The 5 Best Cookbooks for Cooking for One

Let’s be honest: If you live alone or primarily cook for yourself, scaling down recipes is a familiar ritual. Most recipes yield a minimum of four servings, if not six. And leftovers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, especially after multiple days on repeat. Because of this, solo cooking can feel uninspiring and just plain hard, leaving you to lean on takeout and/or snack dinners more often than you’d probably like.

The good news is that you’re hardly alone—the share of one-person households more than tripled between 1940 and 2020—and there’s a slew of smart cookbooks that speak to this lifestyle. These five titles are a celebration of the single cook, proving that it’s not only possible to cook well for yourself, but it can be a true joy. Think of it as one of the best ways to practice a little self-care.

This vibrant cookbook by writer and pastry chef Klancy Miller puts the fun back into solo cooking. Miller is an enthusiastic cook-for-one who shares warm encouragement: Turn on your favorite playlist, light some candles, and cook up something simple yet special for yourself. The 100 easy and approachable recipes span breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert—think Tahitian Noodle Sandwich and Milk Chocolate Sorbet—plus most come together in under 30 minutes. And for the nights when you do end up inviting a few people over, there’s also a chapter on entertaining friends.

Cooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking for Yourself

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Peter Kim’s Instant Ramen Kitchen is a love letter to instant ramen, perfect for busy nights. Featuring over 40 recipes, all of which use a single packet of ramen for a single serving, the book turns the iconic comfort food into something worth setting the dinner table for. Each iteration gains inspiration from around the world—like Frijoles de la Olla Ramen (Mexican Stewed Beans) and Beef Stroganoff Ramen—but still calls for minimal ingredients and time. Instant Ramen Kitchen also includes a guide to different ramen varieties and flavor profiles, so you can shop smart and stock your pantry for success.

Instant Ramen Kitchen: 40+ Delicious Recipes That Go Beyond the Packet

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Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters contestant Anita Lo approaches solo cooking from a unique angle: As a Michelin-starred chef, she’s had to prepare meals for herself late at night post-restaurant-shift for years. In turn, she’s learned to embrace solo cooking—and in Solo, she teaches you what she’s learned. The 101 recipes are chef-smart without being pretentious or complicated. There’s Gnocchi with Mortadella, Peas, and Pistachios; Thai White Curry with Chicken; and a comforting Salted Butterscotch Pie and Fruit Crumble. There’s also a chapter filled with basics, like Stir-Fried Greens with Garlic, that can fit into any meal.

Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One

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This cookbook by the team at America’s Test Kitchen is designed for cooking for yourself, using tools and ingredients you already have on hand. It’s speckled with nuggets of wisdom, like a “Kitchen Improv” box to offer clever riffs depending on ingredients you have on hand, rollover dinner ideas to make use of any leftovers, and bonuses like a pantry check-list, nutritional information, and an entire chapter of one-pan dishes. With recipes that span from classic, like Chicken Cacciatore, to contemporary, like Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon With Black-Eyed Peas and Walnuts, there’s something for everyone.

Cooking for One: Scaled Recipes, No-Waste Solutions, and Time-Saving Tips

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Food editor Margaret Eby’s encouraging book meets you exactly where you’re at. Each chapter focuses on your energy level: Can’t be bothered to do more than open a jar of something? Turn tomato sauce into tomato soup. Have way too many leftovers to deal with? Use them to make a casserole that feels entirely new (which you can enjoy right away or freeze for another day). You Gotta Eat is more of a roadmap to solo cooking than a full-fledged recipe book, so you’re left with real-life takeaways you can apply to everyday meals.

You Gotta Eat: Real-Life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Feels Impossible

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