Cooking for One: 28 Easy, Healthy Dinner Ideas and Recipes

Cooking for one can be such an immense challenge that some singles may not make the effort at all. But it’s just as important to take care of your own diet as it would be if you were cooking for a whole crowd of family and friends. When you take the time to cook for one even when you’re the only one dining, you are making a commitment that says you’re worth it—and we think you are definitely worth it!

That’s why we’ve gone ahead and rounded up several easy dinner recipes for one. Some of them are single-serve recipes while others might have portion sizes of two or even four. But here’s what we think about that: When you cook for one, why not give yourself a few shortcuts? If the recipe makes two portions, you have a couple of options. You can divide the ingredient measurements in two so you make just enough for one portion. Or, you can eat one and freeze the other.

It’s the same with a recipe that makes four portions: Either divide the ingredient measurements by four, or just enjoy one tonight, and pack up the other three portions into single serving sizes. Now you’ve cooked once and given yourself a treat of not having to cook for three more nights!

Some of these recipes are dinner-for-one recipes, some are for breakfast, and some for lunch. But all of the recipes that we picked out for you below have these things in common:

• Healthy
• Easy to make
• Perfect for cooking for one, or,
• Easy to adapt for one serving

We also added a few time-saving tips for you singles out there who might rather spend most weeknights and weekends out with friends, than standing in the kitchen cooking.

Pack Extra Servings For Workday Lunches

Buying lunch out every day gets expensive, and typically it’s hard to find healthy lunch alternatives on the go. As long as you’re cooking at home, though, choose one of the recipes we found for you below, and go ahead and cook up two portions. Pack up the second portion in a microwavable bag, and you have your workday lunch all ready to go. (Just make sure you put your name on the bag so your hungry co-worker doesn’t get tempted to eat your delicious-looking lunch!)

Treat Yourself Well

When no one else is around to impress, you might feel it’s a waste of time to set the table and sit down to eat. You deserve better. Keep the kitchen table ready for dining, with napkins and silverware at the ready. When you sit down to eat, you’re more likely to enjoy all the flavors you’ve taken such care to create. This is also a good time to relax and de-stress after a long hard day at work. Consider playing some background dining music to add to the ambience.

Tips on Reheating

If you’re confused about reheating extra portions, join the club! We were too until we looked into it a bit more. Reheating safely means using food packaging for freezing that won’t ruin your healthy meals.

Soups and stews can be frozen in Mason jars. For eating that night, move the jar from the freezer to the refrigerator and it will thaw while you’re at work. When you’re ready to eat, just pour the contents out into a pot and reheat on the stovetop on low heat while stirring gently.

More substantial meals like chicken can be frozen in freezer-safe Baggies or inside carefully wrapped freezer paper. Again, just move it to the refrigerator and allow to defrost while you’re away at work. To reheat, empty the contents into a covered baking dish and bake at a low temperature between 300 and 350 for 20 minutes or so until the food is thoroughly heated. If you’re in a hurry, you can reheat in the microwave after removing all plastic and placing it on a microwave safe dish.

Remember:

• Resist the urge to thaw food on the countertop. This can breed bacteria that can lead to sickness. Always thaw inside the refrigerator, even though it takes longer.
• Avoid reheating food in the microwave or oven with plastic touching the food. The plastic could melt and get into your food, sometimes without you realizing it. Yuck!
• Reheat soup and stew only on a low heat. Otherwise, it may bubble up and splatter your countertop or you!
• If the dish has a lot of sauce on it and you’re reheating in the microwave, cover with a paper towel to prevent messy splatters.
• Reheat bread in the oven instead of the microwave for the best consistency. Wrap in foil to prevent drying out or burning.

Need more tips? Here are 7 tips to make cooking for 1 a lot less depressing. If you have tips and tricks regarding cooking for one, please share in the comments below. It will certainly help many other people who are in the similar situation. We want you to enjoy cooking for one, and we’re confident that you can achieve great results with these mouth-watering recipes that we’ve rounded up for you.

Thanks for reading, cooking, and sharing as always! Cheers!

Avocado Toast with Eggs, Spinach, and Tomatoes

Photo & Recipe by Two Peas and Their Pod =>> Find the recipe here.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Photos & Recipes by Money Saving Mom =>> Find the recipe here.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Photos & Recipe by Recipe Girl =>> Find the recipe here.

Cheeseburger Lettuce Wrap

Photos & Recipe by The 36th Avenue =>> Find the recipe here.

Overnight Superfoods Oat Parfait

Photo & Recipe by ifoodreal =>> Find the recipe here.

Tex-Mex Lunch Bowl

Photo & Recipe by Simply Stacie =>> Find the recipe here.

Easy Peasy Lemon Red Pepper Baked Mushrooms

Photo & Recipe by How Does She =>> Find the recipe here.

10-Minute Healthy Cauliflower Rice

Photo & Recipe by Damn Delicious =>> Find the recipe here.

Peanut Butter Sriracha Bacon Cheeseburger

Photo & Recipe by Rock Recipes =>> Find the recipe here.

Warm Zucchini Salad

Photo & Recipe by Vikalinka =>> Find the recipe here.

Loaded Chicken Spinach Pasta

Photo & Recipe by 52 Ways to Cook =>> Find the recipe here.

Coconut Lavender Lemonade

Photo & Recipe by Made From Pinterest =>> Find the recipe here.

3-Ingredient Crockpot Meatballs

Photo & Recipe by One Good Thing By Jillee =>> Find the recipe here.

One-Pan Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Vegetables

Photo & Recipe by yours truly =>> Find the recipe here.

Mushroom Fontina Flatbread with Crispy Sage

Photo & Recipe by Two Peas and Their Pod =>> Find the recipe here.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

Photo & Recipe by Money Saving Mom =>> Find the recipe here.

Balsamic Mango Marinated Grilled Chicken

Photo & Recipe by Recipe Girl =>> Find the recipe here.

Mediterranean Tomato Salad

Photo & Recipe by Will Cook for Smiles, as seen on The 36th Avenue =>> Find the recipe here.

Light Soba Noodles Stir Fry with Chicken Kale and Peppers

Photo & Recipe by ifoodreal =>> Find the recipe here.

Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Bowl

Photo & Recipe by Simply Stacie =>> Find the recipe here.

Mom’s Homemade Granola

Photo & Recipe by How Does She =>> Find the recipe here.

Cheesy Beans and Rice

Photo & Recipe by Damn Delicious =>> Find the recipe here.

Lime Salsa Quinoa Salad

Photo & Recipe by Rock Recipes =>> Find the recipe here.

Healthy Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Photo & Recipe by Vikalinka =>> Find the recipe here.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Photo & Recipe by 52 Ways to Cook =>> Find the recipe here.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Photo & Recipe by Made from Pinterest =>> Find the recipe here.

Skillet Chicken Potatoes

Photo & Recipe by One Good Thing by Jillee =>> Find the recipe here.

Grilled Shrimp Brown Rice Combo

Photo & Recipe by yours truly =>> Find the recipe here.