One Pan Fits All

Learning to cook is a lot more difficult than it seems. Especially as a college student with a small budget for groceries and limited free time. You want to eat healthy and eat real food, but you never actually made those easy-healthy-quick-college-meals you saved on TikTok, have you? It’s okay, because we have a different cooking strategy that’s simple, quick and most importantly delicious.

One-pan meals are easy and delicious, and the following recipes will save you dishes, time and money while keeping you full and healthy.

1. Salmon Bake

This one-sheet salmon bake from @ninldn on TikTok takes only 15 minutes to make and is incredibly tasty.

What You’ll Need

• Salmon filets
• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Cherry tomatoes 
• Salmon rub
• Dill
• Sea salt
• Lemon pepper
• Lemon slices

What You’ll Do

1. Place the filets, tomatoes, green beans and asparagus on the pan.
2. Season the salmon with sea salt, salmon rub and lemon pepper.
3. Sprinkle dill and place lemon slices on top of the filets to your liking.
4. Bake at 450 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.

2. Zucchini Chicken Stir Fry

This 15 minute stir fry recipe from Well Plated by Erin is an easy must-try dinner.

What You’ll Need:

• Chicken breasts
• Zuchinni
• Yellow onion
• Soy sauce
• Apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of sugar 
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Cornstarch
• Red pepper flakes

What You’ll Do:

1. Dice chicken and place in a bowl with soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Stir.
2. Combine ginger, garlic, cornstarch and red pepper flakes and stir.
3. Chop zucchini and onion.
4. Brown the chicken in the pan then remove.
5. Add onions to pan and pour in remaining sauce, cook until they start to brown.
6. Add zucchini to the pan and cook until it softens.
7. Combine chicken back into pan, heat and serve!

Beef and Vegetables Stir Fry

Here’s another easy and quick stir fry recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen with beef and vegatables.

What You’ll Need:

• Sirloin steak (or preferred beef cut)
• Barbeque sauce
• Maple syrup
• Soy sauce
• Bell peppers
• Yellow onion
• Mushrooms
• Carrots (thinly sliced)
• Snap peas
• Salt
• Pepper
• Ginger
• Garlic

What You’ll Do:

1. Combine three tablespoons of BBQ sauce and maple syrup with two tablespoons of soy sauce and stir. Set bowl aside.
2. Thinly slice beef into small strips.
3. Chop your bell peppers, onions, carrots and other vegetables.
4. Add beef to a large pan with 1 tablespoon of oil and saute over high heat for four to five minutes.
5. Add desired amount of salt, pepper, ginger and garlic .
6. Add stir fry sauce and continue to stir until beef is fully cooked.
7. Remove beef from pan and add mushrooms to same pan with one tablespoon of oil. Stir fry until golden.
8. Remove mushrooms and add remainder of vegetables to the pan with oil.
9. Saute vegetables until brown and add the remainder of the sauce, mushrooms and beef.

Hawaiian Chicken and Vegetables

This meal from The Seasoned Mom adds an exciting twist to your typical chicken and vegetables recipe.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast/tenderloin
• 2 cups cubed pineapple
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 small sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

What You’ll Do: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put chicken, vegetables and potatoes on a pan. 
3. Drizzle with sesame oil and canola oil and sprinkle sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Mix and evenly coat ingredients.
4. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, flip ingredients over and cook for an additionally 10 minutes.
5. Top off the pan with cocunut and lime juice to taste.

5. Tomato Garlic Shrimp

This recipe from Her Highness Hungry Me only calls for five ingredients and is still packed with so much flavor.

What You’ll Need:

• Beefsteak tomatoes
• Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Dill 
• Olive oil

What You’ll Do

1. Chop the tomatoes and dill and cook in a pan over medium heat with olive oil.
2. Cook until the consistency is soft and saucy, then add shrimp.
3. Cook shrimp for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, more dill, olive oil and any other seasonings (salt, pepper, etc) to your taste. Stir and serve!

Any other one-pan recipes you’d like us to try? Let us know @VALLEYmag on Instagram.

Related