This is a great cookbook for college students, but also for anyone who wants some easy solo (and sometimes not solo!) meal ideas. Good recipes that I will use for lunches at work or when I need a meal or snack just for myself.

Budget-Friendly College Cookbook: Eating Well with Limited Space, Storage, and Savings is a cookbook written especially for starving college students. The author, Sara Lundberg, has included quick, easy recipes with minimal ingredients that are appealing to younger cooks. The recipes call for a lot of convenience foods such as ramen noodles, canned and frozen vegetables, coleslaw mix, and bottled and canned sauces, which are certainly time savers, and which don’t take up much space to store. The recipes are easy to follow for beginning and busy cooks. There is a good variety of recipes which include flavors from all over the world.

Even if you aren’t a starving college student, these recipes will be a welcome addition to the recipe repertoire of singles and small families. Although difficult to imagine, there are those who actually hate to cook, and these recipes will appeal to them because they take so little time to prepare, and use a minimum of prep such as chopping and grating.

Another plus to this cookbook is the fact that the recipes are budget-friendly. Even if you aren’t on the verge of starving, it’s always nice to know that there are good – even delicious - dishes to prepare before payday and when there isn’t anything in the bank account.

Unfortunately, there are very few photographs in this cookbook. Those cooks who are inexperienced and in a hurry need photographs because they don’t yet have the skill to put ingredients together in their heads to know how a dish will turn out.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of good, easy, appealing recipes included, and for those who don’t need the photos, this will be a good choice.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

BUDGET-FRIENDLY COLLEGE COOKBOOK by Sara Lundberg is actually a fairly unique resource because of her emphasis on "Eating Well with Limited Space, Storage, and Savings." For each recipe, she signals to her readers the type of cooking tool (hot plate/skillet; slow cooker, etc.) needed. The recipes tend to be variations of standard favorites (e.g., Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches) or prepared more quickly (like microwaved Super Cheesy Lasagna) although estimated quantities (e.g., serves four) seem a little optimistic for hungry college students. While BUDGET-FRIENDLY COLLEGE COOKBOOK is a potentially useful resource for its intended audience, it could be even more helpful with shopping lists and perhaps fewer ingredients since shopping can be a hassle and hard to plan for new cooks. Adding more pictures and nutritional information would also be a plus. Interested readers may compare with Prep by Katie Sullivan Morford and a personal favorite for healthy, inexpensive and relatively easy to prepare dishes: Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown.

Look. I am not in college, nor have I been in college for many years; however, between at least two jobs at all times and a side crafting hustle, I do enjoy easy to prep meals. Fewer ingredients and appliances reduce the time needed to cook and to clean up afterward.

I wasn’t expecting but so much in the way of variety, but there are plenty of recipes in here that, as a grown adult, I would make in here. I live alone, so a lot of the “in a mug” recipes are right up my alley. This is branded for college students, but I think it’s a great addition to the cookbook collection of single adults living in small spaces such as efficency or studio apartments, as well as for those of us who don’t like to cook too much, because we don’t want to waste food. Many of my friends aren’t fans of leftovers, either, so these recipes make enough for a couplefew meals max, creating less waste and using less time, energy, and ingredients.

I’ll definitely be revisiting these as I head back into the world and have to go back to eating in my car or putting something quick in the microwave after a fifteen-hour workday.

Budget-Friendly College Cookbook is a new recipe collection aimed at a cost effective student lifestyle. Released 16thJune 2020 by Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 154 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The recipes are arranged thematically, an introduction with general directions for prep-work and the challenges of working in a small space on a very tight budget is followed by chapters for breakfasts, snacks, lunches to go and single serving dinners (as well as late-night study snacks), multiple serving meals for gatherings, and desserts. Each of the recipes includes an introductory description, ingredients listed in a bullet point sidebar (US measurements only, no metric equivalents), and step by step instructions. Recipes have special category notes in a header (vegetarian, no-cook, gluten free, etc). Nutritional info is not included. Variations and alternatives are provided in sidebars at the end of the recipes. There is a metric convesion table at the back of the book.

Most of the ingredients should be available at any well stocked grocery store although some might need to be sourced at specialist grocers.

My main quibble with the book is that the recipes are mostly not photographed. There are some photos, and they're clear and attractive, but they only represent about 5% of the recipes included in the book. It is, however, a very well written book full of budget friendly (mostly) healthy foods in a wide variety of styles.

Four and a half stars. I've rounded up for the quality of the writing and the distinctly high quality of the recipes themselves (tasty!) and the mission of the book: high quality food with a budget friendly price tag. Good food shouldn't be ruinously expensive.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I really appreciated the thought that went into this book. It is perfect for college students, obviously, but also for anyone on a budget. It does take into account that you probably have a microwave, although there are a few recipes for a slow cooker (which many college students may not necessarily have). One thing I will say is that is book is definitely not if you are one a special diet like low carb or paleo. It's most definitely college food or in some cases something you would eat in a bar. It's quick and easy though so if you don't care for that or just need a once in a while thing, this book should help.

This is a great cookbook for college students, travelers, or anyone who wants to make tasty food in a short amount of time. It provides recipes using the microwave, toaster, slow cooker, or a hot plate so people with small kitchens or no kitchen can still make a nice meal.

The only improvement I would make is to add more pictures.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and Callisto Media. My review is voluntary.

Whether you are a college student or someone looking for basic recipes the Budget-Friendly College Cookbook by Sara Lundberg is a must have cookbook. Lundberg has created a cookbook with recipes that are geared towards quick, easy cooking and low-cost. With today's economy her cookbook is a winner!

She starts her cookbook with a tips and tricks on how to cook on a tiny budget in a tiny kitchen. In this chapter she writes about the "tools of the trade," and essentials. Having access to a mini refrigerator or larger is one of the essentials as well as a microwave oven. She later details sone of the things needed to outfit your college kitchen such as a baking sheet, casserole dish, large pot, mixing bowls, etc.

Her next topic covers smart shopping which includes tips such as buying in season, making a grocery list, using coupons, and price comparisons.

She also writes about how to use up what you buy along with purchasing needed ingredients and spices.

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Toaster Oven Granola
French Toast in a Mug
Easy Homemade Dill Pickles
Tuna Salad Sandwich
BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza
Pesto Pasta in a Mug
Easy Coconut Curry
Pizza in a Mug
Slow-Cooker Whole Chicken
Seared Steak with Mushrooms and Brown Butter
Birthday Cake in a Mug
Easy Microwave Brownie

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

When I was in college and used to eat a lot of ramen noodles, sandwiches and snacks. This book was made for people like me that didn't have time or money to cook while studying. I used to go to architecture school so time wasn't something I had. Most of the recipes in this book are easy to make and takes about 20 min to prepare. The recipes in this book requires you to have access to a toaster, microwave, blender, slow cooker, hot plate and toaster oven. The recipes require a few spices like salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic and onion powder and it also uses pasta, rice, canned veggies, soups, beans and broths.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I am no longer a college student but I am all about eating well on a budget. When I came across this recipe book I knew that I had to give it a look.

This book is great for college students but it also excellent for those with small kitchen/storage space and/or those who want to delicious food on a limited budget! This book contains kitchen essentials and smart shopping tips. It also has a handy list of items to always stock in your pantry.


Most of the recipes in this book are fairly simple but yet delicious. If you are a college student or just someone like me who loves to cook on a budget, pick this book up and give it a go.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review