At one time, even though there were just three of us, I was in a stage of life where we participated in a number of meals with neighbors and friends, so I was use to cooking for a crowd. In my current stage, I am only cooking for my husband and me. Maybe you’re in the same situation, and it’s just you and your partner now.
Maybe you’ve always lived alone. If that is true, you know that cooking for two (or one) calls for a different rhythm.
Just because the portions you are preparing are smaller doesn’t mean the joy of preparing and eating your meals disappears. This season of life might be the perfect time to rediscover the comfort, ease, and even creativity that comes with small-batch cooking. No stress. No waste. Just good food made with care.
Why Even Bother?
You may ask yourself, “Why even bother?” It’s so easy to grab takeout on the way home or toss a frozen dinner in the microwave. I’ve seen it plenty—cart after cart at the grocery store loaded with prepackaged meals. But have you read the ingredients on those labels?
You’re not eating “more” food—you’re eating more additives. More sodium, more preservatives, more things your body doesn’t need or want.
When you cook at home, you control what goes in. You can choose fresh, whole ingredients and skip the artificial stuff. Let’s be serious, the purpose of eating is to fuel our bodies. You can build meals around real vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and whole grains. That’s food your body recognizes and uses.
As well, your meals tend to have more flavor since you are using homemade ingredients to make a healthy meal.
Have you ever looked at a copycat recipe for one of your favorite restaurant meals? Odds are good that you will be beyond amazed at the ingredients that go into it to make the food “restaurant quality.”
If you’re used to eating a lot of takeout, you might wonder if home cooking takes some getting used to. Does it require an acquired taste?
Honestly, I can’t say. I’ve always preferred home-cooked meals. There’s something about them that just feels right.
When my parents were still living, I loved “going home.” My dad would cook all my favorite meals while I was there—simple, delicious, and full of love. To me, that was perfect.
Small Batches, Big Comfort
Meals don’t have to be elaborate productions. Some days I don’t feel like spending a lot of time fussing in the kitchen!
A few of our favorites include:
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
This one’s a classic—and a go-to for us, especially on Fridays during Lent. You can easily make a batch of tomato soup in your slow cooker, then just whip up a grilled cheese when you’re ready to eat. Cozy and comforting.
Baked Potatoes With Your Favorite Toppings
We do this pretty often, actually. Most of the ingredients—like sour cream, onions, and shredded cheese—are already in the house. And two potatoes? Still one of the most affordable meal starters around.
Scrambled Eggs With Toast
I call my husband “the egg man” because he makes awesome scrambled eggs. It doesn’t take long, and even though the price of eggs has gone up, it’s still a relatively inexpensive meal. Sometimes we add healthy “fried” potatoes and onions or a little breakfast meat. We both really like turkey sausage.
Pasta with Butter, Garlic, and a Sprinkle of Parmesan
Simple and satisfying. Sometimes we skip the Parmesan and use a mizithra and Romano cheese blend from Old Spaghetti Factory instead. It’s a fun twist and adds great flavor.
Best of all, none of these meals take much prep—or money.
Leftovers
My husband and I actually look forward to our leftovers! Some meals that I make—like the cowboy meatloaf recipe I shared a few weeks ago—naturally feed more than two people.
We’ll often eat the same meal again the next day. It doesn’t take long to warm up, and honestly, some recipes taste even better the second time around.
We also freeze leftovers in small glass containers. It’s such a time-saver to pull one out a week or two later and have a homemade meal ready with zero effort. Just heat and enjoy!
Tip: We’ve even started labeling our containers with the date and what’s inside. It keeps things organized and helps avoid mystery meals at the back of the freezer!
Bring Back the Table
When our son was still eating dinner with us—well into his teens—we always sat at the table. Somewhere along the way, that habit faded, and we started eating in front of the TV instead.
It didn’t take long to realize: it’s not ideal. Balancing plates on our laps, spilling food on the floor or our clothes—it’s messy and honestly just not a great habit.
There’s something grounding about sitting at the table and truly enjoying your meal. Not a fan of silence—or the sound of your partner chewing? Easy fix: play some music in the background. Create a little atmosphere.
And if you’ve got nice china or vintage dishes collecting dust in the cabinet, use them! Don’t save the good stuff for company. This is your life. Make it lovely.
Stocking a Small-but-Mighty Pantry
When you’re cooking for two or one, a well-stocked pantry is your secret weapon. You don’t need a walk-in pantry full of bulk bags and gallon jars—just a small, thoughtful collection of ingredients you actually use. A stocked pantry gives you flexibility, peace of mind, and meals without the hassle.
Can’t get to the store? I usually plan plan at least one meal a week using only what I have in the pantry. That way, I can skip a grocery trip when I just don’t feel like leaving the house.
Honestly, I don’t love shopping crowds. I live in a touristy area, and the stores can be packed with entire families chatting in the middle of the aisles. It’s loud, it’s busy—and it makes me appreciate my pantry even more!
Here are a few items I always keep on hand:
- Dried pasta
- Rice
- Canned beans and tomatoes
- Canned vegetables
- Chicken or vegetable broth
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder and onion powder
- Frozen vegetables
- Eggs and shredded cheese
- Herbs and spices: thyme, basil, paprika, chili flakes
- Crackers
With just these basics, you can make dozens of quick meals without a grocery trip.
A Few Pantry Recipes
Pantry Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large white onion sliced
- 2 800 ml cans whole or diced tomatoes or 15-20 whole fresh tomatoes chopped
- 4 cups broth of your choice
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
- Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
To make a simple and cozy tomato soup, start by warming a bit of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté them until they turn fragrant and begin to caramelize slightly, about four to five minutes. Stir in some minced garlic and your favorite dried or fresh herbs—like thyme or basil—and let them cook for another minute to bring out their flavor.
Next, pour in canned or fresh chopped tomatoes along with vegetable or chicken broth. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot, letting the soup simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Once the flavors have melded, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and remove it from the heat.
Carefully transfer the soup to a high-speed blender and blend until the texture is smooth and creamy. An immersion blender works as well. Pour into bowls and top with fresh thyme, a swirl of cream, croutons, or any other garnish you love.
Snack Plate Lunches
Making a snack plate can be both fun and practical, especially if you’re home alone and not in the mood to cook. I like to put these together for lunch—they’re quick, colorful, and a little playful. No stove required!
Start by picking a few simple ingredients from each category. For protein, try things like sliced cheese, canned beans, shredded leftover chicken, tuna, or hard-cooked eggs. Add in fresh veggies—thinly sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, snap peas, or cherry tomatoes cut in half. For fruit, anything goes: grapes, raisins, berries, melon slices, or clementine wedges are all great choices. Then include a carb or two—crackers, sliced bread, or even Snap Pea Crisps. Finish it off with a little dip like hummus, guacamole, ranch, or salsa.
Putting it all together is easy. Today’s snack plate might be sliced cheese, leftover chicken cut into strips, bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, crackers, a handful of grapes, and a scoop of hummus. It fills me up and, quite frankly, makes me feel like a little kid getting to eat snacks for a meal. And best of all, it all came from my pantry.
One last recipe for today…
Pesto Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry pasta
- ¼ cup pesto
- 4 ounces julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounces canned chicken, drained
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
To make this flavorful chicken pesto pasta, begin by cooking your favorite pasta—about 8 ounces of dry noodles—according to the package directions until al dente. Before you drain the pasta, scoop out about half a cup of the cooking water and set it aside for later.
In a large pan or pot over medium heat, pour in about two tablespoons of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Add the tomatoes (cut into thin strips), along with the pesto and minced garlic. Let that cook for about a minute, stirring gently to bring out the flavor.
Next, add the cooked pasta, the reserved pasta water, and the drained canned chicken to the pot. Stir everything together until the ingredients are well mixed and evenly coated with the pesto mixture. Let it all heat through for another minute or two.
Once it’s warmed and fragrant, remove the pot from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve it up, and enjoy a quick, savory meal that tastes like it took a lot more effort than it did!
In Closing: A Season to Savor
This quieter chapter in the kitchen isn’t lonely—it’s lovely. You get to make what you want, when you want, without waste or stress. You can build new rhythms, enjoy old favorites, and maybe even fall in love with your kitchen all over again.
So go ahead—roast that one sweet potato. Stir up a pot of soup just for you. Pour a glass of something bubbly and enjoy every bite.
Because cooking for two—or one—is still worth celebrating.
Bonus Content
At the end of most of my posts, I’ll include links to other articles I’ve written that relate to this topic (if available), so you can explore more helpful tips and ideas.
You’ll also find affiliate links for Amazon or Botanical Interests to help you find the tools and seeds you need.
Thimble & Tansy participates in several affiliate marketing programs. This means that if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help support the maintenance of the blog and allow us to continue creating content for our readers.
To make your homemade journey even more rewarding, I’ll share a freebie or two each month, whether it’s a printable guide, checklist, or another resource to keep you inspired.
Finally, I’ll list the resources I used to create this blog for those who want to learn more.
Other Articles I’ve Written
Here’s a link to the Cowboy Meatloaf and Potato Casserole recipe I mentioned in this post: Boobs, Books, and a Busted Winter Garden: March in a Nutshell
Affiliate Links
- Robin Donovan: 5-Ingredient Cooking for Two: 100+ Recipes Portioned for Pairs
- Marie W. Lawrence: Cooking for Two: Comfort Food Recipes for Couples, Roommates, or Friends
Freebie
On the website, Webstaurant Store, you can enter the details of a recipe meant for a crowd, and it will scale it down to the number of servings you need. Here’s the link for the Recipe Converter.
Additional Resources
- 101 Cooking for Two and Small Households: Recipes
- Piedmont Healthcare: How to Cook for Just One or Two People
- University of Illinois Extension: Cooking for One or Two