Otago Polytechnic cookery programme manager Tony Heptinstall showed them how it was done during a cooking display for Healthy Lifestyles Week.
He used a range of ingredients, donated by Pak'n Save supermarket, to create rice and pasta dishes which students eagerly subjected to taste tests.
The meals all used "simple techniques that anybody can do" and would feed four people "easily", he said.
While buying items for the demonstration, Mr Heptinstall noticed several students buying pre-prepared meals and he wanted to show them it was not complicated to make meals from scratch.
Student Carol Taurua-McCready, who is on a limited budget, appreciated the demonstration.
She also believed it was important for students to know how to cook nutritious meals.
"A lot of students when they come straight from home, their cooking skills are not as well developed," she said.
As well as learning how to cook vegetables, students had the chance to turn them into art in a sculpting competition.
OUSA assistant events manager Sarah Comer said the idea was a bit of fun and had received a good response.
Students went in the draw to win a prize pack, which included food, drinks and an electric toothbrush.
She believed students had responded well to Healthy Lifestyles Week with fitness classes proving popular.