Cooking in the hostel kitchen presents a unique set of challenges: limited pans and utensils, few basic ingredients (if any at all) and overcrowding at meal times. How does a traveling foodie plan meals with those limited resources? After all, nobody likes living on a steady diet of pasta and red sauce. Here are a few easy hostel meals that are budget-friendly, space-aware and easily customizable based on your location. Now, let’s put those minimalist culinary skills to work.
![Overhead view of caprese salad with san marzano tomatos and mozzarella di buffala, all drizzled with basalmic vinegar; easy hostel meals](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/features/2019/07/GettyImages-668763711-e590cc2ac6d0.jpg?w=1920&auto=format&q=75)
Local fruit caprese salad
Hostel life can be carb-heavy, so lighten things up with a simple caprese salad. The best part about this meal option is it’s easily adaptable to your destination. Stick with the tried-and-true tomato variation, or get a little crazy with local fruits to pair nicely with savory touches.
Ingredients:
1 large mozzarella ball
Whole basil leaves
Fruit of choice (tomato, watermelon, pineapple, etc)
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup Balsamic vinegar (boil, then simmer until reduced by half)
- Cut your fruit into slices and chop your basil to preferred size (we like very thin strips).
- Slice the mozzarella, halving the slices into semi-circles.
- Combine all ingredients in shallow bowl, drizzling with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If a balsamic reduction is preferred, bring to boil in saucepan; then reduce heat and simmer until the vinegar is reduced by half (though be warned: you won’t be making any friends by making the common space smell like vinegar all night).
Traveling solo? Try these tips for meeting people on the road.
![Shredded rotisserie chicken on a green plastic cutting board and carving knife against wood plank background; easy hostel meals](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/features/2019/07/GettyImages-663810172-f94bf3879556.jpg?w=1920&auto=format&q=75)
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
An option with a little kick, these wraps don’t require much prep time and, if you’re really pressed for space or time, are perfectly delicious served cold.
Ingredients:
1 cooked/rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups of white meat)
1 head of lettuce (romaine or iceberg)
⅔ cup hot sauce (Buffalo or regional specialty)
½ cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack OR cheddar cheese (optional)
½ red onion
1 tomato, diced
Ranch dressing
- Remove breast meat from cooked chicken, pulling into small strips.
- Combine hot sauce, chicken, red onion and cheese in bowl, using a fork to shred and mix.
- Heat chicken mixture slowly in a skillet until warmed through.
- Slice off bottom of lettuce and separate leaves to make cups.
- Place chicken in lettuce cups, drizzle with ranch
- Dice tomato and use as garnish.
![Pasta sticking out of a chrome pot over a stove; easy hostel meals](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/features/2019/07/GettyImages-108113690-bf97eb4456c0.jpg?w=1920&auto=format&q=75)
One-pot vegetable pasta
When it comes to hostel cooking, minimizing the number of required pots is a useful trick; this tasty one-pot pasta is easily customizable and serves as a welcome alternative to pasta with sad canned sauce.
Ingredients:
12oz spaghetti or linguine pasta
1 can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
4 ½ cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves of garlic (sliced or minced)
½ sweet yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
Mushroom of choice
Chopped basil
Grated parmesan (or cheese of choice)
Salt and pepper to taste
- Combine pasta, tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, onion and bell pepper in pot.
- Pour in vegetable broth and bring all items to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- As everything cooks, sprinkle in salt and pepper.
- Continue cooking until pasta is al dente and vegetable broth is reduced (8-10 minutes).
- Add basil and parmesan as garnish.
Serving tips: When you are cooking the pasta and reducing the broth, be careful not to cook too long; the broth will start to get sticky and the pasta’s integrity will be compromised.
Read more: These excellent hostels could be mistaken for fancy hotels.
![Overhead view of two bowls of ramen with veggies and boiled eggs, with chopsticks in the middle; easy hostel meals](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/features/2019/07/GettyImages-994524598-ab33c5e0aa27.jpg?w=1920&auto=format&q=75)
Fancy instant ramen
Instant ramen is an obvious choice for the minimalist hostel traveler, but adding your own flair to these storied noodles is way easier than you think. Adding a few vegetables, an egg and fresh green toppings amps up this old favorite.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 package instant ramen
Chopped green onions
Green veggie of choice (snap peas, spinach, etc)
Mushroom of choice
1 egg
1 tbsp minced garlic
½ sliced ginger root OR 1 tbsp ginger powder.
- Bring water to a boil, and add instant ramen, green vegetables, sliced mushrooms, garlic and ginger. Boil for three minutes or until noodles are soft.
- At the same time, boil water in a separate pan for your egg. Use enough water to cover the egg’s surface and boil for 6 ½ for the perfect soft-boiled egg.
- Once noodles are done cooking, drain ⅓ of the water and add desired amount of flavor packet.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and add sliced soft-boiled eggs.
![Close-up of couscous over a wooden table; easy hostel meals](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/features/2019/07/GettyImages-713847383-ff18d2f769d6.jpg?w=1920&auto=format&q=75)
Roasted veggie couscous
This dish is a great comfort food option when all you want after a hard day traveling is a savory, filling meal. Plus, couscous is quick to prepare and you’ll be in and out of the kitchen in no time.
Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
1 ½ cup water
3 tsp olive oil
1 sweet potato
1 box cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
- Bring water to a boil, adding 2 tsp olive oil, curry powder and 1 tsp salt.
- Stir in couscous. Then cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in skillet, and then add peeled and sliced sweet potatoes. Once potatoes are about halfway done, add sliced tomatoes to skillet. Cook until softened.
- Combine potatoes, tomatoes and couscous.
Serving tip: if you can’t find a decent skillet, sweet potatoes can also be cooked separately in the microwave. Pierce potato skin with a fork 4-6 times and microwave for 5-8 minutes. This dish is also delicious with fresh, uncooked tomatoes.
Top Tips:
- The recipes above can be easily doubled if you are feeding a group.
- Try and avoid cooking 'rush hour' by preparing your meal at odd times. 5pm-7pm usually means hostel kitchen mayhem.
- Daily shopping is essential when cooking at a hostel, where refrigerator and storage space are at a minimum.
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