College Kitchen Essentials

So your stay in the dorms is over and you’re moving into your first student apartment! It’s not going to be perfect, but you’re definitely going to love the feeling of independence it’ll give you. First, though, you’re going to need to stock up on a few college kitchen essentials.

If you don’t yet have a bed or other furniture, you can always make do. If you don’t stock your kitchen, you can’t cook much so you’ll wind up blowing all your money on take-out. To avoid this, make sure you have these college kitchen essentials:

Frying Pan
The frying pan is the Old Faithful of kitchen tools. It’s the fastest and easiest way to cook just about everything. We love this ceramic version from Target for only $12.99.

Pots
The college student’s best friend is Ramen so you’re going to need a pot to cook it. Try to get a set of at least 3 just in case you decide to venture outside the world of noodle bricks. We swear by this Ikea 365 pot for $24.99. While it’s a little pricier than most basic pots, it’s dishwasher safe. Which makes it priceless.

Utensils
You’d think utensils would be a given, but I can’t tell you how many of my college friends didn’t have a full set. At most stores you can get a decent 48-piece set for under $20.

Spatulas
Again, you’d think this would be obvious. You’re going to be using spatulas for almost everything you cook so make sure they’re made of quality materials. Silicon and plastic are our favorite because they won’t scratch surfaces.

Colander
You’re going to be eating a ton of pasta. It’s super cheap, there are a million kinds, and you can prepare each of them a million different ways. A colander is going to save your hands a lot of pain. Get a collapsible colander, like this one from Target, and it won’t take up what little storage you have.

Slow Cooker
The latest craze in cooking these days is the slow cooker. You can dump a pile of food in before you go to class and it’ll be ready to go when you get back. It’s almost as easy as breathing. Pro Tip: Get the smallest one you can find. No need for the jumbo deluxe versions!

Pizza Cutter
If Ramen is the college student’s best friend, then pizza is their significant other. A pizza cutter will shorten the pizza’s journey from the oven to burning the roof of your mouth. Pro tip: Make sure it’s steady and made well, because there isn’t much worse than a wobbly pizza cutter. Especially if you’re as OCD as we are about straight lines!

Food Storage
The importance of food storage cannot be stressed enough. Having to throw away food because you don’t have containers is the worst. Stock up on storage and you’ll save money along with your food. Pro tip: a lot of foods are packaged in reusable containers now; take off the labels and store to your stomach’s content. We swear by Rubbermaid Glass Storage. It’s BPA free, and lasts forever.