This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Weekly meal planning for one? You’ll love the easy weekly meal plans found in our Meal Planning For One series. This is the third post of the meal planning for one series.  You will find dinner ideas for the week including single-serving recipes, grocery lists and cooking tips. Perfect for anyone cooking for one, caregivers, and empty nesters.

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

Welcome to week 3 of our new Meal Planning For One series. We have received a lot of great feedback from our single serving Meal Plans and hope you enjoy the easy dinner ideas we have featured in this week 3 installment.

A person cooking for only themselves may often find that it isn’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 this “Cooking For One Meal Plan”.  

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 the list – 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 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 can’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.

Meal Plan

a small tuna casserole topped with bread crumbs and fresh basil on a white plate.

Tuna Casserole For One

4.89 from 44 votes
This single serving tuna casserole is made with one can of tuna, tender pasta, and a creamy, cheesy sauce. Baked until bubbly and topped with a crisp, buttery breadcrumb topping, it's a comforting and easy meal for one.
Tuna Casserole For One Recipe
a pita pizza topped with avocado slices on a white plate.

Pita Pizza For One

5 from 3 votes
A Beef and Cheese Pita Pizza that is perfect for one person. Whole wheat pita bread topped with smoked gouda and flavorful ground beef, chopped bell peppers, onions and garlic.
Beef and Cheese Pita Pizza Recipe
a chicken thigh on a blue plate surrounded by artichokes, red onions, and olives.

Mediterranean Chicken For One

4.83 from 17 votes
One-skillet Mediterranean Chicken made with artichokes, Kalamata olives, red onions, and feta cheese. Incredible flavors, easy to make, and ready in just 20 minutes!
Mediterranean Chicken For One
a white bowl filled with broccoli cheese soup with crackers on a plate nearby

Broccoli Cheddar Soup For One

4.84 from 43 votes
Make a creamy, cheesy bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup packed with tender broccoli florets and rich flavor. This single serving recipe comes together quickly with simple ingredients and is ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!
Broccoli Cheddar Soup For One
a bowl of shrimp fettuccine on a silver tray next to a fresh block of parmesan cheese

Shrimp Fettuccine For One

4.95 from 20 votes
This single serving Shrimp Fettuccine is a quick and flavorful meal made with tender shrimp, garlic, and pasta tossed in a buttery olive oil sauce. Ready in just 20 minutes!
Shrimp Fettuccine For One

Bonus Recipe!

one small apple crisp in a white ramekin on a silver tray

Easy Apple Crisp For One

4.89 from 69 votes
Enjoy a single serve Apple Crisp – a quick and easy dessert with warm, spiced fruit and a crumbly topping, made using just one apple and pantry staples.
Apple Crisp For One Recipe

We hope you enjoy this single serving meal plan, you might also like our other Meal Plans.

RELATED:  20 Single Serving Breakfast Recipes Worth Waking Up For

Grocery List

Click here to download the grocery list (printable pdf document)

meal plan week 3 grocery list

Meal Planning Tips

  • Cheese can be expensive. If you’d like, only purchase one type of cheese for the recipes this week. 

Smoked Gouda is an ingredient that is recommended in Tuesday’s pizza. However, feel free to use shredded Cheddar instead. You will be using shredded Cheddar in the tuna casserole and in the broccoli cheese soup.

  • For Thursday’s Chicken with Artichokes, if you’d prefer using black olives instead of the recommended Kalamata Olives, feel free to make the swap.
  • I like to keep a bag of individually quick frozen shrimp in my freezer, that way I always have it on hand to make quick and easy dinners like the fettuccine with shrimp (Friday’s recipe).
  • Be sure to check your pantry for spices and items used in meals from previous weeks. This way you won’t need to buy what you may already have.
  • If you find that you have some ingredients left over and won’t need them for other recipes this week, such as red peppers, olives, onions, cheese, etc. – use them as salad toppings or to mix in with scrambled eggs for breakfast.

For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.

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

Welcome!

I’m Joanie, chef, author of The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook, and creator of One Dish Kitchen. With 10+ years of experience developing single serving and small batch recipes, I’m passionate about making cooking for one simple and enjoyable. So glad you’re here!

LEARN MORE →
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!

Shop Now

Clean Living

Check out our Clean Living page, where I share my journey to a cleaner, toxin-free lifestyle and products I use everyday.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 Comments

  1. Elizabeth says:

    Okay this probably is a stupid question but when you say have two small onions for 2 or more days does that mean 2 small onions for each of those days? Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Joanie Zisk says:

      Hi Elizabeth,
      Sorry for the confusion. The two onions are for the week.

      Reply
  2. Dyan says:

    Hi Joanie, is there something else I can substitute for the Artichokes and Olives?

    Reply
    1. Joanie Zisk says:

      Hi Dyan,
      You could leave them out altogether or add more onions. Mushrooms might be a nice addition too.

      Reply
  3. Nicola @ Happy Healthy Motivated says:

    I’m so making the beef pitta and apple crisp this week! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

    Reply
  4. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says:

    Love it! It can be hard making the correct portions when you just want to make yourself something! These all look so yummy!

    Reply
  5. Denay DeGuzman says:

    Oh my goodness, Joanie! Your delicious meal plan looks like it was created just for me! This week my siblings and I are helping out my parents after a surgery. So we’re looking for meal recipes we can make for just two people. Yours are fabulous. And I appreciate the grocery list too! Thanks a million.

    Reply
  6. Annie Cho says:

    Oooh I really want to try the soup and the fettucine recipes. Yum!
    xoxo
    Annie

    Reply