shop. No more wasting food or money.

Kitchen Kit Essentials

A tiny kitchen doesn’t need a fancy kit. These basics will get you through almost anything:

• 1 frying pan for stir-fries, pancakes, shakshuka.
• 1 saucepan for pasta, grains, curries.
• 1 baking tray for pizzas, tray bakes, roasted veg.
• A sharp knife and chopping board for safe, speedy prep.
• A measuring jug or even just a mug to portion rice, pasta, or porridge.
• Optional extras if you can: a colander, wooden spoon, and a few containers for leftovers.

How to Make Your Food Shop Last Longer

Saving the planet often saves your wallet too:

• Save vegetable scraps and simmer into homemade stock.
• Freeze leftovers in single portions so you’ve got your own stash of ready meals.
• Share bulk packs of food with flatmates to cut waste and cost.
• Freeze herbs, cheese, or even milk to make them last longer.
• Cook a “flat dinner” once a week. It’s cheaper, reduces waste, and makes housemate bonds stronger.
• Freeze bread slices to prevent your entire loaf going mouldy. You can toast them straight from the freezer.
• Store carrots and celery in a jar of water to make them last longer and  keep them crunchy.

Ready to Cook Smart at Uni?

Cooking at uni doesn’t have to mean packet noodles or endless takeaways. More and more students are choosing Gousto as a way to build kitchen confidence, discover new skills, and enjoy proper home-cooked food without the fuss.

New to Gousto? With boxes for one person, with 50% off your first box, you could get 5 dinners for the week for just £17.50. It’s the easiest way to eat well on a budget, try new flavours, and make cooking something to actually look forward to.

Better yet – do you have Student Discount? Click below to get 55% off your first box and tasty offers throughout your first year.