If you want to master the art of meal planning, follow our 30-minute student budget meal plan, as well as our best student meal ideas.
Best student cookbooks at a glance
- Best for viral recipes: You’ll Love This: Recipes that Broke the Internet by Saskia Sidey, £20
- Best one-pan cookbook: Roasting Pan Suppers by Rosie Sykes, £14.99
- Best for takeaway fans: Chinese Takeaway in 5 by Kwoklyn Wan, £14.03
- Best vegan cookbook: Broke Vegan by Saskia Sidey, £7.99
- Best for quick recipes: The Quick Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer, £16.83
- Best for budget recipes: Vegan One Pound Meals by Miguel Barclay, £16.99
- Best for imaginative recipes: Take One Tin by Lola Milne, £12.85
- Best for keen learners: Delia’s Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith, £16.85
- Best for vegetarian recipes: East by Meera Sodha, £20
- Best for beginners: How to Dice an Onion by Anne Sheasby, £7.99
- Best for comfort food: Mob Kitchen by Ben Lebus, £7.51
- Best for foodies: Original Flava by Craig and Shaun McAnuff, £18.73
Best student cookbooks to buy in 2025
You’ll Love This: Recipes that Broke the Internet by Saskia Sidey
Best for viral recipes
If you’re a sucker for a viral recipe and love to see whether they’re worth the hype, this is the book you need. From the hugely popular baked feta & tomato pasta to smashed tacos, TikTok ramen and Dubai chocolate bar, in this fun cookbook you’ll find outrageously delicious easy-tomake takes on all the biggest recipe trends.
Roasting Pan Suppers by Rosie Sykes
Best one pan cookbook
Rosie Sykes, a chef and food writer, has written a book to answer every home cook’s prayers. Not only is it packed full of enticing recipes we can’t wait to make, they’re all made in just one roasting tin or pot, meaning less hassle and minimal washing-up – perfect for small student kitchens. The book contains one-pan meat, fish and veg-based dishes, as well as sides and desserts, helpfully categorised at the beginning by recipe length (under 30 minutes, an hour, over an hour etc), and grouped into menus, so you can plan feasts for friends.
Must-try recipe: Satay chicken wings & rice noodle salad
Available from:
Chinese Takeaway in 5 by Kwoklyn Wan
Best for takeaway fans
After growing up working in the kitchen of his family’s Cantonese restaurant, Kwoklyn Wan became a chef and author. His latest cookbook contains 80 recipes for takeaway favourites, which can be recreated at home using just five ingredients. Master classic starters including pancake rolls, crispy wontons and prawn toasts, as well as popular mains such as Singapore king prawn fried rice and chicken chow mein.
Must-try recipe: Chinese-style buffalo wings
Available from:
Broke Vegan by Saskia Sidey
Best vegan cookbook
Food stylist and recipe developer Saskia Sidey’s cookbook breathes fresh new life into budget-friendly vegan cooking for environmentally conscious students. It contains more than 100 plant-based recipes that won’t break the bank, including breakfast and brunch ideas, speedy meals, batch-cooking recipes, crowd-pleasers and sweet treats. Expect clever ways with supermarket staples and plenty of veg, plus tips and tricks to make food go further, perfect for maximising a student loan budget.
Must-try recipe: Peanut butter millionaire’s shortbread
Available from:
The Quick Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer
Best for quick recipes
Want quick, easy recipes that are ready in no time and don’t use every pan and utensil you own? This is the book for you! All the recipes are cooked in a roasting tin (you might need an extra bowl or pan for some of the prep), keeping washing up to a minimum, and they’re ready in just 40 minutes max from start to finish. There are healthy work-night dinners using storecupboard ingredients, family favourites including baked gnocchi and summer sausage traybake, make-ahead lunches, date-night dinners, lazy weekend feasts and indulgent desserts. A clever book solving your weeknight cooking dilemmas.
Must-try recipe: Baked feta with figs, pine nuts & basil
Available from:
Vegan One Pound Meals by Miguel Barclay
Best for budget recipes
The latest in the One Pound Meals book series, every recipe costs £1 or less per head, and this time it’s all about easy plant-based meals using supermarket ingredients. From creamy cauliflower tagliatelle to sticky peanut butter tofu and polenta kebabs, these clever vegan recipes are ideal for everyday budget family cooking.
Must-try recipe: Artichoke paella
Available from:
Take One Tin by Lola Milne
Best for imaginative recipes
Tinned ingredients are the ultimate in convenience, with long shelf lives and affordable price tags. They don’t take up room in the fridge, either, and are happy to hang out in kitchen cupboards until their services are called upon. It’s no wonder they’re popular with students. This book, by cookery writer Lola Milne, will show you how to transform these humble storecupboard ingredients into imaginative breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts. Among its 80 recipes is everything from classic tomato soup to coconut and lime upside-down cake.
Must-try recipe: Vietnamese crab cakes
Available from:
Delia’s Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith
Best for keen learners
With clear, easy-to-follow instructions and recipes for comforting classics that we often miss from home – think fish pie, roast potatoes and bread & butter pudding – this book is as relevant and well-loved now as when it was first published more than 30 years ago. Covering all the basics for new home cooks, it’s a reference guide to return to again and again, long after those student years are over.
Must-try recipe: Traditional roast chicken with stuffing
Available from:
East by Meera Sodha
Best for vegetarian recipes
Packed full of colourful vegetarian and vegan dishes inspired by regions throughout Asia, this eye-opening book will inject some meat-free fun into any student kitchen. From impressive-looking aubergine katsu curry, to fast and frugal spring onion and ginger noodles, the spectrum of dishes is huge, and makes cutting down on meat – and therefore shopping budgets – exciting.
Must-try recipe: Black dhal
Available from:
How to Dice an Onion by Anne Sheasby
Best for beginners
Less of a recipe collection and more of a kitchen handbook, this is a great cookery companion for beginners, but even those already au fait with kitchen techniques will learn a thing or two. From lessons on how to prepare veg and make stock to advice on storing ingredients and organising kitchen cupboards, there’s a wealth of knowledge in this book to get that student kitchen set up.
Available from:
Mob Kitchen by Ben Lebus
Best for comfort foods
The first book from online recipe platform Mob Kitchen remains a classic. It is all about easy, budget-friendly recipes that really deliver when it comes to flavour, making it a great pick for food-loving students. All the recipes included feed four people for under a tenner, meaning there’s plenty to share with housemates or keep for lunch the next day.
Must try recipe: Squidgy carbonara crumpets
Available from:
Original Flava by Craig and Shaun McAnuff
Best for foodies
Comforting Caribbean food is the name of the game here, with young authors Craig and Shaun making sure the recipes stay true to their values of ease, accessibility and tastiness. The likes of honey roasted jerk-spiced salmon and banana fritter cheesecake will gently nudge young cooks out of their comfort zones to experience new flavours. This is food to make friends over.
Must-try recipe: Plantain bean burgers
Available from:
More cookbook inspiration
Best baking books
Best vegetarian cookbooks
Best vegan cookbooks
Best cookbooks for kids
Best Italian cookbooks
Best budget cookbooks
Best keto cookbooks
