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40 single serving dessert recipes, each one tested and portioned for one. No halving, no guessing, and nothing left over. Just simple, satisfying desserts made for you.
Sometimes, you just want a little something sweet at the end of the day.
Not a whole cake. Not a dozen cookies. Just one dessert, made especially for you.
Most dessert recipes are written for a crowd, and scaling them down can be tricky, especially with baking. That’s why I created these desserts for one from the start to be the right size for one person, with the right ingredients, pan size, and bake time.
Whether you’re craving a warm brownie, a small cake, a fruit crisp, or a creamy pudding, these are desserts worth making for yourself. simple, satisfying, and just the right size.
What Makes These Single Serving Desserts Different
A true dessert for one isn’t just a regular recipe divided by four. It has to be built differently from the start.
That’s especially true with baking. A little too much flour, the wrong pan size, or a few extra minutes in the oven can change the whole recipe. Each dessert here was developed for one person, with the right ingredients, dish size, and bake time so it turns out the way it should.
You’ll find practical amounts here: one egg, a few tablespoons of flour, a single apple, a little chocolate, or one lemon. Nothing complicated, nothing wasteful, and no odd ingredients you’ll use once and forget about.
These are desserts made to work the first time: simple, comforting, and just the right size.
Recipes I Actually Make
I’ve spent more than 15 years developing single serving and small batch recipes. It’s the foundation of my cookbook, The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook, and it’s the heart of every recipe I share on One Dish Kitchen.
Each of these 40 desserts has been baked, tasted, adjusted, and made again in my own kitchen. These are the recipes I turn to when I want something sweet without making a full batch or waiting for a special occasion.
Desserts Worth Making for Yourself
You don’t need a reason to make dessert. You don’t need company coming over. You don’t need to wait for a holiday.
A Tuesday is enough.
These are desserts worth making for yourself. The kind you look forward to, the kind that make an ordinary evening feel a little more special.
Scroll on for 40 desserts for one, from quick treats to something a little more impressive. Or jump to the category that sounds best tonight.
How I Chose These 40 Recipes
With more than 100 dessert recipes on this site, narrowing the list to 40 wasn’t easy. I chose the recipes that best represent what One Dish Kitchen is all about: desserts that are practical, reliable, and truly made for one.
Here’s what made the cut:
- True single servings. Every recipe makes one or two portions, not a full batch with instructions to freeze the rest.
- Practical ingredients. These recipes use ingredients you can buy and use in small amounts, like a single apple, a few ounces of chocolate, one lemon, or one egg.
- Tested in my kitchen. Every dessert has been baked, tasted, adjusted, and tested so the proportions, pan size, and timing all work together.
- A dessert for every craving. You’ll find quick no-bake treats, warm cobblers, small cakes, cookies, brownies, creamy puddings, cheesecakes, and a few desserts that feel a little more special.
What you won’t find are scaled-down party desserts, recipes that leave you with too many leftovers, or ingredients you’ll use once and forget about.
Jump to: Cakes · Cookies & Brownies · Pies · Cobblers & Crisps · Puddings & Custards · Cheesecake · Quick & Easy · Showstoppers
1. Cakes for One
A single serving cake isn’t a compromise. It’s a warm, fresh cake baked in a ramekin or small pan, ready in under an hour, and you don’t have to stare down leftovers for the rest of the week. These are the cakes I bake most often: chocolate, lemon, carrot, and a few classics that are even better in a smaller size.
1. Chocolate Lava Cake
2. Chocolate Cake For One
3. Carrot Cake For One
4. Lemon Cake
5. Mini Pound Cake
6. Pineapple Upside Down Cake for One
2. Cookies and Brownies for One
Sometimes you want two cookies, not two dozen. These small batch cookies, brownies, and bars give you just enough to satisfy a craving without filling your counter with extras. Most use a single bowl and pantry ingredients you already have on hand.
1. Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie for One
2. Brownies for One
3. Small Batch Oatmeal Cookies
4. Snickerdoodles
5. Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
6. Small Batch Lemon Bars
3. Pies for One
A full-size pie is a commitment. A pie for one is a Tuesday night dessert. These single serving pies bake in ramekins or small pie dishes, with the same buttery crust and warm filling you’d expect from a full-size version. No special equipment needed.
1. Mini Dutch Apple Pie
2. Pecan Pie for One
3. Key Lime Pie for One
4. Lemon Meringue Pie for One
5. Cherry Pie For One
4. Cobblers and Crisps for One
Cobblers and crisps are some of the easiest desserts to make for one person. Start with one piece of fruit, add a simple topping, and bake. Twenty to thirty minutes later you have a warm, bubbling dessert that tastes like it took much more effort than it did.
1. Apple Crisp
2. Blueberry Cobbler
3. Peach Cobbler
4. Apple Cobbler
5. Peach Crisp for One
6. Blackberry Cobbler
5. Puddings, Custards, and No-Bake Desserts for One
No oven required for most of these. Puddings, custards, mousse, and flan are naturally suited to single servings because they’re already portioned into individual dishes. They’re also some of the most forgiving desserts to make: simple ingredients, straightforward technique, and hard to mess up.
1. Rice Pudding for One
2. Homemade Chocolate Pudding for One
3. Vanilla Pudding for One
4. Tiramisu
5. Chocolate Mousse for One
6. Flan
6. Cheesecake for One
Cheesecake scales down beautifully. A small dish is all you need for a creamy, rich cheesecake that tastes exactly like a full-size version. These range from a classic baked cheesecake to no-bake options you can have ready in minutes.
1. Small Cheesecake
2. No-Bake Cheesecake for One
3. Cheesecake Bars
4. Lemon Cheesecake Mousse for One
7. Quick and Easy Desserts for One
Some nights you want dessert in 15 minutes or less. These are the recipes for those nights. No-bake, microwave, or just a few minutes of stovetop work. Simple, fast, and satisfying.
1. Microwave Fudge for One
2. Rice Krispie Treats for One
3. Peanut Butter Blossoms
4. Small Batch Puppy Chow
8. Showstopper Desserts for One
These are the desserts you make when you want something a little more impressive. Bananas foster with a caramel sauce you light on fire. A layered strawberry shortcake. A flourless chocolate cake that looks like it came from a restaurant. They take a bit more effort, but they’re worth every minute.
1. Bananas Foster for One
2. Strawberry Shortcake for One
3. Flourless Chocolate Cake for One
4. Boston Cream Pie For One
Frequently Asked Questions about Single Serving Desserts
Good single serving dessert ideas include cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, cobblers, crisps, puddings, custards, cheesecakes, and quick no-bake treats. The best ones are developed for one person from the start, so the proportions, pan size, and bake time all work together.
Some favorites include chocolate lava cake, carrot cake, deep dish chocolate chip cookies, brownies, apple crisp, peach cobbler, rice pudding, chocolate mousse, no-bake cheesecake, microwave fudge, and Rice Krispie treats. Most single serving desserts use simple pantry ingredients and can be made in about 10 to 45 minutes.
The fastest desserts for one are usually no-bake, microwave, or stovetop recipes. Microwave fudge, Rice Krispie treats, puppy chow, small batch cookies, and simple puddings are all great choices when you want something sweet quickly.
For a warm baked dessert, a single serving cobbler or crisp is one of the easiest options. It usually takes just a few minutes to assemble and bakes in about 20 to 30 minutes.
Scaling down dessert recipes can be tricky, especially with baking. It’s not always as simple as dividing the ingredients, because eggs, pan size, and bake time all affect the final result.
If you do scale a recipe down, divide the ingredients based on the original yield and pay close attention to the eggs. One large egg is about 3 tablespoons, so for a partial egg, whisk the egg first and measure what you need. Use a smaller pan, such as a ramekin, small baking dish, 6-inch cake pan, or mini loaf pan, so the batter has the right depth.
Smaller desserts usually bake faster, so start checking early. The biggest mistake is using a pan that’s too large, which can make cakes, brownies, and bars turn out thin or dry.
You don’t need much special equipment to make single serving desserts. The most useful pieces are 10-ounce ramekins, a 5×5-inch baking dish, a 6-inch round cake pan, a 5×7-inch baking dish, and a quarter sheet pan.
A small saucepan is helpful for puddings, sauces, and stovetop desserts. Standard mixing bowls, measuring spoons, a whisk, and a spatula will handle most recipes. If you bake often, a kitchen scale can also be helpful for measuring small amounts of flour, sugar, and butter more accurately.
Single serving desserts are portioned, which can make them a practical choice when you want something sweet without making a full batch. They use many of the same ingredients as traditional desserts, like butter, sugar, flour, chocolate, cream, or fruit, so they aren’t meant to be “health food.”
What they do offer is balance. You can enjoy a complete dessert in a size that makes sense for one person. For lighter options, fruit-based desserts like apple crisp, peach cobbler, or berry crisps are a good choice. Many puddings, mousses, and no-bake desserts can also be adjusted with less sugar, depending on your preference.
