A meal plan for one should end with dinner, not a fridge full of guesses. This five-dinner example gives you one serving each night, complete instructions and a grocery list that adds together repeated ingredients.
Original, edited recipes from One Good Plate. Recipes have not been kitchen-tested; cooking times are estimates.
How this five-dinner plan fits together
The plan alternates a chickpea skillet, chicken and rice, peanut noodles, mushroom and bean rice, and tuna pasta. It includes three vegetarian dinners, one chicken dinner and one fish dinner. These are five separate single-serving recipes, not one large batch that you must eat five times.
Spinach, garlic and olive oil appear across several dinners. Rice is used twice, and canned tomatoes are shared by the chickpea skillet and tuna pasta. The combined list below counts those ingredients once, at their total amount. It includes seasonings, so check your cupboard before shopping.
Treat the dinner numbers as an order, not fixed dates. Check ingredient freshness and label instructions when deciding when to cook. Refrigerate perishables promptly; if you buy something well ahead of its dinner, use its storage or freezing guidance rather than assuming every ingredient will keep for five days.
This plan includes chicken, fish, peanuts, wheat and soy. Review every recipe and ingredient label for your own dietary needs.
Combined grocery list for one
This list covers all 5 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
Boneless chicken breast150 g
Bread · vegetarian80 g
Cans & dry goods
Chickpeas, canned · drained150 g
Chopped tomatoes, canned400 g
Pasta · dry, egg-free80 g
Smooth peanut butter25 g
Tuna, canned · drained100 g
Wheat noodles · dry, egg-free80 g
White beans, canned · drained120 g
White long-grain rice · dry120 g
Produce
Broccoli florets150 g
Carrot80 g
Fresh spinach210 g
Garlic · peeled25 g
Lemon juice35 ml
Mushrooms150 g
Onion100 g
Seasonings
Black pepper0.375 tsp
Ground cumin0.5 tsp
Olive oil45 ml
Salt1 tsp
Soy sauce15 ml
What if you skip the tuna pasta?
Remove 80 g dry pasta, 100 g drained tuna, 200 g canned tomatoes, 50 g spinach, 50 g onion, 5 g garlic, 10 ml olive oil, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.125 tsp black pepper from this shopping list. Keep the amounts needed by the remaining dinners. The interactive planner does this recalculation for its own editable plans; this article is a fixed example.
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 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.
DINNER 2 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 30 MINUTES
Lemon chicken & broccoli rice
A bright, no-fuss one-person plate.
Ingredients for one
Boneless chicken breast150 g
Broccoli florets150 g
White long-grain rice · dry60 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Lemon juice15 ml
Olive oil10 ml
Salt0.25 tsp
Black pepper0.125 tsp
Method
Rinse the rice. Put it in a small saucepan with 120 ml water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over very low heat for 12–15 minutes until absorbed. Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes. Follow the packet if its instructions differ.
Rinse and cut the broccoli into small florets; finely chop the garlic. On a separate board, cut the chicken into 2 cm pieces. Wash your hands and clean utensils and surfaces after handling raw chicken.
Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the pieces. Add the broccoli, garlic and 45 ml water; cover and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring once.
Check the thickest chicken pieces with a food thermometer: they must reach 74°C / 165°F. Continue cooking if needed, and make sure the broccoli is tender. Stir in the lemon juice, fluff the rice and serve.
DINNER 3 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 20 MINUTES
Peanut noodles & greens
A silky sauce, a little crunch.
Ingredients for one
Wheat noodles · dry, egg-free80 g
Smooth peanut butter25 g
Fresh spinach60 g
Carrot80 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Soy sauce15 ml
Lemon juice10 ml
Olive oil5 ml
Method
Rinse the spinach and carrot. Cut the carrot into thin matchsticks and finely chop the garlic. Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce and lemon juice with 30 ml warm water in a bowl.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to their packet instructions. Reserve a little cooking water, then drain.
Meanwhile, warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir-fry the carrot for 4–5 minutes, adding a splash of water if needed. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the spinach until wilted.
Add the drained noodles and peanut sauce. Toss over low heat for 1–2 minutes until hot. Add a spoonful of reserved water at a time if the sauce is too thick. Serve immediately.
DINNER 4 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 25 MINUTES
Garlicky mushroom & bean rice
Earthy mushrooms, bright lemon.
Ingredients for one
White long-grain rice · dry60 g
Mushrooms150 g
White beans, canned · drained120 g
Fresh spinach50 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Lemon juice10 ml
Olive oil10 ml
Salt0.25 tsp
Black pepper0.125 tsp
Method
Rinse the rice. Put it in a small saucepan with 120 ml water, bring to a boil, cover and cook on very low heat for 12–15 minutes until absorbed. Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes. Follow the rice packet instead if its instructions differ.
Meanwhile, wipe and slice the mushrooms, finely chop the garlic and rinse the spinach. Drain and rinse the beans, then weigh the drained amount.
Warm the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add the garlic for 30 seconds.
Add the beans, spinach, salt, pepper and 30 ml water. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the spinach wilts and the beans are piping hot. Stir in the cooked rice and lemon juice. Heat through and serve.
DINNER 5 / ONE SERVING / ABOUT 20 MINUTES
Tomato & tuna pantry pasta
A dependable cupboard dinner.
Ingredients for one
Pasta · dry, egg-free80 g
Tuna, canned · drained100 g
Chopped tomatoes, canned200 g
Fresh spinach50 g
Onion50 g
Garlic · peeled5 g
Olive oil10 ml
Salt0.25 tsp
Black pepper0.125 tsp
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to its packet instructions, reserving a little cooking water before draining.
Meanwhile, dice the onion, finely chop the garlic and rinse the spinach. Drain the tuna and weigh the drained amount.
Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 7–8 minutes.
Stir in the tuna and spinach for 2–3 minutes until the spinach wilts and the sauce is piping hot. Toss in the drained pasta. Loosen with a spoonful of reserved cooking water if needed, and serve.
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.