Heading back to university can be an exhilarating yet daunting experience, especially when it comes to food. The questions loom large: What to eat? How much will it cost? And the idea of instant noodles and cans of beans might come to mind, but being a student doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy great meals. In a bid to make life easier for both fresh-faced newcomers and those returning, we’ve created a collection of wallet-friendly recipes all from Sainsburys. Rest assured, you won’t need the skills of a MasterChef contestant to whip up these delectable dishes.
Tuna pasta bake
Nearly entirely made from store cupboard ingredients – comfort food doesn’t get more convenient than this.
Ingredients
300g fresh egg penne
500g tomato and herb pasta sauce
3 x 120g tins tuna steak in springwater, drained and flaked
325g tin sweetcorn in water, drained
390g carton Italian chopped tomatoes
14g fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, washed and chopped
100g mature cheddar, grated
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then add the pasta and cook for 6 minutes. Drain. Tip the cooked pasta back into the pan and stir through the pasta sauce, tuna, sweetcorn, chopped tomatoes and half the parsley.
Step 2
Tip the mixture into a 1½-litre baking dish and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Cook for 30 minutes;until golden and bubbling. Garnish with the remaining parsley just before serving.
![](https://fulhambroadway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/gerard-richard-jp1DqNJ-Xto-unsplash-640x643.jpg)
Macaroni cheese
Macaroni cheese is a cult classic that can never go wrong!
Ingredients
350 g macaroni
50 g butter
50 g plain flour
1 litre semi-skimmed milk
125 g grated extra-mature cheddar
50 g grated Parmesan
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
You will also need:
1 x 2.5-litre or 20cm-square ovenproof dish
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until just tender (it will finish cooking later); drain. For the cheese sauce, put the butter, flour and milk in a pan and slowly bring to the boil, whisking all the time until it thickens. Simmer for a few minutes and remove from the heat.
Step 2
Season and stir in the cheddar and half the Parmesan until melted, then add the mustard
Step 3
Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce. Tip it into a;2.5-litre or 20cm-square ovenproof dish, scatter over the tomatoes and remaining Parmesan and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Leave to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a crisp salad. ; Get ahead: assemble ready to cook a few hours ahead, adding 150ml of reserved pasta cooking water to the sauce. Can also be frozen; defrost thoroughly before cooking. In either case, cook until golden and bubbling.
![](https://fulhambroadway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hermes-rivera-4qzaeR_sTYA-unsplash-640x427.jpg)
Easy chicken curry
A great curry doesn’t have to take forever to make, as demonstrated in this easy recipe
Ingredients
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp oil
2 x 390g cartons chopped tomatoes
½ tsp sugar
3cm piece root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
400ml tin reduced-fat coconut milk
8 bone-in and skinless chicken thighs
Juice of ½ lime
3 tbsp chopped coriander
Method
Step 1
Whizz the onion in a food processor with the coriander, cumin, turmeric and 100ml water, until a paste is formed.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or shallow casserole dish. Add the onion paste, tomatoes, sugar and 1 tsp;salt. Simmer together for 5 minutes, stirring.
Step 3
Stir in the ginger, garlic, chopped chilli and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken thighs. Cover and gently simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Remove the lid, increase the heat and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the lime juice and coriander. Serve with rice.
![](https://fulhambroadway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tom-dillon-9eIbwtyl4Xs-unsplash-640x427.jpg)
Naan bread pizza
These pizzas couldn’t be easier to whip up for lunch or supper.
Ingredients
2 readymade plain naans
6 tbsp passata with onion and garlic
75 g closed-cup mushrooms, sliced
0.5 x 198g tin sweetcorn, drained
0.5 green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
150 g mozzarella, drained and sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
120 g bag mixed salad
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Place the naan breads on a baking sheet. Spread the passata evenly over the naans and scatter the mushroom slices over the top.
Step 2
Scatter over the sweetcorn and chopped pepper and arrange the slices of mozzarella over the top. Drizzle over the olive oil and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Cut each pizza in half and serve with the salad.
![](https://fulhambroadway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/original-640x360.png)