Top 5 Kitchen Essentials for College Apartments

College life is fast-paced. You jump from school, to studying, to work, to going out with friends, etc. It can be difficult to include eating during those times and having the proper kitchen essentials will go a long way toward saving money. The key to finding the time to have a filling, tasty meal is having a well-equipped kitchen.

A large majority of students live on microwaved ramen noodles and frozen meals, because all they have in their kitchen is a microwave, a couple of pieces of silverware and paper plates. If you want to expand your meal options, include these 5 kitchen essentials in your back to school shopping list.

Kitchen Essentials

1. Small Cooking Set

Don’t settle for overpriced, calorie-packed fast food meals or flavor lacking canned foods, because you don’t have any proper cooking materials. A simple cooking set with a pot, a pan and possibly a cookie sheet opens up your dining options tremendously. You don’t have to be Rachael Ray to whip up a quick pasta dinner or to bake a few chicken breasts in the oven for 30 minutes. Even better, you can take the time to prepare a few meals on a Sunday afternoon, store them in the fridge or freezer and have quick, delicious home-cooked meals throughout the week.

2. Crock-pot

The crock-pot is a staple in almost every family kitchen, because it enables you to come home at the end of the day to a hot and ready dinner. It’s slowly becoming a staple in all college apartments now, too. All you have to do is pop a few ingredients into the crock-pot before leaving in the morning, turn it on and let the pot do all the cooking. There are so many readily available 5-ingredient recipes to be found online that you don’t have to know a thing about cooking to properly use a crock-pot.

3. Blender

A blender is a great tool for both health freaks and sweet lovers alike. It’s so easy to prepare a quick fruit smoothie that’s a sweet and healthy alternative to other dessert options. Drop in a few ice cubes, milk and your favorite fruit and you have a tasty, on-the-go meal that you can bring with you to class. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper to make your own smoothies this way than to pay $5 at the overpriced smoothie joints on campus.

4. Coffee maker

If you want to make it to your 8 a.m. class, you’re going to need a coffee maker. Stopping into Starbucks every morning can get costly and it makes your long morning even longer – the line is always almost halfway out the door. You can get a cheap coffee maker that will do the job just fine or spend a little more on one that will automatically prepare a cup of coffee for you at the same time each morning.

5. A full set of silverware and dishes

Some students try to get by on a plate, a cup and a single fork. However, this make it impossible to have friends over for food. Plus, when you get home and you’re too tired to wash dishes, you can always just take out a new plate. A full dish set will make your life so much easier.

These are just a few of the essentials that should be included in a college kitchen, but if you want to have a fully equipped kitchen, these tools are a great foundation to start off with. So, what is your go to kitchen tool? Are there any listed above you think you could live without? Let us know about them in the comment section below.