Recipes
31 Easy Dinners for One
Easy dinners for one that actually feel like dinner: single serving pasta, soups, foil packets and 10 minute meals, all portioned for one person.
An easy dinner for one should not mean cereal over the sink, and it should not mean eating the same casserole for five days either. What I want these days is healthy, make ahead and scaled for one or two, which turns out to be the hardest thing to find on the internet, so here are 31 easy dinners for one that are genuinely built that way. Fried rice in a mug, kimchi ramen from a packet you already own, scampi that uses six shrimp, a stuffed sweet potato, foil packet chicken with nothing to wash, and a red beans and rice that freezes into four more dinners. Some take five minutes. Some are worth a slow Sunday. All of them are quick, easy dinner recipes that treat cooking for one person as a real meal instead of an apology!
1. Egg Fried Rice In A Mug
Fried rice in a mug, and it is done in nine minutes flat with no pan to wash afterward. A cup of cooked jasmine rice goes in first, then frozen peas, chopped red pepper, green onion, bean sprouts and shredded purple cabbage, covered with cling film you puncture a couple of holes in so you don’t scald yourself. Microwave 1 minute 15, stir in an egg beaten with soy sauce, sesame oil, onion powder and five-spice, then microwave again and let it stand a minute before fluffing. Use cold leftover rice if you have it, because it stays separate instead of turning to paste.
Get the full tutorial at Healthy Nibbles and Bits.
2. Quick And Easy Kimchi Ramen
A packet of instant noodles and about fifteen minutes gets you a bowl that tastes like it took an hour. Five sliced shiitakes stir fry for three minutes, half a cup of chopped kimchi goes in for two more, then the kimchi juice, two and a half cups of stock, gochugaru, a pinch of sugar and sesame oil simmer together for five. Throw the flavor packet away, boil the noodles, pour the broth over and top with julienned scallion. The kimchi juice is doing most of the work, so do not pour it down the drain.
Get the full tutorial at The Woks of Life.
3. Pizza Toast
Five minutes, a broiler and whatever bread is in the house. Two tablespoons of marinara go on each slice, then a slice of mozzarella pressed lightly into the sauce so it does not slide off, then pepperoni and sliced grape tomatoes and a quarter teaspoon of olive oil drizzled over. Broil on high for two to three minutes and watch it, because the gap between golden and black is about twenty seconds. Fresh basil goes on after it comes out, never before. This is the one for a night when cooking feels like too much.
Get the full tutorial at The Almond Eater.
4. Tart Cherry Tuna Salad Avocado Bowls
Tuna salad served in an avocado half instead of a bowl, which sounds like a styling trick until you realize it means one less dish. Four ounces of albacore packed in oil, half a small avocado diced, a heaping tablespoon of dried Montmorency tart cherries and a tablespoon of chopped pecans, mixed with pepper and spooned back into the shell. Five minutes, no cooking, gluten free and low carb without trying. The tart cherries are what make it, so do not swap in sweetened dried cranberries.
Get the full tutorial at Love and Zest.
5. Bacon Ranch Turkey Wrap
A BLT that grew up and got some protein. Eight slices of bacon, eight ounces of roasted turkey deli meat, American cheese, tomato, red onion and lettuce roll up in a light flatbread with a quarter cup of ranch spread down the middle. The recipe makes four, which for one person means the fillings are prepped and lunch is handled for the rest of the week. Cook the bacon ahead and let it cool fully before it goes in, or the lettuce wilts against it and the whole wrap goes limp.
Get the full tutorial at Laaloosh.
6. Poke Avocado Bowl
Poke at home costs a fraction of what a poke counter charges and takes twenty five minutes, most of which is the rice cooking. Half a cup of brown rice gets a splash of rice wine vinegar and a pinch of salt, then sushi grade ahi is diced and tossed in soy sauce, ponzu, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sliced green onion and left to marinate for five minutes. Cubed avocado folds in last, thin slices of serrano go on top. Buy the tuna the day you eat it and ask the counter for sushi grade specifically.
Get the full tutorial at A Cozy Kitchen.
7. Healthy Burrito Bowl
A burrito bowl assembled at home lands nowhere near the calorie count of the drive through version, and it takes about fifteen minutes when the rice is already cooked. Rice or greens at the base, then black beans and corn, cooked chicken if you want it, pico de gallo, a little cheese, and whatever fresh vegetables are in the drawer. It is the most forgiving thing on this list because nothing about it is a recipe, it is a ratio. Build it in a jar the night before and the layers keep separate until lunch.
Get the full tutorial at A Couple Cooks.
8. One Pot Vegan Enchilada Pasta
One pot, under twenty minutes, and the pasta cooks right in the sauce so the starch thickens everything instead of going down the sink. Onion and three or four cloves of garlic soften in olive oil, then frozen peppers and onions, then vegetable broth, enchilada sauce, dry pasta and taco seasoning all together. Cover it and give it eight or nine minutes, or fifteen if you get distracted, because the pasta drinks the liquid up rather than leaving you with soup. Vegan cheese stirs in off the heat at the end.
Get the full tutorial at NeuroticMommy.
9. Quick and Easy Fettuccine Alfredo for One
Alfredo leftovers are genuinely unpleasant, which is the whole reason this recipe exists. It makes one two ounce serving of pasta and the sauce takes exactly as long as the noodles do, about eleven to thirteen minutes. Real Alfredo has no roux in it, just butter, cream or half and half or milk, half an ounce of parmesan and a little seasoning warmed together. Grate the parmesan yourself if you can, because the bagged kind is coated to keep it from clumping and that coating makes a lumpy sauce.
Get the full tutorial at Baking Mischief.
10. BBQ Chicken Foil Packets
Everything cooks inside the foil, so the only thing to wash afterward is a fork. Each sixteen inch sheet of heavy duty foil gets one chicken breast, four tablespoons of barbecue sauce, a quarter of the diced Russet potatoes and a share of sliced onion, all tossed together before you fold it. Bring the long sides up, double fold the top and both ends, and leave room inside for heat to move. Thirty minutes on a medium high grill, to 165 degrees. Make one packet or four, the timing does not change.
Get the full tutorial at Salt and Lavender.
11. Easy 30 Minute Black Bean Soup
Four cans of black beans, two cans of Rotel and a blender is the whole trick. Two of the cans of beans get pureed with the tomatoes so the soup has body without cream, and the other two go in whole for texture. Onion, six cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of cumin soften first, then chicken broth, red pepper flakes and two teaspoons of Worcestershire, which is the ingredient you will not expect and should not skip. Simmer covered ten to fifteen minutes. Greek yogurt on top instead of sour cream.
Get the full tutorial at Perfection Pending.
12. Caprese Salad
Caprese with a dill dressing instead of basil, which is a small swap that changes the whole plate. Four ripe tomatoes get sliced and alternated with seven ounces of fresh mozzarella, then a quarter cup of Greek yogurt dill dressing goes over the top with a generous amount of sea salt and cracked pepper. Fifteen minutes, no cooking, and it serves two, so half of it is tomorrow’s lunch. Make the dressing first and let it sit while you slice, because the dill needs a few minutes to bloom into the yogurt.
Get the full tutorial at Flavour and Savour.
13. Curried Carrot Soup For One
Portioned for one person from the start, which is rarer in soup than it should be. A tablespoon of butter, half a cup of onion and half a pound of carrots soften for five minutes with minced ginger, then turmeric, cumin, coriander and chili powder go in dry for a full minute before any liquid, which is what wakes the spices up. A cup of broth, ten minutes of simmering, an immersion blender, then half a cup of coconut milk stirred in at the end. Use vegetable broth and it is vegetarian.
Get the full tutorial at One Dish Kitchen.
14. Easy Skillet Black Pepper Chicken
This is our own take on the takeout counter favorite, and it beats delivery on both time and price. A pound of chicken gets sliced a quarter inch thick across the grain, marinated in light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and cornstarch, then stir fried in peanut oil with minced ginger, garlic, half a white onion and two chopped bell peppers. The sauce is chicken broth, two soy sauces, more Shaoxing, cornstarch, sugar and two full teaspoons of coarsely ground black pepper. Slicing across the grain is what keeps it tender.
Get the full tutorial at Sueeye.
15. Smoked Salmon Tartines with Fresh Herbs, Radishes, and Creamy Wasabi Spread
No cooking at all beyond toasting bread, and it still looks like something you would pay for. Half a cup of Greek yogurt gets whisked with salt and wasabi paste made from the dry powder, about a tablespoon of it spread on each toast, then smoked salmon, sliced radishes and a real pile of herbs on top. Cilantro, scallion, parsley and dill, a quarter cup of each, plus the juice and zest of two lemons. Taste the wasabi yogurt before you spread it, because wasabi from powder varies wildly in strength.
Get the full tutorial at Baker by Nature.
16. Easy Beef and Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry
Two packets of instant ramen, seasoning discarded, turn into the noodle base for beef and broccoli in about thirty minutes. Thinly sliced flank steak sears, six cups of broccoli florets cook through, and the sauce is grated ginger, three grated garlic cloves, six tablespoons of low sodium soy, warm water, light brown sugar, corn starch, sesame oil and black pepper whisked together. Cook the ramen first so it is ready when the pan is. Grating the garlic rather than mincing it means no raw bites.
Get the full tutorial at Sueeye.
17. Mediterranean Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Grilled cheese with feta, kale, red onion, a tomato slice and black ripe olives in it, which turns a ten minute sandwich into an actual dinner. Butter one side of each slice, put one butter side down in the skillet, pile everything on, then the second slice butter side up and press. Grill one side properly before you flip. Feta does not melt into a stretch the way mozzarella does, it softens and goes creamy, so do not stand there waiting for a cheese pull that is never coming.
Get the full tutorial at The Almond Eater.
18. Shrimp Scampi for One
Scampi is a fifteen minute sauce pretending to be a special occasion, and this one is built for a single plate. A quarter pound of shrimp, about six of the twenty one count size, cook ninety seconds a side in two tablespoons of butter, then a minced shallot and two or three cloves of garlic go in for thirty seconds more. A splash of white wine, red pepper flakes, three tablespoons of cream, and a quarter cup of reserved pasta water to loosen it. Ninety seconds a side is not a suggestion, it is the whole recipe.
Get the full tutorial at Crunch Time Kitchen.
19. One Pot Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls
The rice cooks in the same pan as the chicken, which is the reason to make this one. A pound of chicken cut into one inch pieces browns in three tablespoons of teriyaki, then a cup of uncooked jasmine rice, a cup and a half of water, soy sauce, carrots, green onion and peas all go in together and simmer covered for twenty minutes. Broccoli goes in for the last five so it stays green. It makes six servings, so portion the extras straight into containers while it is still warm.
Get the full tutorial at Fav Family Recipes.
20. Pasta Carbonara
Carbonara is four ingredients and one piece of technique, and the technique is turning the heat off. Whisk a cup of freshly grated Parmesan into four eggs with black pepper while the pasta boils. Fry nine slices of chopped bacon with three crushed garlic cloves in butter for five minutes, fish the garlic back out, then drop the heat right down. Tongs the pasta straight into the bacon pan, kill the heat, and only then stir the egg mixture through. Heat on the eggs makes scrambled eggs, not sauce.
Get the full tutorial at Plated Cravings.
21. Easy Cashew Chicken
Thirty minutes and genuinely better than the takeout version, mostly because of the cashews. A pound and a half of boneless chicken thighs in one inch pieces get tossed in cornstarch and sautéed eight to ten minutes until golden, then onion, garlic and two tablespoons of rice vinegar go in, and finally a sauce of hoisin, chili garlic sauce and broth. Three quarters of a cup of unsalted roasted cashews and six diced green onions stir in off the heat, so the cashews stay crunchy rather than going soft.
Get the full tutorial at Mom On Timeout.
22. Cajun Chicken and Rice
A pound of chicken breast, a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning split between the meat and the rice, and everything cooks in one pot. Onion, three cloves of garlic, a diced bell pepper, tomato paste and a cup and three quarters of broth go in with a cup and a half of well rinsed white rice. Regular long grain, jasmine and parboiled all work. Frozen peas, carrots and corn can stand in for the pepper if that is what is in the freezer. Rinsing the rice properly is what keeps the grains separate.
Get the full tutorial at Leelalicious.
23. Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato
One large sweet potato, pierced with a fork, wrapped tight in foil and baked at 385 for an hour until it gives when you pinch it. While it bakes, a quarter cup of cashews, a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper pulse in a small food processor until they look like pebbles, which is a dairy free cheese crumble. The filling is thawed corn, half a cup of black beans, a cup of chopped spinach, cilantro, chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin and lime. A filled potato keeps two days in the fridge.
Get the full tutorial at Veganosity.
24. One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet
Fifteen minutes of actual cooking and the pan does everything. A pound of lean ground beef browns and crumbles, then diced yellow onion and two bell peppers, then a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis, taco seasoning and a shredded zucchini that nobody will ever detect. Three cups of baby kale and spinach look absurd going in and cook down to almost nothing. A cup and a half of cheddar jack over the top, lid on until it melts, then serve it over lettuce, over rice or scooped into tortillas.
Get the full tutorial at Sweet C's Designs.
25. Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Spicy Dressing
The raisins soak in lemon juice and a tablespoon of harissa while the vegetables roast, which is the step that makes this one worth doing. Cauliflower florets, two cups of cooked chickpeas, thin sliced sweet onion, grape seed oil and a teaspoon of cumin seeds roast at 400 for thirty minutes, rotated once, until the cauliflower tops are just blackened. Everything tosses together with half a cup each of parsley and cilantro, plus the soaked raisins and all their juices. Gluten free and vegan as written.
Get the full tutorial at Healthful Pursuit.
26. Parmesan Chicken Wrap
Chicken parmesan folded into a wrap, which skips the baking dish and most of the cleanup. Cooked chicken, marinara, parmesan and mozzarella go into a tortilla or flatbread and get griddled seam side down until the outside crisps and the cheese lets go inside. The griddling is the part people skip and it is the part that matters, because a cold wrap is a sandwich and a hot one is dinner.
Get the full tutorial at Dashing Dish.
27. Southwest Quinoa Salad
Quinoa salad is the one that actually improves in the fridge, which is why it belongs on a list for one person. Cooked and cooled quinoa, black beans, corn, red onion and cilantro with a lime and cumin dressing, eaten cold or at room temperature. Make the full batch and it is four lunches that get better each day as the dressing soaks in. Rinse the quinoa before cooking it, every time, because the natural coating on the grains is genuinely bitter.
Get the full tutorial at Feasting at Home.
28. Red Beans and Rice
This is a Monday dish by tradition and a two hour simmer by necessity, and it is on a list for one person because it freezes better than almost anything. A pound of soaked kidney beans, onion, celery and green pepper, bay, thyme and cayenne, a pound of diced ham steak and up to a pound of sliced andouille, then nine cups of broth and two hours partially covered. The trick at the end is mashing about a third of the beans against the side of the pot, which is what makes it creamy without cream.
Get the full tutorial at Panning The Globe.
29. Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff
Thirty five minutes, ground beef instead of steak, and it tastes like the long version. Eight ounces of sliced cremini and half a chopped onion sear for seven to ten minutes first and then come out of the pan, which is the step that decides whether this dish is good. Crowded mushrooms steam and go grey. A pound of ground beef browns, garlic goes in, two tablespoons of flour cook for a minute, then Worcestershire, Dijon, a cup of beef broth and half a cup of full fat sour cream off the heat.
Get the full tutorial at Salt and Lavender.
30. Taco Cups
Wonton wrappers pressed into a muffin pan and built in two layers, so every cup is a double decker. A pound of lean ground beef cooked with a tablespoon of taco seasoning, a wrapper, a spoon of beef, a spoon of cheddar, a second wrapper, more beef, more cheese, then fifteen to eighteen minutes at 375. Twenty four wrappers make twelve cups. Let them cool on a rack until you can handle them or they tear, then load them up with pico, sour cream and a squeeze of lime. Two is a dinner.
Get the full tutorial at Amanda's Cookin'.
31. Tomato Tortellini Soup
Cheese tortellini is what turns a tomato soup into dinner, and the pressure cooker gets it done in about thirty five minutes. Onion, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and dried basil sauté first, then twenty eight ounces of crushed tomatoes and four cups of broth go in and pressure cook for fifteen. Cream cheese, light cream, four cups of fresh tortellini, baby greens and grated cheddar all go in after the pressure releases. Use gluten free tortellini and the whole pot stays gluten free.
Get the full tutorial at Running to the Kitchen.
