Whether your student is just starting out in a dorm room with just a mini-fridge and a microwave or has moved into an apartment and needs to build a kitchen from scratch, we’ve got their backs! Here’s a list of essential tools for young cooks, perfect for the nights when pizza delivery simply won’t cut it.
1. Perfect Pasta in Minutes
Ditch the food delivery and make your own hearty, delicious lunch or dinner in the dorm. This pasta cooker is made for your microwave and makes two servings of pasta or grains in under 10 minutes. It’ll be a go-to for late-night meals, too.
2. Kitchen Utensils They'll Use Every Day
With the Multicolor Kitchen Utensil Set, you can make (and serve!) virtually anything in the kitchen. This set includes a slotted spoon, turner, spoon, and small slotted turner in a variety of colors in a range of fun colors to make your kitchen area more vibrant and fun. Plus, each utensil is made of nylon, so they’re safe to use with all kinds of cookware—even nonstick—when you’re sauteing, frying, or boiling!
3. Must-Have Microwave Cooking Essentials
You won’t have to worry about burning your hands on hot bowls or freezing your fingers when you eat cold food like ice cream anymore. A microwave-safe bowl cozy lets you heat your food and then makes it painless to hold the bowl and enjoy your food while it’s still hot.
4. Be Ready for Pizza Night (Because You Know It’ll Happen)
Pizza nights are inevitable in college—some may even say they’re a necessity. Whether you’re cooking frozen pizza or making it from scratch, you need the essentials. Get a pizza stone for the oven and a personal-size pizza stone to use in a microwave or toaster oven. You’ll also need a pizza cutter to cut through slices and crust easily.
5. Make It a Movie Night
Make your own air-popped microwave popcorn at home and avoid the greasy butter. The reusable popcorn maker uses regular kernels and means students can season their popcorn with whatever they like (we love garlic salt) and control portion size, too.
6. Take Snacks With You Anywhere Any Time
Sick of using single-use plastic bags? Then, our Reusable Storage Bag Set will make your day! This set comes with four different-sized storage bags made of 100% platinum silicone, which means they’re reusable, resealable, and leakproof! Use them to take snacks with you on the go, store sandwiches, and even put away leftovers for later.
7. Hot Breakfast On the Go
A scrambled egg on a weekday morning always feels like a treat, but it’s especially true when you’re a hungry student. The ceramic egg cooker makes microwave eggs in a snap, and, as a bonus, it also works to cook oatmeal and even a mug cake for a quick, warm treat.
8. Your Go-To Two-in-One Tool
Most experienced cooks have more spoons and scrapers than they know what to do with, but for the cook who is just starting, the two-in-one scraper saves space and does a lot: it scoops, scrapes, and serves. Tiny but mighty.
9. Fantastic Food Storage
Store your leftovers and heat them in the same container. These leakproof glass containers come in a variety of sizes and have lids that snap securely in place. The 5¼-cup container is perfect for leftovers and the 3-cup container is great for a sandwich on the go.
10. Take Lunch On the Go
Layer a salad in the mason jar and you’ll have a fresh meal for lunch. The salad jar has a lid that holds salad dressing to keep veggies and greens from getting soggy.
11. The Best Can Opener
It’s the kind of tool that you forget you don’t have until you need it. The smooth-edge can opener prevents sharp edges and a magnet plucks the lid right off.
12. A Gadget Every Guacamole Lover Needs
The Avocado Tool is a must-have for anyone who loves avocado toast or homemade guacamole. One end is a knife that helps you cut through the avocado skin, separate it from the avocado flesh, slice the avocado any way you like, and spread it. And the other end is a pitter that lets you grab the pit and remove it with ease. The soft-grip handle is comfortable to hold no matter how you use the tool, and it’s compact enough to store in any kitchen drawer.
13. Make Fruit Prep Quick and Easy
Whether you want to make fruit salad or enjoy a healthy snack, our Corer lets you prep your produce with a few simple motions. All you have to do is push the stainless-steel blade through your fruit, twist the handle, and pull up for easy release! Plus, you can use it for more than just coring apples. You can also use it to core pears, remove the center of cupcakes to fill with tasty treats, and even vent the tops of your pies for more thorough bakes.
14. Make Weekend Breakfast (and More)
When it’s Sunday morning and you’re missing home, pancakes will hit the spot. The shaker bottle makes quick work of a weekend treat, and, better yet, also works great for scrambled eggs and protein shakes when you’re pressed for time.
15. Cover All the Cooking Prep Basics
The Basic Veggie Prep Set is a must-have for all college dorm kitchenettes, apartment dwellers, and first-time homeowners. It comes with a Kitchen Paring Knife Set, Flexible Cutting Mat Set, and a 3-Piece Peeler Set, so you’ll have everything you need to peel, slice, and cut vegetables when you’re preparing meals.
Thank you for this AWESOME list of ideas!! I was so busy thinking about bedding and things like that – I hadn’t even thought about setting up the kitchen!! You’ve saved me from having to run around WalMart and buy sub-par products we’d end up replacing in a few weeks!
I’m glad you found it helpful. My daughter leaves next Thursday for college and has a whole boxful of PC tools 🙂 Did you get everything you needed? Have any questions about use and care?
I agree Janet, this list is fantastic! So glad to have it as a resource 🙂
I wish they had these things back when I went to college!
What great ideas. We need to make sure our kids need to know how to cook, so they can feed their brains.
Are there any recipes for the micro cooker?
Buttery Dill Carrots
1 lb (450 g) baby carrots
(about 3 cups/750 mL)
¼ cup (50 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) All-Purpose Dill Mix
1∕8 tsp (0.5 mL) salt
Place carrots and water in Large Micro-
Cooker®. Cover and microwave on HIGH 6
minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender; drain.
Add butter, dill mix and salt; toss gently.
Yield: 6 servings
U.S. Nutrients per serving: Calories 45, Total Fat 2 g,
Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g,
Protein 1 g, Sodium 120 mg, Fiber 2 g
Cook’s Tip: Dried dill weed can be substituted for the
All-Purpose Dill Mix, if desired.
Quick Mashed Potatoes
1½ lbs (700 g) unpeeled
red potatoes, cubed
¼ cup (50 mL) milk
Salt and coarsely
ground black pepper
Optional mix-ins such as butter, pressed garlic
cloves, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar
cheese or chopped fresh parsley.
Place potatoes and enough water to cover
into Rice Cooker Plus. Cover; microwave on
HIGH 10–12 minutes or until potatoes are
tender. Carefully remove inner lid and drain
water. Add milk to potatoes; mash potatoes.
Add salt, black pepper and one or more mixins,
if desired; mix well.
Perfect Pasta
8 oz (250 g) uncooked
angel hair pasta
1½ cups (375 mL) chicken
broth
½ cup (125 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp (15 mL) Lemon Pepper Rub (optional)
Break pasta in half. Combine pasta, broth
and water in Rice Cooker Plus. Microwave,
covered, on HIGH 6–8 minutes or until pasta
is tender. Carefully remove lid. Add butter,
parsley and rub, if desired. Toss pasta using
Chef’s Tongs until butter is incorporated.
Serve immediately.
Speedy Pearl Couscous
1¾ cups (425 mL) chicken
broth
11∕3 cups (325 mL) uncooked
pearl couscous
¼ cup (50 mL) toasted slivered almonds
1∕3 cup (75 mL) chopped fresh parsley
Pour broth into Large Micro-Cooker®;
microwave, covered, on HIGH 2–3 minutes
or until boiling. Add couscous; microwave,
covered, on MEDIUM (50% power) 5–7
minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in almonds and parsley.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes
(about 12 oz/350 g each)
½ cup (125 mL) milk
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
Pierce potatoes in several places with a fork;
place on paper towels and microwave on
HIGH 14–16 minutes or until potatoes are
very tender. Transfer potatoes to Cutting
Board; cool slightly. In Micro-Cooker or Classic Batter Bowl,
combine milk, butter and salt. Microwave on
HIGH 1–2 minutes or until hot. Cut potatoes
in half lengthwise; carefully scoop flesh into
batter bowl. Mash until smooth.
Smoked Gouda Grits
3 cups (750 mL) chicken
broth
½ cup (125 mL) heavy
whipping cream
1 cup (250 mL) uncooked quick grits
4 oz (125 g) smoked Gouda cheese, grated
Place broth and cream in Large Micro-Cooker®.
Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3–5 minutes
or until hot. Add grits; cover and microwave
on HIGH 4–5 minutes or until thickened. Add
cheese; stir until cheese is melted.
Quick Polenta
2½ cups (625 mL) water
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1 mL) coarsely
ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2∕3 cup (150 mL) yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp (30 mL) heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
Place water, salt, black pepper and pressed
garlic in Large Micro-Cooker®; cover and
microwave on HIGH 3–5 minutes or until
water is steaming. Slowly whisk in cornmeal.
Microwave, covered, 2–4 minutes or until
polenta is tender. Whisk in cream and butter.
Yield: 4 servings
which is the micro cooker
Thank you for pointing out that you want to make sure you have microwave-safe bowls. My sister is moving into a dorm and needs to get kitchen supplies. I’ll have to help her find the best ones for her.