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Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026
The Daily Pennsylvanian

10 easy foods to make in your dorm room

Here are some easy, instant foods to make to spice up your daily meals. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

1. Anything dipped in Nutella: Is an explanation needed? The options are endless — pretzels, bread, fruit...plus Nutella has hazelnut in it so it’s healthy, right?

2. Instant mac n’ cheese: Not the most gourmet, but it gets the job done when you’re studying for midterms and don’t want to leave your cave to go to the dining hall.

3. Oatmeal: A snack fit for a Quaker! That was a poor joke, but in all seriousness, it can be hard to drag yourself out of bed early enough to grab breakfast at the dining hall before class, so oatmeal is a great choice for a quick and substantial morning meal.

4. Fruit salad: This can be a really cheap snack because you can “borrow” a bunch of fruit from Commons to bring back to your room. It’s called being resourceful!

5. Cheese and crackers: So easy to make, and cheese and crackers are super classy to pair with your Franzia — or...water.

6. Nachos or chips n’ guac: Take some tortilla chips, throw on some cheese and salsa, and you have a snack perfect for study breaks or cheering on your team during Fantasy season. If you don’t have a microwave, stick to the classically delicious option of chips n’ guac.

7. Soup: Everyone is getting sick right now thanks to the close quarters living in a dorm guarantees, so make yourself some chicken-noodle or tomato soup and curl up with your box of tissues and cough-drops.

8. Dressed-up ramen: A spin-off on a college classic. You can add extra vegetables or seasoning to the noodles to make your own personalized stir-fry.

9. Popcorn: With this snack, you can transport yourself from your dorm right into a movie theater. Whether you’re studying or watching Netflix, popcorn is something you can mindlessly eat until you realize you’ve finished the bag (oops).

10. DIY pizza: This one takes a bit of creativity, but you can turn a quesadilla, some melted cheese, a few vegetables and your meat of choice into a pretty tasty pizza if Allegro’s and Axis aren’t your style.