18 Dishes Every Adult Should Know How to Make

By Jenny Xu

Here at Food52, we love recipes—but do we always use them? Of course not. Because once you realize you don’t always need a recipe, you’ll make your favorite dishes a lot more often.

Today: What you should have on hand as you move out of the dining halls and into the real world—a world that includes kitchens.

More: 11 foods to DIY with your AC blasting

It’s graduation month, so if you or anyone you know is graduating, you’ve probably read all the Buzzfeed listicles floating around. (“13,597 Things Every Former Undergrad Will Miss!” 1. Watching all of your classmates troop to the lawns on the first sunny day of the year; 2. Huddling up in the library for thirty hours straight with nothing but a large cup of coffee and a sense of impending doom; 3. Late night heart-to-hearts with Ellie Goulding playing in the background, etc.)

More: How to make the best egg sandwich without a recipe

But you know what you won’t miss? The College Student’s Diet: dining hall food on good days, vegetables on great days, take-out on bad ones, and Hot Cheetos washed down with espresso on the worst. Not to mention the sheets of cookies and vats of ice cream after each bad break-up.

More: How to turn any kid food into adult food

Whether you’re saying goodbye to campus life forever or for a while, browse through these 18 guides for basic foods you can make and customize now that you’re free from meal plans, course schedules, and constantly recurring nightmares midterms:

How to Make Pancakes Without a Recipe by Sarah Jampel

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How to Make Any Frittata in 5 Steps by Kenzi Wilbur

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How to Make Any Savory Galette Without a Recipe by Marian Bull

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How to Roast Vegetables in 4 Steps by Marian Bull

How to Make Any Pesto in 5 Steps by Phyllis Grant