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Cooking For One? A weekly meal plan answers the question, “what am I going to have for dinner?” a week at a time. Meal planning and meal prep saves you money and best of all, no leftovers! This is the second of the series of weekly meal plans complete with a grocery list.

Promotional title page for the six Cooking For One Meal Plan Week Two dishes

Welcome to week 2 of our new Meal Planning For One series. We received a lot of great feedback from our Meal Plans and hope you enjoy the recipes we have featured this week 2 installment.

A person cooking for meals for one may often find that it isnโ€™t always easy to reduce a recipe. The thought of doing that every day or deciding what to cook each evening for dinner, without repetition can be a daunting task.

We hope to take some of the pressure off with our โ€œCooking For One Meal Plansโ€.  

Other Single Serving Meal Plans

Along with the meal plan, you will also find a grocery list (see link at the bottom of this page to download โ€“ pdf document) which will include all of the ingredients you will need to make the 5 or more recipes each week.

If you choose not to make all of the recipes on the meal plan, no worries. Just cross those items off of your grocery list.

These meals for one plans are designed for people who live on their own, a parent who wants to indulge themselves while their kids have their favorites, couples that canโ€™t agree on what they want for dinner or caregivers providing meals to a parent or friend.

For now, the weekly meal plan will be posted every two weeks. It will feature a recipe for Monday through Friday, a detailed grocery list and a bonus recipe and cooking tips.

We get asked all the time for meal plans and I hope this new series fills that need. Have a look and please let us know what you think.

Meal Plan

Easy Dinner Ideas

baked pasta with vegetables in a red baking dish next to a brown napkin.

Baked Penne With Roasted Vegetables For One

5 from 11 votes
Indulge in a single serving Baked Penne loaded with roasted vegetables, a trio of cheeses, and rich marinara. Easy steps and totally customizable!
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a white bowl filled with shrimp creole next to a blue napkin

Shrimp Creole For One

4.95 from 17 votes
Enjoy authentic Single Serve Shrimp Creole, capturing New Orleans' flavors with shrimp, tomato sauce, and spices. Easy recipe that is perfect for one or two.
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two baked chicken legs with roasted vegetables on a plate.

Baked Chicken Legs For One

5 from 19 votes
Indulge in a hassle-free one-pan meal with Baked Chicken Legs, perfectly roasted over seasoned carrots, onions, and garlic. An easy, flavorful dinner ideal for those cooking for one.
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a baked potato stuffed with beans and cheese and chili on a white plate

Chili Baked Potato For One

5 from 8 votes
Chili Cheese Baked Potato loaded with sautรฉed onions and garlic, red beans, tomatoes and spices then topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.
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a cooked salmon fillet next to cooked zucchini on a white plate next to fresh basil.

Broiled Salmon For One

4.72 from 7 votes
Make a quick and healthy Broiled Salmon for one! This easy recipe, perfect in a toaster or regular oven, brings a restaurant-quality meal to your table in under 15 minutes.
View Recipe

Bonus Recipe

a mug of hot chocolate next to marshmallows in a container that have spilled onto the table

Hot Chocolate For One

5 from 14 votes
Enjoy a luxurious hot chocolate for one, perfect for cozy indulgence at home. Rich, creamy, and easy to make. Ideal treat paired with fresh baked goodies. This recipe will make enough for 1 large mug of hot chocolate or 2 small cups
View Recipe

Cooking Tips

  • I love the combination of the cheeses found in the Baked Pasta recipe, however, cheese can be expensive. Feel free to purchase just one type of cheese for the pasta. Singularly, the Smoked Gruyere, the Fontina or even the Cheddar would be quite delicious if used on their own. The recipe is best using the ingredients recommended, however it can also be quite tasty with the substitutions. Often, in the deli sections of some grocery stores, you can find very small quantities of pre-cut cheese. If not, don’t feel the need to purchase several different types of cheeses for the recipes.
  • You will need zucchini for two recipes this week, 1 medium to large zucchini will be enough for both recipes.
  • Friday’s Broiled Salmon with Roasted Vegetables calls for the dish to be made in a toaster oven, however it can also be baked in a regular oven at the same temperature called for in the recipe.
  • If you’re trying to reduce your salt intake, try a squeeze of lemon instead of using salt in savory recipes.

For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our โ€œrecipes for oneโ€, please visit our FAQ page.

For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.

Red 5-inch square baking dish with One Dish Kitchen branded paper sleeve around it.

Make 100+ Recipes With This Dish!

Ideal for home chefs, this individual square ceramic baking dish is safe for oven, microwave, freezer, and dishwasher. Simple to use & easy to clean!

Welcome!

Iโ€™m Joanie and Iโ€™m incredibly happy youโ€™re here! Our aim is to inspire individuals with access to single serving recipes, education, and a supportive community that will enable them to enjoy the preparation of a meal that will nourish both body and soul.

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26 Comments

  1. Jude says:

    Some good ideas. But so many ads I canโ€™t see through them.

    1. EJ Zisk says:

      Thank you for your comment. We have been updating our posts to control where the ads show up. We had not done this yet for the meal plans. We took care of that today based on your comment. You should see significantly less ads on the meal plans.

  2. Melanie LaBute says:

    This isn’t a meal plan. These are recipes for a meal- one meal a day. What about breakfast, lunch, snack?

    1. Joanie Zisk says:

      Well, the title of the post is “Easy Dinner Ideas…” so this is a dinner “meal plan” as stated.

  3. Cheryl Sechrest says:

    Found the link. Thank you

  4. Cheryl sechrest says:

    Where is the link for week 2. Have searched everywhere

  5. Jan says:

    Where can I find the link to week one?

  6. Judy says:

    Love, love your recipes. Also like how you use leftover ingredients to let us know what to do with them and not waste money on throwing them away. This has to be the BEST site I have come across for cooking for 1 and not have to divide the ingredients. Please keep up the great work.

  7. Sara Opie says:

    Lovely recipes, and loving the meal plans.

  8. angie says:

    thanks so much the menu looks awesome and the bonus looks so yummy