Solo dining doesn't have to mean sad toast. Here are 29 cheap, easy meals you can make when you're cooking for one.
Cooking for one is genuinely trickier than it sounds. Either you make a portion big enough for four and eat the same meal for three days, or you use barely anything and end up hungry an hour later. And most recipes assume you have a full spice rack and a weekly shop budget to match — which is not very student.
These recipes are built around cheap, easy-to-find ingredients, keep washing up to a minimum, and most can be ready in under 30 minutes. Check out how to shop on a £20-a-week food budget if you want to stretch these even further, and make sure your uni food shopping list covers the staples these recipes rely on.
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Easy Student Meals for One
1. Tuna Sandwich
A student classic that needs no introduction. Mix a tin of tuna with mayo, season with black pepper, and pile between two slices of bread. Red onion and sweetcorn add crunch if you have them.
Bread
Tuna (tin)
Mayo
Black pepper
Red onion (optional)
Sweetcorn (optional)
2. BLT Wrap
Three ingredients, maximum impact. Cook bacon from scratch rather than buying pre-made — it's cheaper and tastes better. Use iceberg lettuce instead of bagged salad to save money. Add mayo, roll up, done.
Wrap
2-3 rashers bacon
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced lettuce
Mayo (optional)
3. Chicken and Avocado Wrap
Slice or pull cooked chicken, combine with avocado (smashed with lemon juice and red onion if you like), and wrap everything up with any salad you have. Cook raw chicken yourself — cheaper, and you control the flavour.
Wrap
Chicken
Avocado
Red onion (optional)
Lemon juice (optional)
4. Bolognese Sandwich
Got leftover bolognese and no pasta? Put it in bread. Even better in a toastie maker with some grated cheese on top.
Bolognese (leftover or from scratch)
Two slices of bread
Cheese (optional)
5. Eggy Noodles
The fastest thing on this list. Boil noodles, leave a little water in the pan, crack in an egg, mix until cooked. Season and eat. Two minutes, one pan.
Pack of noodles (Super Noodles work well)
1 egg
Black pepper
6. Jacket Potato
Rub a large potato in oil, stab it a few times, blast at 220°C for 20 minutes then turn to 190°C for 45-60 minutes until the skin is crisp. Top with whatever's in the fridge — beans, tuna mayo, bolognese, curry, cheese. Endlessly flexible. Prefer a faster method? Try an air fryer jacket potato instead.
1 large potato
Oil
Topping of choice (baked beans, tuna mayo, cheese, etc.)
7. One-Pan Tuna Pasta
Boil pasta, drain (save a little water), mix in tuna, sweetcorn, red onion, and soft cheese. All in one pan. Season and eat.
Pasta
Tin of tuna
Tin of sweetcorn
Red onion
Soft cheese
Salt and pepper
8. Pizza on Toast
Toast bread, spread with passata or marinara, add toppings and cheese, bake until the cheese is melted. About 10 minutes in the oven. Works in a toastie maker too.
1-2 slices bread
Passata/marinara
Cheese
Toppings of choice (pepperoni, mushrooms, tuna, etc.)
9. Leftovers Quesadilla
Great for using up last night's curry, bolognese, or pasta. Put leftovers and cheese between two wraps (or fold one in half), fry until crispy on both sides. 10-15 minutes and nothing goes to waste.
1-2 wraps
Leftovers (bolognese, curry, tuna pasta)
Cheese
Oil
10. One-Pan Breakfast Fry-Up
Get everything in one pan and fry it off in turn — eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding. Move things around so they cook evenly. Swap for vegan alternatives as needed.
Eggs
Bacon
Sausages
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Black pudding (or vegan versions of all)
11. Pizza Chips
Oven chips topped with pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings, baked until the chips are done. Add the toppings halfway through so nothing burns. Curly fries work especially well.
Oven chips
Pizza/pasta sauce
Cheese
Pizza toppings of choice
12. Microwave Fajitas
Chop veg and protein, add fajita seasoning, microwave in a covered bowl for ~10 minutes (stirring every couple of minutes). Serve in wraps with sour cream, salsa, avocado, and cheese. Low-carb option: skip the wraps.
Wraps
Chicken/beef strips (or meat-free)
Peppers
Onions
Fajita seasoning
Sour cream/salsa/cheese (optional)
13. BBQ Chicken Salad
Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce and cook until done (flat-batted chicken breast cooks more evenly). Chop salad ingredients alongside and combine. Works equally well with Quorn chicken pieces.
BBQ sauce
Chicken (or Quorn)
Lettuce
Tomato
Cucumber
Sweetcorn
14. Bangers and Mash
Cook sausages in the oven or pan, boil potatoes until soft, mash with butter and milk. Make gravy from granules (onion gravy recommended). Simple, filling, and genuinely comforting.
Sausages (meat or vegan)
Potatoes
Butter
Milk
Gravy granules
Salt and pepper
15. Slow Cooker Chicken
Season a chicken breast, thigh, or leg, place in the slow cooker with a thin layer of stock, and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Serve with rice, veg, or whatever you have. Virtually no effort involved.
Chicken
Chicken stock
Marinade/rub of choice (piri-piri, garlic herb, fajita mix, etc.)
Easy Vegetarian and Vegan Meals for One
16. Vegetarian Omelette
Heat oil in a pan, fry your veg, pour over beaten eggs (with milk and cheese if you like). Cook on low until set, finish under the grill or fold and cook both sides. Great for using up vegetables before they go off.
2 eggs
Vegetables of choice (onions, spinach, tomatoes)
Milk and cheese (optional)
17. Veggie Quesadilla
Same as the leftovers quesadilla (recipe 9) but with a vegetarian filling — leftover curry, bolognese, or just whatever veg you have fried off. Cheese binds it all together.
1-2 wraps
Vegetarian leftovers or fried veg
Cheese
18. Vegan Scrambled Eggs (Tofu Scramble)
Crumble firm tofu into a pan with oil on medium heat. Add nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic powder, a splash of plant milk, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Quicker than regular scrambled eggs. For more plant-based inspiration, check out these 26 quick & easy vegan and vegetarian student recipes.
Firm tofu
Nutritional yeast
Turmeric
Garlic powder
Plant milk
Salt and pepper
19. One-Pan Veggie Fry-Up
Same method as recipe 10 — everything in one pan, fried off together. Veggie sausages, eggs or tofu scramble, spinach, tomatoes, beans, veggie bacon.
Eggs or tofu
Veggie sausages
Spinach
Tomatoes
Baked beans
Veggie bacon
20. Veggie Stir-Fry
Fry your veg, add soy sauce, sweet chilli, teriyaki, or black bean sauce. Serve over noodles, rice, or even spaghetti. One of the most flexible recipes on this list. If you're a noodle fiend, don't miss these ramen toppings and upgrades for levelling up instant noodles too.
Noodles or rice
Vegetables of choice (broccoli, carrots, peppers, bean sprouts)
Stir-fry sauce
21. Hummus and Veggie Wrap
Spread hummus over a wrap, top with whatever veg or leftovers you have — salad, curry, smashed falafel. Roll up. Done.
Wrap
Hummus
Vegetables or leftover veg meal of choice
Falafel (optional)
22. Eggs and Soldiers
Bring water to a boil, lower room-temperature eggs in gently, time for 5 minutes (runny centre). Serve with buttered toast cut into strips. A childhood classic that holds up.
Eggs
Toast
Butter
23. Halloumi Salad
Fry halloumi until golden on both sides. While it's cooking, chop your salad. Combine, add dressing. Ready in under 15 minutes. Want it extra crispy with less oil? Try crispy air fryer halloumi.
Halloumi
Salad ingredients of choice (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, spinach, couscous)
Dressing
24. Chilli Con Carne in a Mug
Fry onion, garlic, butter, and spices in a microwaveable container for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, stock cube, and a couple of squares of dark chocolate (optional). Cover with pierced cling film and microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir, stand for 1 minute, then medium for 2 more minutes. Serve with sour cream and rice.
Small onion
Garlic
Butter
Chilli spice mix
Tinned tomatoes
Kidney beans
Veggie stock cube
Chocolate (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
25. Garlic Butter Gnocchi with Greens
Fry broccoli until crisp. Separately, cook onions until soft, add garlic, butter, lemon juice, and parmesan (or nutritional yeast). Boil gnocchi, drain (save a little water), mix everything together. Looks fancy, takes 15 minutes.
Gnocchi
Garlic
Lemon juice
Butter
Broccoli
Parmesan or nutritional yeast
26. Buddha Bowl
A fully customisable cold bowl of grains, protein, and vegetables. No cooking skill required — just assemble. Google image search "Buddha bowl" for inspiration on combinations.
Shredded carrots
Couscous
Chickpeas
Beetroot
Red pepper
Avocado
27. Mushroom Stroganoff
Fry onion, garlic, and mushrooms until soft. Add crème fraîche (or plant-based alternative) and tarragon. Cook for a few more minutes and serve over rice. 10-15 minutes, full of flavour.
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Crème fraîche (or vegan alternative)
Tarragon
Rice
28. One-Pot Lentil Soup
Fry onion and garlic, add carrot, celery, and tomato purée, cook until soft. Add spices, red lentils, bay leaf, and vegetable stock. Simmer covered for ~20 minutes. Stir in spinach and remaining herbs at the end. Serve with bread.
Oil
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Celery
Spices (cumin, paprika, cayenne)
Tomato purée
Vegetable stock
Red lentils
Spinach
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper
29. Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
Chop all veg into cubes, put in the slow cooker with vegetable stock, curry paste, coconut milk, tinned tomatoes, and mango chutney. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Add spinach in the last 30 minutes (not at the start or it goes mushy). Serve with rice.
Tinned tomatoes
Coconut milk
Vegetable stock
Curry paste
Peppers
Courgette
Potato
Aubergine
Cauliflower
Mango chutney
Spinach
Fresh coriander
Serving Size Guide
Pasta: 50-150g dry pasta per person depending on how saucy the dish is. A 500g bag makes roughly 4 portions.
Rice: About half a cup for a side dish, one cup as a main. Adjust up if you're batch cooking.
Meat: 200-300g cooked per person is the average. Add ~100g if the meat is on the bone.
Cheese: 20-40g is a reasonable serving. Cottage cheese and parmesan are protein-rich options worth keeping in.
If you're kitting out your kitchen from scratch, our uni kitchen essentials guide covers exactly what you need (and nothing you don't) for meals like these.
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