This meals for one round-up includes tons of ideas, tips and tricks as well as specific recipes to help make easy, delicious, healthy meals when cooking for one.
Recently, I made a 2-week meal plan for a friend of mine who’s a single mom with a young kiddo.
She needed quick dinners, meals that are pretty easy to make and simple to follow, as well as ones that are budget friendly and healthy.
No, this is not a stretch.
I quickly put some ideas and recipes and meal plan calendars together for her, and it reminded me that I have LONG wanted to do a round up similar to that.
I call them single lady dinners. Or solo dinners.
It’s also cooking for one or meals for one or recipes for one.
Whatever you call it, and no matter your gender or age or relationship status, we all have times where we’re on our own for dinner.
Honestly, I kinda love it.
I have a whole stack of recipes that are “my” kind of meals. Meaning ultra healthy and unlikely to go over well with my kids.
And I also have nights to myself when I absolutely don’t want to make anything very involved. But I still want to eat well!
I know many of us are in this boat, so today I’m sharing a ton of ideas for easy meals for one that you can make any night of the week.
And I’ve got a few specific recipes linked below as well in case you need some specific inspiration.
Also, because this is key, I have some tips and tricks and things to keep in mind.
These are especially helpful if you find yourself eating solo more often than not and need some help with variety and the logistics of it all.
I got you.
So let’s dive right in!
Meals for One Ideas:
- Egg scramble - saute veggies, beans or protein and then scramble in some eggs
- Stir fry or fried rice - easy to customize with whatever you have on hand
- Loaded baked potato (or sweet potato) - add chicken/protein/chili, veggies and cheese (see this taco stuffed sweet potato)
- Snack board - meat, cheese, fruit, crackers, hummus, jams/dips, etc.
- Single sheet pan meal - adjust a full sheet-pan dinner, use foil to divide meat and veggies and you're set. You can even make in the toaster oven.
- Bag salad with chicken, roasted sweet potato and avocado added in - one of my personal go-tos
- Quesadillas or burritos - oh so satisfying
- Small batch fajitas - easy to cook the peppers and steak/chicken all in one skillet
- Toaster oven or microwave nachos - heat through and add your favorite toppings!
- Sandwich melts and/or folded wraps - so many variations to try
- Easy skillet meal - chicken, veggies, beans, seasonings, cheese/salsa, etc. This has always been my dad's go-to when my mom is away.
- Dump and go crock pot recipes are great for days you know you'll get home and be super tired. Dinner is waiting on you. Yes it makes a lot, but these often freeze well (see the tips below for more on that).
- One pot pastas are easy to make and reheat really well to have for lunch or another dinner later in the week.
- Grain bowl - Use your favorite grain (rice, quinoa, farro, etc) and load it up with fresh or roasted veggies (whatever’s in your veggie bin) and a protein of choice. Add salsa, hummus or a salad dressing to finish it off.
- Soup - Find a couple you love and once you master the basics, you can adapt to meet your own needs. A friend of mine makes a simple wonton soup with frozen wontons when she’s solo and it sounds divine.
- Pizza - A lot of my friends said they default to pizza on single lady nights and that just sounds perfect. Keep some pizza dough in the fridge or freezer - or get the flatbread kind in the bread aisle - and you can add whatever sauces and toppings and cheese your heart desires. Easy peasy.
Also, to be clear, there is nothing wrong with eating a frozen pizza. Or ordering in. Or getting some ready-made or frozen entrees to enjoy.
I for sure do that! And love every minute of it.
This post is just designed to help with those nights when you want to make or assemble a meal but feel stuck in a rut.
So hopefully that list gets you started with some ideas.
And especially some new-to-you ideas to keep things fresh and interesting!
Let’s also tackle some important points to keep in mind. These are especially helpful if you cook just for you on the regular.
Tips and Tricks:
- Find a few go-to meals that only require freezer and pantry items that you can easily keep on hand at all times. That way, you always have a meal you can make.
- It can be helpful to have a recipe that you make once and use in multiple ways - like a crock pot Mexican shredded chicken or BBQ chicken that can be made into sliders, nachos, rice bowls, enchiladas, etc.
- Make a full batch of something freezer friendly (ie, chili/soup, casserole, slow cooker meal, shredded chicken, pasta dish, enchiladas, etc.) and eat once then pack the rest into individual portions and freeze. It'll be ready to pull out and reheat (thaw overnight for best results). You can build up so you’ve got a rotation of a variety of meals on hand in the freezer to select from and keep things interesting.
- Use whatever shortcuts work for you - precooked freezer rice, freezer veggies, canned soups, box mac and cheese, rotisserie chickens, etc. Sometimes it's more expensive, sometimes not so bad.
Also, if you don't have one, just a tip that a toaster oven can be a great way to make small meals - and quickly!
See, you got this.
Finally, just for fun, I polled my friends to collect some of their favorites. And I included my go-to single lady dinner back when I was in my 20s (it’s the first one in the list below).
To be clear, these are absolutely not well-rounded meals and I’m not seriously recommending them.
It’s more to show that we all have those nights where we just grab a drink and some snacks or sweets and call it a day.
Fun solo meals for adults:
- Popcorn and popsicles
- Wine, Nutella and cookies
- Cream puffs and a gin and grapefruit tonic
- PB&J with wine
- Cereal and a beer
- Chips, hummus and string cheese
- Turkey and cheese roll-ups (maybe with cheese or hummus) with fruit on the side
- Apple with almond butter and honey
As one friend commented about her meal of booze and desserts, “I love being an adult!”
If you have other ideas or favorites or go-tos, please share them below! And that goes for whether it’s real meal or a fun-to-be-an-adult type of meal.
We can all use some inspiration.
Here’s to solo nights and easy cooking for one.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Leave a Reply