Ah, finals. A time of extreme panic, frustration, and sleep-deprivation. Finals can take away your social life, your sleep, and your dignity. Go ahead finals, take it all away, but you will never take away my right to eat delicious food. During finals, a lot of people get by on just coffee and energy bars. Finals is a time where you need to be at the top of your game, so don’t skimp when it comes to eating right and try these one-pan recipes.
The idea of prepping, cooking, and cleaning up a meal can be overwhelming when you have three papers and two projects due tomorrow. To ease this stress, these recipes only require one pan, so there is minimal clean up and prep. Finals don’t want you to succeed, but go ahead and prove them wrong with these recipes.
1. One-Pan Breakfast Burrito
Breakfast is a meal that a lot of people want to just grab and run out the door. This breakfast burrito fits the bill because it only uses one pan and is easy to take to-go. The smell of this burrito will be the envy of all the people in the library solely surviving on coffee and Luna bars.
2. Tomato, Onion, and Basil One-Pan Pasta
Pasta is already pretty painless to make, but this recipe makes it even easier. Instead of having to make the pasta and the sauce in separate pans, you can throw all the ingredients in one pan and just let it do its thing. This recipe only takes 20 minutes to make, so save yourself the trip to McDonald’s and make this instead.
3. One-Pan Savory Roasted Italian Sausage and Vegetables
Don’t forget to eat your vegetables during finals, kiddos. Eating your vegetables is especially easy if it is accompanied by something as delicious as Italian sausage. This one-pan meal is easy to prep ahead of time and when you get home all you have to do is throw it in the oven.
4. One-Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
This recipe is yet another easy way to get all of your food groups onto one pan in a breeze. While your friends are living off of questionable meats from the dining hall, you’ll be living the good life with this mouth-watering balsamic chicken.
5. One-Pan Turkey Chili
Finals are definitely a time when you need some comfort food and chili always does the trick. Not only is this chili delicious, it’s also versatile. This recipe can easily be transformed into stuffed peppers and jambalaya. If you make one big batch, you can eat it in different forms all week without getting tired of it.
6. One-Pot “Clean Out the Fridge” Soup
It’s the end of the year, so it’s time to clean out the fridge with this soup. This soup lets you get creative with whatever you have left in your fridge, but leave out the cheese that’s been sitting there since last semester.
7. Shakshuka
Shakshuka is a comforting Middle Eastern dish that presents eggs in a whole new light. Eggs aren’t just for breakfast anymore, people. This dish is easy to make and will provide you some comfort after hours of studying.
8. Microwavable Rice Krispies Treat for One
With this recipe, you don’t have to clean a whole pan, you only have to clean a mug. We all need dessert to reward ourselves during finals and this treat is the perfect way to do so. Best of all, it only takes 30 seconds to make.
9. One-Bowl Banana Breakfast Muffins
Not only can you eat these for breakfast, throw a few in your backpack and you can stay full in the library all day long. Unlike most baking recipes, this one only requires one bowl that you have to wash. Your sink is already full of your roommates’ dishes that they don’t have time to clean, so no need to add any more.
10. One-Pot Chili Mac ‘N Cheese
I definitely saved the best recipe for last. Mac ‘n cheese is a food that college kids are known for surviving off of, right next to ramen. Spice up your usual dinner of Easy Mac by trying out this recipe and you’ll still have minimal clean up.