These are a few kitchen tools I believe are good for college students because it makes cooking so much easier!
1. Cast iron pan
I love my cast iron pan. Cast irons seem difficult and hard to maintain, but they are really, very easy. They are durable and get better with use. They can be used on the stove, in the oven, and in a grill. They get very hot, making cooking things very fast and easy to cook on the stove and finish in the oven, which makes making meals less of a hassle. They are also fun for creating dips and cookie skillets and lava cakes, in addition to frittatas, burgers, and pizzas. They are great for getting a nice crust on meats, as a replacement for a grill. One downside is that there is a little bit of a learning curve with them. They can create a lot of smoke if you are not careful. When using it for the first time I would heat it using a medium heat to prevent it from getting too hot.
If you are interested in a post giving advice on cast iron pans and some tips for using them, let me know in the chat! I love hearing feedback and requests!
I learned how to take care of my cast iron pan through watching a Buzzfeed's Tasty video on YouTube. This is very helpful and makes cleaning your cast iron so easy.
Buy on Amazon here:
2. Slow cooker
Slow cookers are great because making food in them is so low maintenance. You just throw in what you want to make and cook it for a few hours. You can set it up for the morning and then come back to your place in the afternoon and your food will be ready for you. They're great for making so many different foods, any meat dishes, dips, cakes, cobblers, stews, soups, ANYTHING! I got my slow cooker for my dorm from Macy's during Black Friday. Small ones are not the expensive and are so convenient to have. The small ones don't take up much room and you can still manage to make enough food for 5 meals in one.
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3. Air Fryer
Now this one isn't necessary for everyone. Air fryers are basically small ovens. There isn't much of a point in investing in one. There are some advantages, however. It is faster and makes cooking easier because it is timed and turns off when the timer ends. One downside is that it can be hard to clean. BUT, if you are a college student with no kitchen in your dorm, I highly recommend getting this. You will be able to cook your own food in your room and it is also great for reheating things (so maybe no microwave needed). You can cook almost anything in it, cookies, chicken, hot pockets (college students amirite), veggies, it is definitely very convenient for college students to have one. Not all of them are super expensive either! A link to one with good reviews and a good price is below!
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4. George Formen Grill
These indoor grills are great. You can cook all meats on it and make easy on the go foods like paninis! They are so great for making things like quesadillas. These cook food very fast, so they great when you don't have much time. They also don't create much of a mess and are pretty easy to clean. This is also another great thing to have if you don't have a kitchen in your dorm. I think every college student should have one of these and even young adults who are trying to get into cooking!
My freshman year of undergrad, I had no kitchen and I used mine to make shrimp and chicken to eat food other than the dining hall food and fast food.
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5. Cooking Tray
If you are living in a dorm with a kitchen, you definitely need a cooking tray for the oven. This is great if you wanna have a pizza night with your friends and make your own pizza (check out my recipes for pizza dough, sauce and ricotta cheese), make cookies, or bake things like chicken or veggies. I used to be really lazy and cover mine with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting messy so I wouldn't have to wash it lol. But these are definitely an essential for making low maintenance roast dishes. I used bake things like spaghetti squash and brussels sprouts for healthy meals with chicken or shrimp made on my stove. This made meal prepping very easy when I tried doing that lol.
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These are some of the things I would recommend for college students. Obviously these are not essential (I can make an essentials list if anyone is interested), but I think they are beneficial and I think every college student should have at least 2 of the 5. If you found this helpful, let me know! You can use the chat feature to contact me. If you would be interested in more posts like this let me know as well!
All of the product links are affordable and you should check out the products. In undergrad, I had a George Forman grill and slow cooker my freshman year which I loved because I had no kitchen but hated the dining hall food. I would be able to cook my own food in my room with no issue and not much to clean up either! When I moved into an apartment style dorm, I got a cast iron skillet and a cooking tray. Cooking trays a definitely an essential. I love my cast iron though. I make so many foods on it and if you have not used one before, try it, the product link I posted is inexpensive and it is great for testing it out and seeing how you feel. They also last a very long time.
I hope you found this post useful!
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