Vegetarian cooking for one does not have to mean dividing a family recipe or making the same bowl every night. These five dinners use chickpeas, white beans, peanut butter and eggs in different ways, with portions written for one person.
Original, edited recipes from One Good Plate. Recipes have not been kitchen-tested; cooking times are estimates.
Variety without five unrelated shopping trips
The menu moves from a saucy coconut chickpea curry to peanut noodles, a golden potato and egg skillet, lemony beans on toast and mushroom and bean rice. The techniques change too: simmer a curry, toss noodles, brown potatoes, mash a few beans and sauté mushrooms. Every dinner has its own complete method below.
White beans appear in the toast and mushroom rice, for a combined 300 g drained weight. Curry and mushroom rice together use 120 g dry rice. All five dinners use spinach, for a total of 280 g. These shared ingredients simplify the list without requiring you to cook an extra batch first.
Here, vegetarian means no meat or fish; eggs and dairy are allowed. The potato skillet includes eggs, and the listed noodles are egg-free wheat noodles. Read labels on bread, sauces and other packaged foods. This is not a vegan menu or an allergy-filtered menu: the peanut noodles include peanuts, soy and wheat.
This is a dinner-planning example, not a complete nutritional prescription. It does not calculate calories, nutrient targets or personal dietary suitability.
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
Bread · vegetarian100 g
Egg2 eggs
Cans & dry goods
Chickpeas, canned · drained140 g
Chopped tomatoes, canned100 g
Coconut milk100 ml
Smooth peanut butter25 g
Wheat noodles · dry, egg-free80 g
White beans, canned · drained300 g
White long-grain rice · dry120 g
Produce
Carrot80 g
Fresh spinach280 g
Garlic · peeled15 g
Lemon juice35 ml
Mushrooms150 g
Onion100 g
Potato250 g
Seasonings
Black pepper0.375 tsp
Curry powder1 tsp
Olive oil40 ml
Salt1 tsp
Soy sauce15 ml
Choose a preference before making an editable plan
In the free planner, select Vegetarian and then build a new plan. Every generated or swapped dinner will come from the vegetarian collection. The planner starts a new selection rather than automatically loading this article’s menu. Removing a dinner recalculates the whole-plan shopping list, and a changed ingredient quantity clears its “have it” tick.
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 25 MINUTES
Coconut chickpea curry
Your small pot of comfort.
Ingredients for one
Chickpeas, canned · drained140 g
Coconut milk100 ml
Chopped tomatoes, canned100 g
Fresh spinach50 g
Onion50 g
White long-grain rice · dry60 g
Olive oil5 ml
Curry powder1 tsp
Salt0.25 tsp
Method
Rinse the rice and put it in a small saucepan with 120 ml water. Bring to a boil, cover and turn to very low heat. Cook for 12–15 minutes until the water is absorbed, then turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. If the rice packet gives different water or cooking instructions, follow it.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chickpeas and weigh the drained amount. Dice the onion and rinse the spinach. Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat and soften the onion for 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas and salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring; add a little water if the sauce gets too thick.
Stir in the spinach and cook for 1–2 minutes until wilted and the curry is piping hot. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the curry.
DINNER 2 / 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 3 / 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 4 / 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 5 / 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.
WHEN YOUR WEEK CHANGES
Make a plan you can change.
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