Being a student isn’t easy. 

As if juggling part-time work and classes wasn’t enough, you often have to cook as well; that too on a budget! 

For many students, cooking is the first experience after leaving the cafeteria. And often, a newcomer to the kitchen, combined with a limited budget, can make some pretty interesting dishes. To help you out, we have narrowed down options for you and made a list of the best cooking apps by focusing on the most important features such as shopping list tool, recipe conversion options and offline use. Just make sure your internet connection is good to go and you will be able to access these apps easily. We suggest looking into Cox Internet for their budget-friendly plans and bundle packages to help you get the best internet experience at reasonable rates. 

Whether you’re new to the kitchen or an experienced chef, the next step is to think about your cooking habits, check out our list, and pick the best one for you. 

1. Yummly

Yummly is a meal planning and cooking app that gives you the tools to optimize your mealtime experience. By recommending recipes based on your personal preferences and nutritional needs, you can improve your life in the kitchen. 

It also has a tab that allows you to enter keywords to search for another recipe you want. Overall, this tab is great for searching and scanning ingredients guide. 

It also includes useful features such as a scanner to find recipe ideas, Instacart integration, and a planner to plan your meals for weeks or even a month. 

2. BigOven

This app has great reviews since it works at full capacity and has enough bandwidth to keep people hooked.

Users can easily search for a specific item or type of food; from desserts to drinks, it has it all. Clicking on a recipe will display the ingredients, estimated cooking time (including baking), maximum serving size, and calories, if applicable. Additionally, menus are categorized by season, holiday, dish, lifestyle, diet, and much more. You can also read ratings and reviews from other home cooks to decide what to eat. 

The best part is you can save favorites and recipes to try later as well!

3. Budget bytes

The Budget Bytes app is a cooking app that offers over 1000 delicious recipes for people on a budget. The app offers step-by-step photos and voice prompts to make cooking easier. The main focus of this app is to cook delicious meals cheaply. 

Each recipe you use has a cost per serving based on total calculations. It also has adjustable serving sizes and helps you filter your grocery list too. 

Moreover, there is a built-in timer. So, if the instructions say something like “bake for 30 minutes”, you can actually run the timer on the app. 

4. Whisk

This app is like a whole new ball game. 

It allows you to actually get recipes from anywhere online and add it to the app. You can then create your personal cookbook, adjust serving sizes and even switch ingredients. 

Once your recipes have been added, you can organize them using the collect feature. You can create as many collections as you want and name them as you wish. You can also take notes and comments about what you want to change or remember next time. 

Moreover, you can turn your recipes into shopping lists: press a button and you’ll have your shopping list handy in case you have to make an unexpected stop at the store.

5. Food Monster

If you’re a vegan, this app is for you. 

For many vegans, one of the biggest challenges is finding really delicious vegan recipes. Food Monster makes it easy to prepare delicious and nutritious vegan recipes. Their over 20,000 plant-based vegan recipes are searchable across 600 category filters, each dish is beautifully photographed and comes with detailed instructions. 

You can even browse recipes by diet, cuisine, ingredients, and time of year to find the one that suits your taste buds.

6. Food Network 

This app has a varied selection of dishes for different cuisines and purposes. Each product is accompanied by a clear photograph, a list of ingredients, and equally clear instructions for use. Other users can also rate the recipes and describe how their experience.  

The app offers a clean interface that is suitable for use in the kitchen, whether you’re using it with an iPhone or iPad. 

There is also a very handy grocery list feature that allows users to check which ingredients to buy and save them on a list before heading to the local supermarket.

They even have a simple but effective unit converter in the app. 

The Final Word 

Eating tasty and nutritious food during your college years is important for developing strong, healthy eating habits that you can maintain throughout your life. In addition, a healthy diet will give you the nutrients you need to boost your immune system and improve sleep. So use these apps to cook on a budget and plan your meals to maintain your health.