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Recipes

Easy 3-Ingredient Recipes to Make When You’re Stuck Inside

One of the hardest things to do in life is to learn how to cook without the fear of burning your entire kitchen down. And, since there’s a strong chance you’re practicing social distancing in response to the recent spread of COVID-19 (or Coronavirus), now is a great time to learn. With these easy three-ingredient recipes, you’ll master your kitchen in no time without having to leave the house. 

1. Pizza Toast

Cauliflower basil mozzarella
Alex Frank

Pizza and toast are undeniably two of the best foods ever invented. Now you’re able to combine the two of them together with this 3-ingredient recipe.

2. Watermelon Recovery Smoothie

make ahead smoothies strawberry ice
Caroline Ingalls

Feeling dehydrated? Too much wine? Try this watermelon smoothie recipe to help you feel better with just three ingredients. 

3. Boozy Brunch Muffins

3 ingredient recipes
Catherine Ku

These boozy muffins are great if you have to brunch things up without having to leave your kitchen. No judgement if you decide to make mimosas to go with them.

4. Apple Chips

3 ingredient recipes
Sitong Chen

Apple chips are just chips made healthier with apples. Ditch the salty option and make these instead. 

5. Pizza Rolls

3 ingredient recipes meat
Kristi Cook

Nobody said whether pizza has to be in the form of squares, slices, or pies. You can make pizza as rolls at home using three ingredients. I’m not sure why anyone would want to go outside for pizza with this at their fingertips. 

6. Red Velvet Oreo Truffles

3 ingredient recipes candy sweet
Meredith Ross

These truffles are basically cake pops without the stick. Red velvet is commonly found in cheesecake and can be hard to find, so make these red velvet Oreo truffles at home instead.

7. Parmesan Croissants

3 ingredient recipes pastry croissant
Jedd Marrero

Cheese and croissants as a combo really just mean flaky cheesy bread, which sounds incredibly appetizing. If you’re interested, follow this croissant recipe in the comfort of your own kitchen.

8. Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies 

3 ingredient recipes
Madison Keefer

While pumpkin spice is, well, spicy, Rice Krispies are sweet. Have the best of both worlds with this pumpkin spice Rice Krispies recipe. Make it happen.

9. Cheesecake

3 ingredient recipes sweet cake
Jocelyn Liu

While this is a form of cake that usually runs upwards of $5 per slice, you can now make it at home in mass quantities using three ingredients. This cheesecake recipe is impossible to mess up.

10. Dunkaroos Dip

3 ingredient recipes cream sweet
Kristi Cook

The best part of Dunkaroos is the dip, and you can now make it at home using this Dunkaroo dip recipe, so you can easily relive your childhood.

11. Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Creamer

3 ingredient recipes
Amy Cho

Out of all of the recipes on this list, this has got to be the most basic. With the help of this PSL creamer recipe, you can save some cash and avoid waiting in the Starbucks line. 

12. Garlicky Brie Cheese

3 ingredient recipes
Kaylee McIntosh

You don’t have to spend a lot of time on food for group dinners. With the help of this garlic and honey Brie recipe, you’ll have a gooey, flavorful appetizer in just 20 minutes.

13. Homemade Pasta

3 ingredient recipes
Sarah Spiro

Pasta is a staple that won’t break the bank to make at home, but can get expensive easily if you go to a real Italian restaurant. Try out this homemade pasta recipe for a quick meal.

14. Candy Cane Dipped Oreos

3 ingredient recipes
Kelly McAdam

While this dipped Oreo recipe might be geared towards the holidays, that doesn’t mean that it’s best to wait for the holidays to enjoy them. If the mood strikes, I say go ahead and make them.

15. Baked Sriracha Potato Chips

3 ingredient recipes
Mary Sullivan

If you’re a hot sauce fanatic like myself, you want to consider making these Sriracha chips. You’ll get a kick of heat in every bite.

17. Mallomars

3 ingredient recipes chocolate milk
Manxi Qin

Mallomars are essentially chocolate-covered s’mores. Given that they take three ingredients to make, it’d be a crime not to make them at home.

18. Salmon

3 ingredient recipes salmon fish
Jocelyn Hsu

With the help of this easy salmon recipe, you can make it for that rare night you feel like being incredibly healthy. Salmon is a bit pricier, but the short ingredient list will help you save some cash.

19. Artichoke Dip

3 ingredient recipes cheese crust
Elizabeth Budd

If artichokes on their own aren’t your fave, try this artichoke dip recipe. Adding a little cheese to your veggies is a good way to make yourself eat your greens.

20. Swish Roll Ice Cream Cake

With such a short list of ingredients, you’ll spend less time making this ice cream cake and more time eating it. More recipes should be this simple.

21. Chocolate Bacon Bark

3 ingredient recipes chocolate caramel
Analiese Trimber

Salty bacon and sweet chocolate pair perfectly in this chocolate bacon bark recipe. Good luck not eating this all in one sitting.

22. Eggnog Truffles

3 ingredient recipes cream ice cream
Caroline Ingalls

Eggnog’s usually revived during the holidays, but this recipe for eggnog truffles will put you in the spirit all year round.

23. Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

3 ingredient recipes chocolate sweet
Kristine Mahan

Whoever thought of combining peanut butter and bananas was onto something. These peanut butter banana cookies are seriously amazing.

24. Pop-Tart Cheesecake Truffles

3 ingredient recipes chocolate candy
Arden Sarner

With the help of this truffle recipe, you get three desserts in one—cheesecake that tastes like Pop-Tarts in the form of truffles.

25. Healthy Hot Chocolate

3 ingredient recipes chocolate marshmallow
Maggie Murray

While hot chocolate may be most popular when it’s freezing cold outside, you can make it any time with the help of this 3-ingredient hot chocolate recipe. It’s quick, it’s cheap, and most importantly, it’s delicious. 

With any of these recipes, you can easily say that you’re busy chef-ing it up in your kitchen and say that you know what you’re doing. So, chef on and then stuff your face with what you’ve created.

#SpoonTip: For more easy recipes, check out these 5-ingredient dessert recipes.

Liz is a 25-year-old freelance writer that's based in Brooklyn, New York with her foster cat, Leif. Liz has received her start in the media world at Spoon University, and has acquired over 3.8 million views on her Spoon articles alone with millions more views on her syndicated content while finding her appreciation for consuming and producing branded content. Liz also has her articles syndicated on Business Insider, Insider, MSN, and Teen Vogue in addition to having her most popular article cited by Elite Daily. Liz has also contributed to YourTango and Entrepreneur.When Liz isn't writing, Liz is probably listening to music, walking around aimlessly like the hot mess that she is, cuddling with her cat, consuming new food dishes and drinks, at an event, at therapy with her one and only therapist that she absolutely adores, at an appointment with someone from her medical team, making up random dance moves in her bedroom, or figuring out what to do with herself. Liz's favorite cheese is feta and a pet peeve of hers is when people don't use the word "simultaneously" in the right manner.To get in touch with Liz, she can be reached at itslizab@gmail.com, @astrrisk on Instagram, and on LinkedIn. Liz is always down to be invited to an event or to talk about food, booze, and mental health. Liz's pronouns are she/her/hers.Please be patient when getting in touch with Liz - she probably is unaware as to what day it is, and might be dancing for her therapist.... to the Macarena, of course.