Cooking for One: Single-Serve Meal Tips

Cooking for one can be one of the greatest things, but also one of the hardest. Whether you’re in college or living on your own for the first time, it can be difficult to adjust to the challenges of learning to cook for one.

I promise it’s not as sad as it sounds. I personally, LOVE cooking for one, and most of my recipes are single-serve!

Cooking for one didn’t become a regular thing for me until I went to college, which I’m sure a lot of you can relate to. I had to adjust from not cooking at all, to making just enough food for me.

I’m going to give you some tips to make cooking for one a breeze. You’re going to minimize your food waste, not stress about what to cook, and get some bomb recipe inspo!

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Have you ever cooked for yourself and either not made enough or made way too much? Yeah, me too.

I feel like cooking for one is a science. It’s a trial and error process to see how much food you need to make in order to keep you satisfied, without making too much that will go bad.

I’m going to break it to you now, if you’re cooking for one, you’re going to have to learn to love leftovers. Some people are grossed out by them, but I promise that there are ways to upgrade them! That’s what we’re going to get into now.

Here are some tips and tricks I have for cooking for one or as a college student!

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Minimize Food Waste

Wasting food is one of my biggest pet peeves. Nothing drives me crazier than buying food and watching it sit and rot in my fridge. Imagine the money you could have saved or someone else who would have enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, most foods are not sold in a single-serve portion at the grocery store. You have to buy ingredients with the intent of using them more than once. This is harder with produce since it can go bad faster.

When you buy a bag of broccoli or a package of chicken, you have to go into it with the intent of knowing that you’re going to use it for more than one meal.

Get creative when it comes to cooking for one! Let’s say you cooked that bag of broccoli, and have it in a Tupperware in your fridge. What is the best way you can utilize it, without wasting it?

How about, you have some cooked with a sauce and serve it with pasta for dinner one night. Then, you can throw some in a salad for lunch the next day. Maybe cook it in with your breakfast and have a broccoli cheddar omelet. See where I’m going with this?

You have to think of all the ways you can use one single ingredient, in the sense that you won’t get bored with what you’re cooking, and especially not wasting food. Before you think of throwing that leftover container of chickpeas away, think of all the ways you can cook with it! Unless it’s bad, then of course give it a toss.

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Take Advantage of Meal-Prepping

Meal-prepping is a lifesaver when it comes to cooking for one. Instead of making a single dinner for yourself each night, you can make it all in one go on a specific day.

I know that meal-prepping can seem daunting. It definitely takes some planning, but the outcomes are so worth it!

Cooking all your meals at once doesn’t have to be boring. Instead of prepping one single dish that you have to force yourself to eat all week, you can make it a lot more fun.

When I meal-prep, I like to prep ingredients, rather than meals. I roast different veggies, cook some chicken, and boil pasta, then store them all separately. That way, you can mix and match what you want to have so you don’t get sick of what you’ve meal-prepped.

You can have pasta with roasted veggies, chicken with a side of veggies, a salad tossed with chicken and veggies, and so much more. This way, you’re using all your meal-prepped ingredients, but you’re not going to get sick of each meal.

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The Freezer is Your Friend

We love a good freezer meal! Did you know that most foods will freeze well and stay fresh in there for around 6 months?

Let’s say there’s a chili recipe that you’re dying to try. Unfortunately, you usually have to make a meal like that in a big batch due to how the ingredients are sold. What are you going to do with 8 servings of chili?

FREEZE IT! If you make a big batch of chili or stew, grab your plastic bags or containers, and divide the meal into how many servings you want it to make. Pop them in the freezer, and you’ve now got a meal for later.

If you’ve ever found that you’ve made too much of something, just throw it in the freezer. Worst comes to worst, you can google if something is freezer-friendly or not. Odds are, it will be.

Whenever I bake a new recipe, I end up throwing a lot of it in the freezer since I can’t eat it that fast. It’s great to have a sweet treat in the freezer for whenever I want!

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Double the Dish

I know this post is all about cooking for one, but just hear me out with this one. Cooking for two can be just as effective as cooking for one.

If I’m cooking pasta for dinner one night, it would make the most sense to make two servings, that way I can have some for lunch or dinner the next day.

Cooking two servings of your dinner and having the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day are a great way to utilize your food and time.

You’re most likely not going to get sick of a meal if you’re only eating it twice. If you don’t have a lot of time for making lunch due to work or school, this can be a great option for you!

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Find a Balance

It can be tempting when you’re living on your own or just cooking for yourself to stock your pantry and fridge with only “healthy” foods if you’re trying to be “good” (which I don’t believe in because foods aren’t good or bad).

It can also go on the opposite spectrum, where you go hog wild and have only chips, ice cream, and boxed mac and cheese in your house.

Having a balance of some foods that make you feel healthy and energized, AND some foods that will satisfy that sweet or convenience craving, is extremely important.

I love to eat fruits, vegetables, and my favorite avocado toast. I also love to eat ice cream, chocolate, and pizza. If I only stocked my house with the “healthy” foods in the hopes that it would make me not want the “unhealthy” foods, that’s just a plan for disaster.

You have to be realistic with yourself and know what you want. Find a balance between the foods that you have in your house, so when you’re craving cheese or chocolate, you have it ready to go.

Don’t deprive yourself just because you’re on your own. You can still enjoy yourself!

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Cooking for one has turned into one of my favorite things! It can be tricky at first, but it’s nice to have the flexibility to change what you’re eating day to day. If you need some more inspiration, check out some of my all-time favorite single-serve meals!

• Banana Pancake Tacos
• Chocolate Banana Pancakes
• Greek Yogurt French Toast
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Vegan Black Bean Pasta
• Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

xoxo

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