The end of the month is here, your money is running low, so the big question is: what are you having for dinner? Not to worry, we’ve come to the rescue! Here are five budget-friendly, easy, and incredibly delicious recipes. Spoiler: these recipes will definitely make for a lot of food so you’ll probably have some leftovers to eat as breakfast, lunch or dinner; a win-win!

Broccoli-courgette soup with a twist

Now that the days are slowly getting colder, it’s nice to have something warming and filling to end the day with (or to take with you as lunch while you’re studying your ass off at the UB). So, I present to you a broccoli-courgette soup with a fresh and lemon-y aftertaste to remind you of the nice, laughter-filled summer days you’ve had. It’s a perfect dish for these transitional days, if I say so myself!

What you need:

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 broccoli 

• 1 courgette

• Approximately 150 grams of solid boiling potatoes

• 1 lemon

• Crème fraîche 

• 600 ml water

• 1 block of vegetable bouillon 

• Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Chop the onion, cloves of garlic, broccoli - the stems as well as the crowns - courgette, and potatoes. Put the soup pan on medium heat. Add some oil and fry the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the broccoli and courgette, and fry these for about 2-3 minutes. Then, add the potatoes and water, and crumble the block of vegetable bouillon above the pan. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes with the lid on. In the meantime, zest the lemon and cut it in half. When the vegetables are soft, take the soup pan off the heat and puree everything with a blender until you have a smooth soup. Add three tablespoons of crème fraîche, and the lemon zest, and mix until dissolved. Possibly add lemon juice to make the soup even more lemon-y and fresh. Serve in a bowl with some lemon zest and crème fraîche on top.

Spicy tuna pasta

This recipe is for all the people who want to add a little bit of spice to their lives. We could all use that from time to time. Don’t worry, the degree of spiciness is up to you. If you want, you could remove the spice all together, but, sometimes, it’s nice to go hard and live on the edge, right? ;)

What you need:

• Pasta

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 2 cans of tuna

• 1 can of chopped tomatoes

• 1 pack of tomato passata

• 1 sack of stir-fry vegetables (400 grams)

• Curry paste (or another curry spice blend like curry madras spices)

• Any herbs you’d like to add

• Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Start by chopping the onion and cloves of garlic. Put the saucepan on medium heat and put some oil in it. Fry the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes. In the meantime, start cooking the pasta. When the onion is translucent, add the stir-fry vegetables. Fry everything for about 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato passata, and tuna, and mix everything together. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes, then add a teaspoon of curry paste. Stir until dissolved. Add salt and pepper as well. Let it continue to simmer for 3-4. When the pasta is done, add it to the sauce together with some of the pasta water. Serve in a bowl or on a plate.

Good ol’ Dutch pancakes

Of course Dutch pancakes cannot be missed. This is one of the best budget-friendly meals that every student has probably made at least once in their university years. Not the healthiest, I admit, but incredibly delicious and diverse because you can add any topping you’d like. My personal favourite is a bacon and powdered sugar combination, but I’ve also seen people put shawarma or fries on their pancakes. So, you can go totally crazy! Normally, we Dutchies eat this meal for dinner, but you can definitely bake them for breakfast or lunch as well.

What you need:

• 250 grams of flour

• 500 ml of milk

• 2 eggs

• Salt

• Butter

• Any toppings you’d like (stroop [syrup], powdered sugar, cheese, bacon, apple etc.)

How to make it:

Mix the flower, milk, eggs, and a pinch of salt in a bowl with a hand mixer (or whisk) until all lumps have dissolved. Heat the frying pan on medium heat and put some butter in it. When the butter is melted, scoop one ladle full of mixture into the middle of the frying pan. Make sure that the mixture covers the whole pan. Bake the pancake until it's dry on top. Then, turn the pancake over and bake it for another 1-2 minutes. Put the pancake on a plate with another plate on top to keep it warm. Repeat this process until all the mixture is used. Serve with any topping.

Pizza piadina

In the mood for pizza, but don’t want to spend a lot of money? Try this pizza piadina! It’s cheap, easy to make, and (a little bit) healthier. Perfect for dinner or as a quick and filling lunch that will give you enough energy to study some more and ace your assignments. You’re doing goood!

What you need:

• Piadina

• Tomato puree

• Mozzarella

• Rucola

• Grated cheese

• Any other topping you’d like

• Salt and pepper

• Oil 

How to make it:

Cut the mozzarella and any other topping of choice. Put the frying pan on medium heat and heat up the piadina on both sides for one minute. Cover the piadina with tomato puree while it’s still in the pan and add the mozzarella. When it’s melted, add the rucola and any other toppings. Serve as a pizza or as an actual piadina with some grated cheese on top.

A traybake dinner

This might be the easiest recipe of all five because you only have to chop and season everything, put it in the oven, and wait; perfect for stressful study days. It’s also a great meal for getting rid of left-over veggies. Pop everything together and, voilà, you’re done! 

Tip: if you don’t have any vegetables, budget-friendly ways to get them are going to the supermarket super early or the market after 16:00 for discounts, or buying a good-to-go box.

What you need:

• Potatoes (normal or sweet potato)

• Any (left-over) vegetables

• Onion

• Garlic

• If you want, you could add meat, chicken or fish

• Season to your taste (for example, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika powder, oregano etc.)

• Salt and pepper

• Oil 

• Aluminium foil

How to make it:

Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Chop the potatoes, vegetables, onion and garlic. Put everything together in a bowl and drizzle with (olive) oil. Season with salt and pepper, and other herbs and spices. If protein is added, season this as well. Spread the vegetable and potato mixture evenly on a baking tray. Put the seasoned protein on top. Cover the traybake with aluminium foil and put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Make sure to check in between to prevent burned food. Serve on a plate, possibly with rice or pasta.

There you have it; five budget-friendly and easy recipes. Hopefully, you will enjoy them as much as we do. Do you have a recipe you always make when the end of the month is nearing? Let us know in the comments!