When someone says “Keurig,” the word “coffee” most likely comes to mind. As your average college student, I typically roll out of bed right before class and quickly brew myself a cup of Joe. Besides mornings, though, my good ol’ Keurig often sits untouched for hours on end.
What if I told you that you could have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even happy hour, all made with your handy dandy Keurig? You probably think I’m crazy, but I speak the truth. Read below to see what you can create using hot water and a little creativity. Get ready to start brewing.
Soup
Photo courtesy of elitedaily.com
Unbelievably, Keuirg has partnered with Campbell’s to create K-Cups of soup. A K-Cup filled with broth flavoring (instead of coffee grinds) is inserted into the machine. Put the pouch of noodles into a bowl (if you picked chicken noodle soup), hit brew, and enjoy.
You can also use any instant soup mix, like french onion soup. Just brew hot water over the mix in a bowl and lunch or dinner is ready instantly. When you’re ready to test your real cooking skills, try out this recipe for homemade french onion soup.
Lemonade
Photo by Daniel Schuleman
Who said Keurigs are only for hot beverages? Keurig works with Green Mountain Naturals to make tasty lemonade K-Cups. Don’t worry about buying large tubs of lemonade mix and stirring continuously. Now you can brew lemonade over ice and all the lemony flavor will already be combined. Once you have your lemonade, you can try any of these ideas to add a twist to your lemonade.
Oatmeal
Photo by Becky Hughes
Oatmeal is many people’s go-to breakfast. It’s filling and nutritious, but sometimes we just don’t have the time to make it. Have no fear… the Keurig is here. The brand has now partnered with Nature Valley (our favorite granola bar brand) to make instant Keurig oatmeal.
If you don’t want to commit to K-Cup oatmeal, simply brew hot water over normal instant oatmeal, stir and enjoy. Once you have your oatmeal, try spicing it up with these tasty flavor combinations.
Hot Chocolate
Photo by Holly Birchfield
In the mood for a hot beverage but don’t want coffee? If it’s snowing, or you just need some liquid comfort, hot chocolate is always the way to go. You can buy various brands of hot chocolate K-Cups, ranging from Swiss Miss to Starbucks and, no joke, they taste amazing. No stirring or microwaving needed.
If you think hot chocolate gets old, here are some ideas to change up this classic drink. You’ll have steamy hot chocolate in seconds.
Pasta
Photo by Caroline Liu
Now you’ll never have to leave your dorm for dinner if you don’t feel like it. With the Keurig, you can either make real “grown-up” pasta by taking uncooked pasta and brewing boiling water over it like in this recipe, or you can make the ultimate college meal: ramen. In half the time as it would to microwave or boil it, you’ll have the same great meal.
Don’t believe me? Check out this link on how to set your Keurig for pasta.
Cider
Photo by Andre Li
Cider, in my opinion, is an underrated beverage. It definitely does not need to be fall for you to drink a cup of warm, spiced, apple goodness. If you think it’s too much effort to try and find some, Keurig has made it very easy. They now have cider K-Cups sold all year long. You can even make your own cider cocktail by following this recipe after brewing a fresh cup.
Tea
Photo by Meredith Simmons
Iced or hot, the Keurig does it all. When you’re sick at school, or just want to drink something healthy that’s not water, it’s important to be able to make tea. Keurig now has Snapple, Twinnings, and even Lipton tea K-Cups. Brew into a mug or over ice and you’ll instantly have fresh tea. In order to keep it interesting, here are some variations for your tea.
Cocktails
Photo by Phoebe Melnick
If it’s time for happy hour, or you just feel like having a drink (it’s college after all), the Keurig has got you covered. You can add some booze to cider, coffee, and even hot chocolate to create a homemade, simple, delicious cocktail.
This website has paired K-Cups with alcohol and other flavorings to make killer drinks. But remember folks: drink responsibly and most importantly, don’t put alcohol in your Keurig. It could, in fact, blow up.
Instant… Anything
Photo by Alex Weiner
In all honesty, brew hot water over any powdered food mix or mac and cheese and it’ll work just as well (and much faster than) a microwave or stove. So, before you complain about how difficult it is to make soup or brew a cup of coffee, remember your old friend the Keurig. If you give it a chance, it can be your best friend.