You do not need to plan every night to make dinner easier. This three-day meal plan for one covers three evenings at home, with a short menu, full cooking steps and one shared grocery list.
Original, edited recipes from One Good Plate. Recipes have not been kitchen-tested; cooking times are estimates.
A practical three-evening trial
Start with lemony white beans on toast when you want the quickest dinner, make the potato and egg skillet on a night with a little more time, and finish with the tomato and chickpea skillet. Their estimated cooking times are 15, 30 and 20 minutes respectively. They do not require cooked leftovers from an earlier dinner.
All three recipes use spinach and olive oil. Two use bread, onion or garlic. The total shopping list calls for 170 g spinach and 180 g bread rather than repeating those entries on separate lists. White beans and chickpeas remain separate ingredients: the plan does not silently treat all beans as interchangeable.
Three days means three dinners, not a complete daily diet. Breakfasts, lunches, drinks and snacks are not included. Choose the three evenings you actually expect to cook; there is no benefit in buying for nights when you will be out.
These three dinners are vegetarian, not vegan: the potato skillet contains eggs. Check bread and other packaged ingredient labels for your needs.
Combined grocery list for one
This list covers all 3 dinners, one serving each, including oil and seasonings. Check what you already have before shopping. Amounts are recipe totals, not retail pack sizes. Weights are uncooked; canned beans and tuna use drained weights. Five ml equals one teaspoon. Tap water is in the methods, not this list.
Bread & chilled
Bread · vegetarian180 g
Egg2 eggs
Cans & dry goods
Chickpeas, canned · drained150 g
Chopped tomatoes, canned200 g
White beans, canned · drained180 g
Produce
Fresh spinach170 g
Garlic · peeled10 g
Lemon juice15 ml
Onion100 g
Potato250 g
Seasonings
Black pepper0.25 tsp
Ground cumin0.5 tsp
Olive oil30 ml
Salt0.75 tsp
A small shop is not the same as small packs
The list needs 180 g drained white beans, 150 g drained chickpeas and 200 g canned tomatoes. Those are the amounts used in the recipes, not the number of cans to buy. Read drained-weight information where available and check the pack you choose. Store unused contents according to the label; this plan does not promise to finish every package.
Complete single-serving recipes
Read the whole recipe before starting. Follow ingredient storage instructions and refrigerate unused perishables promptly. Check labels for your needs. Where a rice or pasta packet differs, follow its cooking instructions.
DINNER 1 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 15 MINUTES
Lemony white beans on toast
Creamy beans. Crisp edges.
Ingredients for one
White beans, canned · drained180 g
Fresh spinach60 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Lemon juice15 ml
Bread · vegetarian100 g
Olive oil10 ml
Salt0.25 tsp
Black pepper0.125 tsp
Method
Drain and rinse the beans, then weigh the drained amount. Rinse the spinach and finely chop the garlic.
Warm the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds without browning.
Add the beans, 45 ml water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring. Mash about a third of the beans with a fork to make a creamy sauce.
Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes until wilted and the beans are piping hot. Stir in the lemon juice. Toast the bread and spoon the beans over it just before eating.
DINNER 2 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 30 MINUTES
Golden potato & egg skillet
Breakfast energy, dinner portions.
Ingredients for one
Potato250 g
Egg2 eggs
Fresh spinach60 g
Onion50 g
Olive oil10 ml
Salt0.25 tsp
Black pepper0.125 tsp
Method
Scrub the potato and cut it into 1 cm cubes. Dice the onion and rinse the spinach. Put the potato in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 6–8 minutes until just tender, then drain well.
Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 4 minutes. Add the potato, salt and pepper; cook for 5–7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden.
Stir in the spinach until wilted. Make two wells and crack an egg into each. Add 15 ml water at the edge of the pan and cover with a lid.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 5–8 minutes, checking until both the egg whites and yolks are firm; cook longer if needed. Serve hot straight from the skillet.
DINNER 3 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 20 MINUTES
Tomato & chickpea skillet
Saucy, warm, made for good toast.
Ingredients for one
Chickpeas, canned · drained150 g
Chopped tomatoes, canned200 g
Fresh spinach50 g
Onion50 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Bread · vegetarian80 g
Olive oil10 ml
Ground cumin0.5 tsp
Salt0.25 tsp
Method
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then weigh the drained amount. Dice the onion and finely chop the garlic. Rinse the spinach.
Warm the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and cumin; stir for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and salt. Bring to a gentle bubble, then cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Add a splash of water if it sticks.
Stir in the spinach for 1–2 minutes until wilted and everything is piping hot. Toast the bread and serve alongside the skillet.
WHEN YOUR WEEK CHANGES
Make a plan you can change.
The free planner builds a fresh selection of 3–5 dinners. Swap, remove or add a meal and its shopping quantities update. It does not automatically load this fixed example.