6 best cooking for one

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As far as we're concerned, one is far from the loneliest number

Discover the joy of cooking for yourself with more than 160 perfectly portioned, easy-to-execute recipes, flexible ingredient lists to accommodate your pantry, and ideas for improvising to your taste.

Making the side the main event

Whether you're looking for inspiration for transforming your leftovers or want to bulk up your side dish to make it a meal, we've got you covered.

• Start with a base: Give your vegetable side dish some support by serving it over rice or grains, cauliflower rice, polents, pasta, vegetable noodles, or toast.
• Add a protein: Make it hearty by adding thawed frozen edamame, an egg, chopped tofu, canned tuna, smoked salmon, burrata, canned beans, or chicken.
• Add a topper: Level up with savory toppings like a drizzle of a store-bought gochujang, cheesy toasted panko, savory seed brittle, store-bought crispy chickpeas, chopped toasted nuts, croutons, crumbled cheese, or a dollop of hummus or yogurt.

The main event

Glazed meatloaf for one

Meatloaf brings to mind dinner-style fare for a family, but we wanted down-home goodness in a smaller package. To take this even further from our grandmother's meatloaf, we used ground pork and incorporated Asian-inspired ingredients for a flavor that reminded us of the filling of our favorite dumplings.

Sides to match or eat on their own

Broiled eggplant with a honey-lemon vinaigrette

There's more to sliced eggplant than eggplant parm, and this quick, easy side is a more vibrant application -- and its meatiness makes eggplant equally deserving of center-of-the-plate status.

Simple Soups and stews

5-ingredient creamy chickpea and roasted garlic soup

Through the power of garlic, a can of chickpeas is transformed into a creamy, Mediterranean-inspired soup in 30 minutes flat. Roasting the garlic delivers a mellow, mildly sweet farlic flavor that mimics oven-roasted garlic in a fraction of the time.

One-pan dinners

Chicken Sausage Hash

While making hash for a crowd might mean endless chopping, all it takes is one single potato to get this party started.

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Shrimp and Prosciutto Pasta

1. In a 10" skillet over medium heat, heat oil 30 seconds. Add garlic, prosciutto, and shrimp and cook 4 minutes until shrimp are pink.

2. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.

3. Stir in cream and cheese and cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted, about 30 seconds.

4. Gently fold in cooked pasta and garnish with tomatoes.

5. Transfer to a medium plate and enjoy immediately.

Per Serving

Calories: 794

Fat: 38g

Protein: 38g

Sodium: 1,354mg

Fiber: 6g

Carbohydrates: 74g

Sugar: 7g

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Lasagna that Won’t Wear Out Its Welcome

We redesign our recipe to serve two by trading a baking pan for a loaf pan. A few ingredients added to the sauce gives us a velvety texture reminiscent of a Bolognese sauce, meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork) adds more flavor and richness than ground beef alone, and no-boil lasagna noodles were a timesaver and fit neatly into the pan.

Single Skillet Feast for Two

There’s nothing more satisfying than fork-tender beef slow-roasted with creamy potatoes and sweet carrots. But when you’re cooking for two, you want all that, and less (less meat than called for in a classic pot roast recipe, and less prep and cleanup, too). We found top blade steak to be a very tender and richly flavored cut of meat that’s well suited to pot roasting; it has plenty of collagen to break down and add flavor during cooking.

Just the Right Number of Freshly Baked Cookies

Our favorite recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies yields 24 cookies—far too many even for a pair of die-hard cookie fans. We wanted a recipe for 12 cookies, and we wanted it to be quick and convenient. Our secret? Melted butter gives the cookies a chewy texture and enables us to easily stir our ingredients by hand (no lugging out the electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar).

Greek-Style Lamb Pita Sandwiches

We wanted restaurant-style Greek gyros—slices of shaved, marinated lamb, tomato slices, crisp lettuce, and cooling cucumber-yogurt sauce stuffed inside a soft pita—that we could make at home. Rather than the traditional shaved slices of meat from a vertical rotisserie, we pan-fried ground lamb patties flavored with mint, onion, and minced garlic.

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Recipes for two

Avoid filling your fridge with leftovers that will go to waste thanks to recipes that only turn out two servings.

Naturally healthy foods

Take care of your body with dishes featuring fresh fruits and veggies, lean proteins, legumes, and whole grains.

Shopping and stocking tips

Save money, time, and effort with advice for making your kitchen Mediterranean-friendly and your shopping trips lean.

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Oven-Fried Bruschetta Fish from Betty Crocker Right-Size Recipes

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. In shallow bowl or pie plate, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

2. With spatula or knife, spread one side of each fillet with ¾ tablespoon of the mayonnaise. Dip coated side of fillet in crumb mixture. Spread other side of each fillet with ¾ tablespoon of mayonnaise. Turn fillet over; dip in crumb mixture. Place fillets on cookie sheet. Spray top of fillets with cooking spray.

3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and fish flakes easily with fork.

4. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix salsa and basil. Place baked fillets on serving plates. Top each with half the salsa mixture.

Kitchen Tip

Pico de gallo salsa is a fresh tomato salsa made from fresh chopped tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, cilantro and lime juice. It can be found refrigerated in the deli, produce or dairy section of your local grocery store.

Nutrition Information

1 Serving: Calories 300; Total Fat 19g (Saturated Fat 3.5g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 55mg; Sodium 710mg; Total Carbohydrate 12g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 22g Exchanges: ½ Starch, ½ Vegetable, 3 Very Lean Meat, 3 ½ Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1