Recipes for one? Seriously?
We’re only speaking for ourselves here, but we eat out a lot. No, like, really…a lot. As in, so much that we don’t want to count the number of meals eaten outside our homes this week because we’re not sure we’d have enough fingers for counting.
There are many reasons we need to start spending more time in our own kitchens—our health, our finances, and our tendency to try to forget our single state are just a few. We can’t keep using our singleness as an excuse to rarely grace our kitchens.
One of the excuses we hear (and say) as singles is how cooking for one is a pain because there are always so many leftovers. And hey, that’s true. There are only so many chicken pot pie lunches and dinners you can have before you never want to see chicken pot pie again. Sure there are meal prep delivery services like Blue Apron or actual meal delivery companies like Freshly, but some of us don’t have the budget space to order those each week. So we’ve been doing a little digging for ourselves, and we figured some of you might be interested in the resources and recipes for one we’ve found.
Who said cooking for one has to be a beat down? We’re certainly not saying we’re going to stop dining out. It’s more that we’re going to scale back a little, and in the process, we’re going to learn new culinary skills and tips. We’re excited to put some of the following ideas to use in our own kitchens:
Your Complete Guide to Cooking for One :: This is a great starting point for getting prepared to actually use your kitchen. It includes stocking your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, grocery list tips, as well as 7 recipes for one that are not-too-difficult yet better than run-of-the-mill.
Cooking for One: 29 Insanely Easy, Healthy Meals You Can Make in Minutes :: This is a great post because not only does it give you 29 recipes for one, but it divides them into categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and (our favorite) “so easy they don’t even need a real recipe.”
5 Essentials for Solo Cooks :: Joe Yonan is the Food and Travel Editor for the Washington Post, and he authored their Cooking for One column for years. Here, he discusses the most 5 important things solo cooks need to remember, including which kitchen equipment is most helpful when you’re cooking for one person.
Flying Solo? 14 Simple Dinners for One :: This list is for the foodies among us, those who are more Martha Stewart than Rachael Ray. In fact, these are a collection of Martha’s recipes. So just keep that in mind when the title says, “simple.” The grilled cheese sandwich includes pineapple and fresh basil, so yeah…Martha-simple.
34 Easy One-Dish Dinner Recipes :: Maybe you want some leftovers, but not too many. These recipes from Southern Living strike the right balance between “too much” and “just enough.” Plus, these are all good ol’ Southern comfort food recipes.
7 Ways to Get Your Cooking Mojo Back :: When you’re not making big batches of food, sometimes you can stall on creativity. This post helps you get out of that rut and think about food and cooking differently.
Recipes for One or Two People :: Pinterest lovers will find this board helpful.
Healthy Recipes for One Serving :: From Eating Well, 32 recipes for the expert and the novice chef. And they’re good for you. Your mom would be proud.
Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone :: From author Jenny Ferrari-Adler comes a fun collection of essays on dining solo. Not all essayists are single, but they all reflect on single meals they eat when no one is looking.
What are your favorite recipes for one? Share them in the comments below!
