Food

11 Of TikTok’s Best Dinner Recipes For One Person

Including a baked feta pasta recipe that won’t take up a massive casserole dish.

by Melanie Mignucci

Figuring out dinner for yourself can be, if not quite rocket science, then at least as difficult as getting a formula to work in Excel. What’s in my farmer’s market haul that’s about to go bad? How long does a veggie burger take to defrost? And what kind of dinner recipe can I make for one person that won’t leave me eating beans six meals in a row?

If you’re not the meal-prep type, the fact that most recipes are designed for family-sized portions is much less convenient than Ina Garten lets on. A recent survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Gilbert’s Craft Sausages found that 66% of respondents “always accidentally end up making enough food to feed a family” when they’re cooking for themselves, and over 60% say they don’t get around to eating the leftovers they took the time to refrigerate.

For people who enjoy cooking for themselves, but prefer to eat more than one kind of food every week, finding dinner recipes for one person can help bridge the gap. But where are you supposed to find recipes that use exactly half an avocado, kimchi, and a hunk of Manchego (or whatever else is left in your fridge)? TikTok cooking videos offer tons of inspiration for dishes you can whip up as is, or adapt to what you have in the pantry.

Here are 11 of TikTok’s best dinner recipes for one person.

1Spaghetti Pomodoro

The degree of ASMR in this video is off the charts, as is the level of food envy this easy spaghetti pomodoro recipe will inspire. TikToker @hwoo.lee often makes videos cooking for himself, so you can visit his page for more recipes like miso pork carbonara, ratatouille, or even a birria Crunchwrap Supreme.

2Spicy Tofu Noodles

The Korean Vegan is well known for her emotional TikToks about love and life, but also for her delicious vegan meals. This spicy tofu noodle dish uses gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, an assortment of veggies, and tofu for a dinner for one that comes together in less than a half hour.

3Protein and Rice Bowl

This dish is a great way to use up a pot of rice. Layer rice with thin, marinated, pan-seared protein (like chicken) and fridge pickles (like sauerkraut or kimchi), and you have dinner in less than 15 minutes.

4That Baked Feta Pasta

You know that viral baked feta and tomato pasta that most people made in a giant casserole dish? Yeah, this version is adapted for just one person, with exact measurements for a smaller portion.

5Egg Soufflé

Not as much effort as a quiche, more special than an omelette, this egg soufflé recipe for one person can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and can easily stay vegetarian or incorporate the protein of your choice.

6Cheesy Chicken Tacos

This TikTok will walk you through making four small tacos with cheesy chicken and pico de gallo. The video uses one of those fancy taco stands to toast the tortillas, but you can also fold them in your toaster to crisp them into your desired shape.

7Baked Mac & Cheese

You don’t need a giant dish to make baked mac and cheese for one person. This video explains how to scale down the ingredients to make just enough mac and cheese for yourself.

8Sushi Bake

Making a sushi bake is a super fun activity for a solo weeknight if you have some time on your hands. This creator is up front about how she eyeballed the ingredients, but with her helpful video, you can guesstimate what you need for your own bake.

9Smoked Herring & Potatoes

This TikTok helpfully shows exactly how many aromatics you need for this dish (two cloves of garlic and an eighth-ish of an onion, thank you very much). It’s also a clever way to use tinned fish, which on top of keeping well in your pantry, is also super sustainable.

10Restaurant-Style Salad

Want to use up all the veggies in your fridge? Try a big salad. This video explains tips and tricks restaurants use to make their salads delicious and not, you know, just something you threw in a bowl at the end of the day. You can follow the linked recipe or swap in your own vegetables according to your preference.

11Falafel

This falafel recipe uses just one can of chickpeas so you don’t have to have a ton of leftovers in your fridge (though you can certainly scale this up if you’d rather fry them in bulk). Pair with toasted pita bread, some veggies, and a little hot sauce, and that’s dinner for one.