Lazy Dinners for One: 12 Meals for When You're Too Tired to Cook
Most lists of lazy dinner ideas are written for families. They assume you want a tray bake for six and a week of leftovers. When you live alone and you're tired, you want the opposite: one plate, very little washing up, and no thinking.
So here are 12 lazy dinner ideas for one, sized for one person and grouped by how much effort you have left. Start at the top on your worst nights.
What counts as a lazy dinner
For this list, a lazy dinner follows three rules:
- 5 ingredients or fewer. Oil, salt and pepper don't count. You have those.
- One pan, pot or plate. Washing up is part of the effort.
- About 15 minutes of your attention. Some dishes take longer in the oven, but you're on the sofa for that part.
Quantities are for one hungry adult. Scale up if you want tomorrow's lunch too.
No-cook: 3 ideas
For the nights when turning on the stove feels like too much.
1. A proper snack plate. Not crackers over the sink: a real plate, sat down. A chunk of cheese (about 2 ounces), a handful of crackers or a torn-up baguette end, something crunchy (cucumber, carrot, radishes), something salty (olives, pickles, cured meat). Arrange it like you meant it. It counts as dinner.
2. White bean and tuna salad. Drain a 5-ounce can of tuna and half a 15-ounce can of white beans. Toss with a squeeze of lemon, a good glug of olive oil, and a few thin slices of red onion if you have one. Eat it with bread. Move the other half of the beans into a lidded container in the fridge and use them within 3 to 4 days (they're great in the soup below).
3. Rotisserie chicken wrap. A store-bought rotisserie chicken does most of the work for you. Pull off about a cup of meat, spread a tortilla with hummus, add the chicken and a handful of salad leaves, and roll. Refrigerate the rest within 2 hours of buying it and it keeps 3 to 4 days, so it covers two more easy dinners.
10-minute stovetop: 4 ideas
For when you can manage one pan, briefly.
4. Eggs on toast, done properly. Two or three eggs, scrambled slowly in butter over low heat and pulled off while they're still a little soft. Pile them on thick toast. Add grated cheese or a spoonful of chili crisp if you have it. Five minutes, one pan.
5. Quesadilla. One large tortilla, about half a cup of shredded cheese, and half a cup of whatever's around: leftover beans, cooked chicken, a few pickled jalapeños. Fold, then cook in a dry pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes a side until golden and melted. Salsa on the side.
6. Upgraded instant noodles. Cook one pack of instant noodles. In the last minute, drop in a handful of frozen spinach or frozen peas and crack in an egg. Put the lid on until the egg white is fully set. Finish with a sliced scallion. It's a very different bowl from the plain version for about one extra minute of effort.
7. Crispy gnocchi with peas and parmesan. Shelf-stable gnocchi from a vacuum pack goes straight into the pan, no boiling. Fry about half a 1-pound pack in a tablespoon of butter or oil over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden. Toss in a handful of frozen peas for the last 2 minutes and finish with grated parmesan. Close up the rest of the pack and use it by the date printed for after opening.
One pot, walk away: 3 ideas
These take longer, but most of the time is hands-off.
8. Sausage and peppers on one tray. Slice 2 sausages, 1 pepper and half an onion. Toss on a sheet pan with a little oil and salt and roast at 400°F (200°C) for about 25 minutes, until the sausages are browned and cooked through (160°F inside for pork). Eat it as it is or tuck it into a roll.
9. A loaded baked potato. Prick one russet potato with a fork. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 45 to 60 minutes until a knife slides in easily, or microwave it for 5 to 8 minutes, turning halfway. Split it, add butter and cheese, and top with one thing that's left: the other half of those beans, a spoonful of chili, or sour cream and scallions.
10. Red lentil soup. Red lentils cook fast and need no soaking. In one pot, soften half a chopped onion in oil for 5 minutes, add half a cup of red lentils, half a can of chopped tomatoes and about 2 cups of broth. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils fall apart. Season well. It makes two bowls; the second freezes well for about 2 to 3 months.
Pantry-only emergencies: 2 ideas
For when the fridge is empty and going out is not happening.
11. Garlic and olive oil spaghetti. Boil about 3 ounces of spaghetti. While it cooks, warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves and a pinch of chili flakes over low heat until the garlic turns pale gold (don't let it brown). Toss the drained pasta in the pan with a splash of pasta water. If you have parmesan or parsley, add them, but it's good without.
12. Rice, beans and salsa. A microwave rice pouch (or a cup of cooked rice from the freezer), half a can of black beans warmed with a pinch of cumin, a big spoonful of jarred salsa and a handful of cheese if you've got it. One bowl, about 5 minutes.
Keep one lazy dinner in the plan every week
People who seem to cook a lot usually plan the lazy nights too. If your week has three dinners, make one of them deliberately easy. A snack plate on Thursday isn't a failure. It's the plan working.
Keep the ingredients for two or three of the ideas above in the house at all times: eggs, tortillas and cheese, a pack of noodles, a can of beans, some pasta and garlic. Then the tired nights take care of themselves, and the planned dinners stay planned.
If you'd like that built in, 3Onions keeps every recipe to 3 to 5 steps, and when tonight's dinner feels like too much, "Not feeling it" on the Tonight screen swaps it in one tap, with Undo if you change your mind. Join the 3Onions early-access list (the iPhone app is almost here, and your first week will be free).
FAQ
What should I eat when I'm too tired to cook for one?
Go for something with five ingredients or fewer and one pan: eggs on toast, a quesadilla, upgraded instant noodles or a snack plate with cheese, crackers and something crunchy. If even that's too much, a rotisserie chicken wrap needs no cooking at all.
What are easy pantry dinners for one person?
Garlic and olive oil spaghetti and rice with beans and salsa both use only pantry staples. Keep dried pasta, garlic, olive oil, rice, canned beans and a jar of salsa in the cupboard and you'll always have a backup dinner.
How do I make lazy dinners without lots of leftovers?
Cook single portions: 3 ounces of dry pasta, one potato, 2 or 3 eggs. When you open a can or pack, plan the rest into the next day's dinner, like using the other half of the beans on a baked potato, or freeze it.