Cheap Meals for One Person: Budget Recipes and a Weekly Plan

Rice, lentils, eggs, canned beans and a head of cabbage cover most cheap meals for one person. The catch is that the cheapest food is the food you actually finish.

A family pack of chicken looks like a bargain until half of it goes grey in the fridge. So the recipes below share ingredients on purpose. You get eight of them, a seven-day plan and one shopping list that feeds the whole week.

What to do first: Stock the staples (rice, oats, pasta, lentils, canned beans, canned tomatoes, eggs, and cabbage or frozen vegetables), then pick recipes that reuse them. Cook twice a week in big batches and split everything into single portions. A small rice cooker, an 8- or 10-inch skillet, a quarter sheet pan and decent containers handle almost all of it, and most meals come in at a few dollars a serving.

Three Habits That Keep a Solo Kitchen Cheap

For solo cooks, spoiled leftovers cost more than any price difference at the store. These three habits close that gap:

• Shared ingredients. One head of cabbage goes into fried rice, noodles and bowls.
• Batch cooking. Four portions take about the same time and energy as one.
• Cheap protein. Eggs, beans, lentils and chicken thighs give the most protein for the least money.

If your kitchen is not set up for this yet, start with our guide on how to stock a small kitchen for solo cooking. It covers the basics you need before any recipe.

The Cheap Staples That Make Solo Meals Easy

Most budget meals come from the same short list. Keep these on hand and you can always make dinner without a trip to the store.

Staple	Why it is cheap	Shelf life	What it turns into
Long-grain rice	Pennies per serving, keeps for months	1 year or more, sealed	Bowls, fried rice, burritos
Rolled oats	Very low cost per bowl	1 year, sealed	Breakfast, overnight oats
Dried lentils	Cheaper than meat, no soaking	1 year, sealed	Soup, lentil rice
Canned beans	Ready protein, no cooking	2 years or more	Bowls, pasta, tacos
Canned diced tomatoes	Sauce base for pennies	1 to 2 years	Pasta, soup, baked eggs
Dry pasta	Filling and quick	1 to 2 years	Pasta night, cold lunches
Eggs	Cheapest fresh protein	3 to 5 weeks, fridge	Breakfast, fried rice, toppings
Cabbage	Lasts much longer than lettuce	2 weeks or more, fridge	Stir-fry, slaw, soup
Onions and garlic	Flavor base for everything	Several weeks, cool and dark	Every savory recipe
Frozen mixed vegetables	No waste, already cut	Months at 0°F	Fried rice, soup, bowls
Peanut butter and soy sauce	Big flavor, small amounts	Months	Noodles, sauces

Store dry goods in airtight containers so they stay fresh and keep pests out. A set like the Pyrex Freshlock 10-Pack has tempered glass bodies and locking lids that nest when empty. We cover more options in our guide to the best airtight food storage containers. If you have no pantry at all, our guide to organizing a small kitchen with no pantry shows where to put it all.

The Few Tools That Make Cheap Cooking Easy

You do not need a full kitchen to eat cheaply. You need a few tools that cook big batches of cheap food with little effort.

A Small Rice Cooker

Rice is the backbone of a budget kitchen, and a rice cooker cooks it while you do something else. It switches to warm when done.

For one person, the Aroma ARC-954SBD Professional 4-Cup Rice Cooker is our budget pick. It has a small footprint and a steam tray, so you can steam vegetables or a piece of fish over the rice. If you can spend more, the Zojirushi NS-LGC05 3-Cup Micom Rice Cooker uses a microchip to adjust heat. That gives it settings for brown rice, oatmeal and mixed grains, which are cheap staples too.

Our guide on how to cook rice in a rice cooker covers water ratios. If you eat a lot of brown rice, read our best rice cooker for brown rice picks.

One Good Small Skillet

A single skillet handles eggs, fried rice, quesadillas and seared chicken. For one person, an 8- to 10-inch pan is the right size. Anything bigger takes longer to heat and wastes energy.

The Lodge 8-Inch Cast Iron Skillet comes pre-seasoned, costs little and will outlast you. It holds two eggs or one chicken thigh with room to spare. If you want an easy-release pan for eggs and rice, the Tramontina Professional 10-Inch Nonstick Fry Pan is a heavy aluminum pan that heats evenly and is a fair price. Read our Lodge cast iron skillet review or best nonstick pans guide to choose between them.

A Quarter Sheet Pan

Sheet pan dinners are the easiest budget meals there are: chop, toss with oil, roast, and wash one pan.

A full-size half sheet is too big for one person and does not fit most small ovens. The Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Quarter Sheet is about 9 by 13 inches. That holds two chicken thighs and a pile of vegetables, and it fits in many larger toaster ovens. If you batch-cook for the whole week in a full oven, the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half Sheet gives you double the space. Check your oven first with our guide to compact baking sheet and pan sizes.

A Small Saucepan or a Mini Pressure Cooker

You need one pot for pasta, soup and lentils. The Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad 2-Quart Saucepan is the right size for one or two servings of pasta or soup. It has a lid and works on gas, electric and induction.

If you want to cook dried beans, which are cheaper than canned, the Instant Pot Duo Mini 3-Quart is worth the counter space. A pressure cooker cooks food under steam pressure, so dried black beans are done in under an hour with no soaking. Three quarts is enough for four to six portions of soup or beans. Run it on an open counter, not under upper cabinets, because the steam release can damage the wood. Our guide to what an Instant Pot is explains the basics.

For heavier soups and stews, the Lodge 3-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven holds heat well and goes from stove to oven. It is a nice upgrade, not a must. For the full list of pot sizes, see best cookware sizes for cooking for one.

A Decent Knife

Whole vegetables cost less than pre-cut ones, but only with a sharp knife. The Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-Inch Chef’s Knife is a budget knife that cuts like a pricier one. Its textured handle stays put even with wet hands.

Containers for Single Portions

Containers turn one big batch into a week of meals. For lunches, the PrepNaturals Glass Meal Prep Containers, 2-Compartment hold 29 ounces each, with a divider to keep rice apart from saucy beans. They go in the microwave and dishwasher.

For soup, beans and sauce, the Plastic Deli Containers with Lids, 90 Sets are the cheapest option. They come in 8, 16 and 32 ounces, and one lid fits all three sizes. They stack in the freezer and you will not mind if one gets lost.

To freeze soup in neat blocks, the Souper Cubes 1-Cup Freezer Tray makes four 1-cup portions with a lid. Pop out the frozen blocks, bag them and refill the tray. Our guide to organizing food containers in a small kitchen keeps all of this from taking over a cabinet.

For more ideas, see our list of small kitchen gadgets worth buying when you cook for one and best small kitchen appliances for cooking for one.

Eight Cheap Recipes for One Person

These are the eight recipes in our weekly plan. Each one uses ingredients from the shared shopping list below. Most take 30 minutes or less of active cooking.

1. Overnight Oats (Breakfast)

Makes 1 serving. Make three or four jars at once.

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup milk or water
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (optional)
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• Pinch of cinnamon

1. Stir the oats, milk, yogurt and cinnamon in a jar or 16-ounce deli container.
2. Top with the peanut butter and banana.
3. Cover and chill overnight. Eat cold, or warm it for 1 minute in the microwave.

The jars keep 4 days in the fridge. Add the banana the morning you eat it.

2. Rice, Black Bean and Egg Bowl

Makes 1 serving. This is our go-to cheap dinner and the base for many lunches.

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 teaspoon oil
• Salt, cumin, hot sauce

1. Warm the beans in a small pan with a pinch of cumin and salt and a splash of water.
2. Push the beans aside and add the cabbage. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it softens.
3. Fry the egg in the oil in the same pan.
4. Pile the rice, beans and cabbage in a bowl and top with the egg and hot sauce.

Save the other half of the beans in a small container for burritos later in the week.

3. Egg Fried Rice

Makes 1 serving. Day-old rice works best because it is drier.

• 1 1/2 cups cold cooked rice
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 green onion or 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oil

1. Heat the oil in your skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and frozen vegetables. Cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the rice and break up the clumps. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until hot.
4. Push the rice aside, crack in the eggs and scramble them. Stir everything together.
5. Add the soy sauce, toss and serve.

Cooked rice should go into the fridge within 2 hours, like any cooked food. Spread it in a shallow container so it cools fast.

4. Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

Makes 2 servings. Eat one now and pack one for lunch.

• 2 bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika

1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Toss the potatoes, carrots and onion with 1 tablespoon oil and seasoning on a quarter sheet pan.
3. Rub the chicken with the rest of the oil and seasoning. Set it on top of the vegetables, skin up.
4. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F inside and the potatoes are brown.

Thighs cost less than breasts and reheat well. Our guide to how long chicken lasts in the fridge covers storage. Keep raw chicken on the bottom shelf in a sealed container so it cannot drip on anything.

5. Red Lentil Soup

Makes 4 servings. This is the freezer workhorse.

• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 cups water or broth
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin, salt to taste

1. Cook the onion and carrots in the oil in a saucepan for 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cumin. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes and water. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils fall apart.
4. Salt to taste. Eat one bowl and portion the rest.

In an Instant Pot Mini, cook the onion on Saute, add everything else and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Let the pressure drop on its own. Freeze two portions in Souper Cubes or deli containers.

6. Pasta With Tomatoes and White Beans

Makes 2 servings.

• 4 ounces dry pasta
• 1 can diced tomatoes (or the other half of a can)
• 1/2 can white beans or chickpeas, rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Red pepper flakes, salt, grated cheese

1. Boil the pasta in salted water in your saucepan.
2. While it cooks, warm the oil and garlic in your skillet for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and beans. Simmer for 8 minutes.
4. Drain the pasta, saving a splash of the water. Toss the pasta into the sauce with the water.
5. Top with cheese and pepper flakes.

7. Peanut Noodles With Cabbage

Makes 1 serving. A cheap takeout swap.

• 3 ounces dry spaghetti or ramen noodles (skip the flavor packet)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon vinegar and a pinch of sugar
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 egg (optional)

1. Cook the noodles. Add the cabbage to the pot for the last minute.
2. Stir the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar with 2 tablespoons hot noodle water.
3. Drain the noodles and cabbage. Toss with the sauce.
4. Top with a fried or boiled egg.

8. Bean and Cheese Burritos

Makes 4 burritos. Freeze two for busy nights.

• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/2 can black beans, mashed
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Salt, cumin, hot sauce

1. Mash the beans with cumin and salt.
2. Spread beans on each tortilla. Add rice and cheese.
3. Roll tightly, folding in the ends.
4. Toast seam-side down in your skillet for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

To freeze, wrap each cooled burrito in foil and bag them. Reheat from frozen to 165°F. Our easy meal prep ideas for one person has more make-ahead recipes like this.

One Shopping List for the Whole Week

This list covers all eight recipes for seven days. Many items outlast the week, so week two costs less.

Section	What to buy	Used in
Grains	Rice (2 lb bag), rolled oats, 1 lb pasta, flour tortillas	Bowls, fried rice, oats, pasta, burritos
Beans and lentils	1 lb red lentils, 2 cans black beans, 1 can white beans	Bowls, burritos, soup, pasta
Cans and jars	2 cans diced tomatoes, peanut butter, soy sauce	Soup, pasta, noodles, oats
Fresh produce	Small cabbage, bag of onions, garlic, 1 lb carrots, 2 to 3 potatoes, bananas	Almost everything
Freezer	1 bag mixed vegetables	Fried rice, soup, bowls
Dairy and eggs	1 dozen eggs, milk, small yogurt, block of cheese	Breakfast, toppings, burritos
Meat	About 1 lb bone-in chicken thighs	Sheet pan dinner

Keep fresh produce in good shape with something like the Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver. Its vented lid controls airflow, and a tray lifts food off the moisture at the bottom. Store potatoes and onions apart, in a cool dark spot. Our guide on how long potatoes last explains why.

A Weekly Meal Plan for One Person

Here is how the recipes fit together across seven days. Sunday is the main cooking day. Wednesday is a short top-up session.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Eggs and toast	Rice and black bean bowl	Sheet pan chicken and potatoes
Monday	Overnight oats	Leftover chicken and potatoes	Red lentil soup
Tuesday	Overnight oats	Lentil soup	Egg fried rice
Wednesday	Overnight oats	Rice and black bean bowl	Pasta with tomatoes and white beans
Thursday	Overnight oats	Leftover pasta	Peanut noodles with cabbage
Friday	Eggs and toast	Lentil soup (from the freezer)	Bean and cheese burritos
Saturday	Oats or eggs	Burrito (from the freezer or fridge)	Rice bowl with whatever is left

Sunday Prep (About 90 Minutes)

1. Start a pot of rice in the rice cooker. Cook 1 1/2 cups dry rice for the week.
2. Make the sheet pan chicken and potatoes.
3. While it roasts, make the lentil soup on the stove or in the Instant Pot Mini.
4. Mix three jars of overnight oats.
5. Cool everything, then portion it: two soups in the fridge, two in the freezer, one chicken lunch, rice in a shallow container.

Wednesday Top-Up (About 30 Minutes)

Make the pasta and pack the second serving for Thursday lunch. Mix two more jars of oats, and plan Saturday around whatever needs using up.

Cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in a fridge set to 40°F or below. Anything you will not eat by then goes in the freezer on day one or two, not day four. Our guide to organizing a small fridge helps you see every container so nothing gets lost in the back.

Can You Eat for 50 Dollars a Week as a Single Person?

In many parts of the country, yes, but only if you cook almost every meal. The plan above is built for that kind of budget. Costs depend a lot on where you live and where you shop.

Here is what makes a tight weekly budget work:

• Cook from staples, not kits. Rice, oats, lentils and beans cost a fraction of frozen meals.
• Make meat a side. One pack of chicken thighs stretches across two or three meals.
• Buy store brands of beans, tomatoes, oats and pasta. It is usually the same food for less.
• Skip drinks and snacks. Soda, chips and coffee drinks eat a solo budget faster than dinner does.

If you live in a high-cost city, the same plan will cost more. It will still cost far less than eating out.

What Is the Cheapest Healthy Meal to Cook for One?

Our answer is the rice, black bean and egg bowl. It gives you protein from the beans and egg, fiber from the beans and cabbage, and steady energy from the rice. It costs very little per bowl and takes about 20 minutes.

Red lentil soup is a close second. Lentils are high in protein and fiber, cook without soaking, and freeze well. A bowl of soup with a slice of toast is a full meal.

To make any cheap meal healthier, add a handful of frozen vegetables to everything, use brown rice some nights, and rinse canned beans to wash off some of the salt.

A boiled egg is also one of the cheapest healthy snacks. The Dash Rapid Egg Cooker cooks up to six eggs with a small splash of water and shuts off on its own. Make a batch on Sunday for snacks and toppings all week. We compare more models in our best hard-boiled egg cooker guide.

How to Meal Plan on a Budget for One

Meal planning for one comes down to overlap: every ingredient should show up in at least two meals. This is the method behind our plan.

1. Start with what you have. Check the fridge, freezer and shelves first. Plan meals that use those items before they spoil.
2. Pick four or five recipes, not seven. Repeating meals is what makes cooking for one cheap. You will eat each recipe two or three times.
3. Make sure they share ingredients. If one recipe uses half a can of beans, plan another that uses the other half.
4. Write one list from the recipes. Group it by store section so you shop fast and skip the aisles you do not need.
5. Plan one big cook and one small cook. A main session on your day off and a short top-up midweek keeps food fresh.
6. Leave one “use it up” night. Fried rice, a rice bowl or an omelet will take any leftover vegetable.

If your cooking space is tight, plan meals around the burners and pans you have. Our guide on how to cook a full meal with only two burners shows how to time it.

Cheap Cooking Uses Less Energy Too

For one person, a rice cooker, mini pressure cooker or small air fryer usually costs less to run than heating a whole oven.

Put a lid on your saucepan, match the pan to the burner, and roast extra vegetables whenever the oven is already on.

If you want a small air fryer for crisp potatoes or reheating burritos, the Dash Tasti-Crisp 2.6-Quart Air Fryer is sized for one person. Run it on an open counter with several inches of air around it, never inside a cabinet. For more numbers, see our guide to the most energy-efficient small kitchen appliances and our tips to reduce kitchen energy use in a small apartment.

Cheap Swaps That Save Money Every Week

Small swaps add up fast when you cook for one. These are the ones we would make first.

Instead of	Buy this	Why it saves
Boneless chicken breasts	Bone-in chicken thighs	Lower price per pound, more flavor
Canned beans every week	Dried beans in a pressure cooker	Much cheaper per serving
Pre-cut vegetables	Whole vegetables and a sharp knife	You pay for the cutting
Bagged salad	Cabbage or carrots	Lasts weeks, not days
Pre-shredded cheese	A block of cheese	Cheaper and keeps longer
Instant oatmeal packets	A big tub of rolled oats	Same food, a fraction of the price

Spices turn cheap staples into meals you want to eat. Cumin, paprika, garlic powder, chili flakes and cinnamon cover every recipe in this guide. See our spice storage ideas for small kitchens to keep them where you can reach them.

Where Most People Go Wrong on a Solo Food Budget

These habits push a solo food bill up week after week.

• Buying for a family. The big pack looks cheaper per pound, but not if half of it spoils. Buy big only for things that keep, like rice, oats and frozen food.
• Cooking a new recipe every night. Seven different recipes means seven sets of ingredients. Repeat meals instead.
• Ignoring the freezer. Freeze portions on day one or two, while they are fresh. Food frozen on day four is already near its limit.
• Letting leftovers hide. If you cannot see it, you will not eat it. Use clear containers and keep them at eye level.
• Leaving food out to cool for hours. Get cooked food into the fridge within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. Spread hot food in shallow containers so it chills fast.

Keep your freezer at 0°F and label every container with the date. A strip of masking tape and a marker is all you need.

Budget Dinners for One When You Do Not Want to Cook

Plan for lazy nights, or you will order takeout.

• Freezer burritos. Reheat one from the freezer in a few minutes.
• Freezer soup. Pop a block of lentil soup into a pot or a microwave-safe bowl and heat it to 165°F.
• Eggs on toast. Two eggs and bread is a real meal in five minutes.
• Rice bowl from leftovers. Rice, any vegetable, an egg and soy sauce.

Keep two or three of these ready at all times. Our small kitchen ideas on a budget cover more ways to save in a small space.

Related Guides

• How to Stock a Small Kitchen for Solo Cooking
• Best Cookware Sizes for Cooking for One
• Easy Meal Prep Ideas for One Person in a Small Kitchen
• How Many Watts Does an Instant Pot Use?
• Best Air Fryers Under 100 Dollars
• How to Cook Sausages in the Oven
• Studio Apartment Kitchen Ideas

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the cheapest meals to cook for one person?

Rice and beans with an egg, lentil soup, pasta with canned tomatoes and white beans, egg fried rice and oatmeal are the cheapest. They use shelf-stable staples and come out to a few dollars a serving or less in most places.

Can a single person eat for 50 dollars a week?

In many areas, yes, if you cook almost every meal, build them on rice, beans, lentils, eggs, oats and seasonal vegetables, and use up everything you buy. It gets harder in high-cost cities or if you rely on meat, snacks and drinks.

What is the cheapest healthy meal to cook for one?

A bowl of rice, black beans, sauteed cabbage or frozen vegetables and an egg is hard to beat. It has protein, fiber and vegetables, cooks in about 20 minutes and costs very little per bowl.

How do you meal plan on a budget for one person?

Pick four or five recipes that share ingredients, write one shopping list from them, and cook two big batches on your day off. Eat one batch fresh, chill the next portions and freeze the rest in single servings.

What staples should a single person keep for cheap meals?

Keep rice, oats, pasta, dried lentils, canned beans, canned tomatoes, eggs, peanut butter, onions, garlic, frozen vegetables, soy sauce and a few spices. With those on hand, you can make a full meal without a special trip to the store.