Cooking dinner for one is a constant battle against leftovers that languish in the fridge all week and half-used ingredients that eventually go to waste. It often feels like every recipe on the internet makes a huge batch, which is nearly impossible to finish when you’re just one person. Unless you enjoy eating the exact same thing for dinner every night for a week (pass), food waste feels inevitable. But armed with the right recipes (and a few tricks to help you easily scale things down), cooking dinner for one doesn’t have to be so difficult.
The best dinner recipes for one are quick, satisfying, and made using simple ingredients you’ll actually use again. And if the recipe makes more than a single serving, the leftovers should store or freeze well so they don’t end up going to waste. Whether you’re craving some cozy comfort food, a quick pasta dish, or a protein-packed grain bowl, it’s totally possible to enjoy delicious homemade dinners without having to cook for a crowd. These easy dinner recipes for one are perfectly portioned for single-serving meals without skimping on flavor.
Easy dinner recipes for one
1. Parmesan Crusted Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
Sheet pan dinners are the ultimate hack for busy weeknights when you don’t actually want to cook. Since everything cooks together on the same pan, cleanup is a breeze, and your oven does most of the work for you. This parmesan-crusted chicken is a super quick and easy way to make a well-rounded meal for one—just adjust the amount of chicken and veggies according to how hungry you are. Or make the recipe as written and consider it meal prep for the week, since the leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to four days.
2. Air Fryer Salmon
Cooking salmon in the air fryer is one of the easiest ways to achieve a perfectly tender, flaky texture while avoiding any dirty dishes to clean up. Cook a salmon fillet according to this recipe, then serve it over rice, alongside roasted veggies, or on top of a salad for a quick and healthy single-serving meal.
3. Vegetarian Greek Grain Bowls
This Greek-inspired grain bowl recipe makes use of store-bought ingredients like jarred peppers, kalamata olives, and hummus, which will stay good in the fridge for a while, so you don’t have to worry about using them up right away. All you have to do is cook a serving of farro, mix up a quick homemade red wine vinaigrette, and load up your bowl with whatever toppings you prefer.
4. Sweet Chili Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
If you’re not opposed to leftovers, this meal prep chicken bowls recipe has got you covered on dinners for one this week. The recipe makes four servings and keeps in the fridge for up to five days, so you’ll be set for nearly the whole workweek. Otherwise, you can easily adjust the number of servings down and scale back the ingredients accordingly to make just one or two servings.
5. Penne alla Vodka
Pasta dishes are some of the best dinner recipes for one because you can simply cook up however much you want to eat that night and save the rest of the box for later. This penne alla vodka recipe is super easy to scale down if you just want a single serving. With just a handful of ingredients you may already have in your fridge and pantry (like garlic, tomato paste, butter, and heavy cream—plus a splash of vodka), you can create a delicious bowl of vodka pasta that tastes straight out of your favorite Italian restaurant.
6. Dumpling Soup
Got a bag of frozen dumplings in your freezer? With the addition of some sautéed veggies, broth, and aromatics like fresh ginger and garlic, you can mix up a warm, comforting bowl of soup in under 30 minutes. Cut back on the ingredient amounts if you just want to make a single serving, or make the whole thing and store (or freeze) the leftovers for later. To prevent the dumplings from falling apart in the broth as it sits, store the soup base separately and add in the dumplings when you’re ready to eat.
7. Baked Italian Meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic dinner idea that works great when you’re cooking for one. Meatballs keep well in the freezer, so you can make a big batch, freeze most of them, and have an easy protein source on hand whenever you’re craving a hearty Italian dinner. Just cook up some pasta, add your favorite sauce, and top with a few reheated meatballs.
8. Salmon Rice Bowls
Rice bowl recipes make excellent dinners for one because you can easily adjust the ingredient quantities based on how hungry you are. For these salmon rice bowls, many of the components (like the rice, cucumber, carrots, and avocado) are also easy to use in other recipes later in the week, so you won’t be stuck with a bunch of half-used ingredients that’ll just go to waste.
9. Naan Pizza
Store-bought naan bread is the ideal size for a perfectly portioned, single-serving pizza crust. All you have to do is load it up with sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings (this recipe suggests a combo of cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, and hot honey), then bake for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. It makes a fantastic dinner for one when you’re short on time but don’t want to resort to a frozen pizza.
10. Philly Cheesesteak Skillet
If you tend to get bored eating the same exact dinner multiple nights a week, this Philly cheesesteak skillet recipe is great for switching things up. It’s equally delicious on a roll as a sandwich, over a bed of rice, alongside roasted potatoes, or just as is (no carbs needed). Make the whole recipe for meal prep and mix up how you serve it throughout the week, or cut back on the servings (this recipe page makes it easy to adjust the ingredient quantities) to make it more manageable for one.
11. Spring Roll Salad
Inspired by Vietnamese spring rolls, this healthy dinner recipe combines thin spaghetti noodles, crunchy veggies, fresh herbs, and a sweet-and-spicy peanut dressing. If you’re cooking for one, it’s easy to scale the recipe down as needed to avoid leftovers. But if you want to use it for meal prep, be sure to store the different components separately and toss everything together just before serving to maintain the crispy, crunchy texture.
12. Burrata Tomato Toast
When you’re craving something light and fresh, this burrata tomato toast recipe delivers a single-serving meal in just a few minutes. With a handful of simple ingredients—creamy burrata, roasted cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and a drizzle of olive oil—you can turn a humble piece of toast into something that feels dinner-worthy. Pair it with a crisp glass of wine for an elevated take on girl dinner, or add some grilled chicken on the side if you need more protein.
13. Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
This slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is one of those recipes that is truly set-it-and-forget-it. Just throw all the ingredients into your crockpot and come back once the chicken is cooked to shred it and dump it back in. It’s perfect if you’re looking for easy meal prep recipes for one because the leftovers keep really well in the freezer. Use glass containers or silicone molds to portion out individual servings before freezing to make reheating even easier!
READ: 35 Slow Cooker Recipes That’ll Save You Time This Week
14. Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Vegetables
For this easy dinner for one, dump a package of gnocchi onto a sheet pan along with cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onion. Toss everything with olive oil, season to your liking, and let the oven do the rest. It makes just enough for dinner one night and a second helping the next day, so you won’t be stuck with a bunch of leftovers. While this recipe works great with traditional potato gnocchi, it’s also delicious with Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi if you want to work in some extra fiber and nutrients.
15. Bruschetta Chicken
If you love the fresh, garlicky flavor of bruschetta, turn it into a full meal by spooning it over pan-seared chicken topped with melty mozzarella. As written, this bruschetta chicken recipe makes four servings, but it’s super easy to cut in half (just use one chicken breast instead of two!). You can enjoy one serving for dinner (perhaps over some pasta if you want to bulk it up a bit) and the rest for lunch the next day.
16. Easy Quesadilla
A quesadilla is a classic dinner for one that you can quickly throw together on even the busiest (or laziest) of weeknights. This recipe walks you through how to achieve a perfectly crispy exterior and a gooey, cheesy middle in under 10 minutes. Layer in your favorite toppings (like pico de gallo, cooked chicken, black beans, or leftover roasted veggies), and you’ve got an easy but filling single-serving meal in no time.
17. Upgraded Instant Ramen
There’s no shame in grabbing a block of instant ramen when you just need a quick dinner for one ASAP. But if you want to add a bit more nutrition and flavor to your bowl, ditch the included seasoning packet and doctor it up with add-ins like fresh ginger, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and a runny egg for protein. It’ll be much more satisfying but won’t take too much extra time to pull together.
18. One Pan Italian Sausage and Veggies
This sheet pan sausage and veggies dinner is the perfect example of a recipe that’s easy to customize when you’re cooking for one. Simply cut up whatever veggies you plan to eat and save the rest for another recipe later in the week. And if you don’t want to cook up a whole package of sausages, freeze the remainder so you can easily make this recipe again in the future.
Tips for cooking dinner for one
Purchase versatile ingredients
Cooking for one (without leaving a bunch of food waste in your wake) starts at the grocery store. Prioritize ingredients that work for multiple meals so you can easily switch things up during the week. Think fresh produce that works with a variety of flavor profiles (some of my favorites are spinach, bell peppers, and mushrooms) and versatile protein options like chicken breasts and eggs. It’s also smart to stock up on freezer and pantry staples like frozen vegetables, dried pasta, and rice, which will keep well for a long time. You can use a little bit now and save the rest for another recipe down the line.
READ: I Tried the 5-4-3-2-1 Grocery Method and I’m Never Going Back
Scale recipes down
When choosing dinner recipes for one, you don’t need to limit yourself to ones that literally make just a single serving. If your goal is to avoid a fridge full of leftovers, the key is to find recipes that scale down easily. This works better with some recipes than others, depending on the ingredients. For example, it may be difficult to use just half an egg, but it’s easy enough to toss in just half a cup of rice instead of a full cup.
You may not even need to do any mental math to figure out the right measurements. Many food blogs now include a built-in serving size calculator that allows you to scale the recipe up or down as needed. Just look for where the recipe lists the number of servings and use the slider or up and down arrows to adjust the number to your liking. The ingredient amounts will automatically update, making it much easier to cook exactly what you need. Just keep in mind that smaller ingredient amounts might translate to shorter cooking times, so check for doneness as you go to avoid overcooking.
Freeze extra portions
If you do end up with leftovers you’re not sure you can finish, freeze the extra portions for a later date. Most cooked food keeps well in the freezer for up to a few months, so you don’t have to try to finish everything in the same week. If you plan on doing a lot of freezing, it’s a good idea to invest in some tempered glass containers, which can go from the freezer to the microwave and don’t easily absorb food smells or stains. Silicone molds or trays are also handy for freezing single portions of things like soups and sauces. When you need a quick dinner, you can easily pop out a frozen block and reheat only what you’ll eat.
Jessica Friedhoff, Senior Lifestyle Editor
Jessica Friedhoff is the Senior Lifestyle Editor at The Everygirl, where she oversees the Home & Living category of the site. She writes and edits stories across a broad range of topics including decorating, food, entertaining, travel, and more. With a pulse on the latest trends, she uses her eye for detail and design to create timely, inspiring content for our readers.
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