With the month of November coming up, many of us are starting to plan for Thanksgiving. But if you're in college, you and your group of friends are likely also having a Friendsgiving. If you're not familiar with the term, a Friendsgiving is similar to Thanksgiving, except you're sharing a feast with friends instead of family and celebrating all things friendship.
If it's your first Friendsgiving, you're probably panicking over what dish to bring, especially if you're a broke college student or don't have a huge kitchen. Or if you're like me and don't know how to cook, then you're likely especially panicking over making a dish that your friends will actually enjoy. Luckily, there are several dishes that you can make that are not only very easy to prepare, but also perfect for anyone who's on a tight budget. Here are 10 of my favorites you should definitely try this season!
1. Simple Cranberry Stuffing
Cranberry stuffing is very easy to make, especially if you own a crock-pot. This recipe will take you about three hours to cook and only five minutes of prep time. It's a great recipe to choose if you want to cook something but want to avoid the cost of preparing an expensive dish.
2. Sweet Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are normally fairly easy to make. But if you want to bring something different, you should try this recipe for maple brown butter mashed sweet potatoes! It uses maple syrup and chopped pecans, which make it taste very similar to sweet potato casserole. It also only uses seven ingredients and each of the ingredients, besides the sweet potatoes themselves, are under one dollar! The recipe will definitely taste even better than eating regular mashed potatoes!
3. Green Bean Casserole
Green bean casserole is usually an all-time favorite Thanksgiving recipe for a lot of people. But it's also the perfect easy and fast recipe to bring to your Friendsgiving! All you need to make it is six ingredients, and it takes only 20 minutes to cook.
4. No Bake Chocolate Pie
If you struggle with cooking in general and the idea of making a pie intimidates you, instead of spending your money on a store-bought pie, you can try making a no-bake one! This no-bake chocolate pie recipe is made with only simple ingredients and you won't even need an oven to make it! The secret is that the recipe uses chocolate jello for the filling and gram crackers for the crust. It tastes just like a normal chocolate pie, so you're friends won't be able to tell the difference!
5. Easy Caramel Apple Trifle
Black Stripe / Wikimedia Commons
Another easy dessert recipe to make that uses inexpensive ingredients is this caramel apple trifle recipe. The recipe requires just a box of cake mix, whip cream, vanilla instant pudding, and cans of apple filling. It's very easy to make and it's perfect for Friendsgiving since it's a typical fall desert!
The recipe's author uses a trifle bowl, but you could likely use a regular bowl instead if you don't want to buy a special one. Just make sure it's big enough for all of the trifle's layers. You can also decorate it by adding vanilla wafer cookies at the top or drizzling caramel sauce on it.
6. Baked Mac And Cheese
This is another recipe you should try making if you want to make an easy dish. Although the recipe uses a little bit more ingredients than the other ones on this list, it only takes 35 minutes to make and it's fairly easy to cook! It's also great for anyone since it's a dish almost anyone will love!
7. Turkey In A Crock-Pot
If you're like me and the idea of cooking a whole turkey sounds like it would be either too much or result in a fire, then try putting the turkey in a crock-pot. If you have a crock-pot, then you should try this recipe to help prove to your friends that you're willing to make the Friendsgiving as authentic as possible! It's very easy to make and the best part is that it tastes just as good as making the turkey in the oven! The only downside is that it does take eight hours for the turkey to cook in the crock-pot, so make sure that you give yourself enough time beforehand!
8. Broccoli And Cheddar Cups
One other quick Friendsgiving recipe to make is broccoli and cheddar rice cups! They only use five ingredients and only take about 50 minutes to cook. The only special equipment that is required for making this recipe is an oven and muffin tray.
9. Homemade Cranberry Sauce
This cranberry sauce is one of the easiest recipes to make for Friendsgiving! It requires only four inexpensive ingredients. It also only requires you to cook the ingredients in a saucepan on the stove, then cool it by placing it in the fridge. Yes, that's all you need to do! If you have a mason jar, you can serve this dish in a mason jar to give it more of a cute homemade look!
10. Spinach And Artichoke Dip
Finally, if you're looking for something SUPER simple to make, you can try making spinach and artichoke dip as an appetizer for your Friendsgiving! It's a simple recipe and it doesn't require too many ingredients. Plus it makes for a great appetizer!
If you're struggling to find the perfect easy recipe to bring to Friendsgiving, you should try any one of these 10 recipes! They're very easy and inexpensive to make which will help you to save time trying to cook the perfect dish! Plus if you're like me and burn almost anything on the stove, these recipes are easy enough even for someone who isn't the best at cooking. Plus, you'll be able to impress your friends and prove to them that you can cook the best dishes!
