15 Minute Meal Ideas for One, With Shortcuts!

Pan Fried Fish with Couscous and Salad

Couscous – 5 minutes (see packet directions). Pan-fried fish – 2-3 minutes per side for a smallish fillet, with a little olive oil, butter, squeeze of lemon juice and capers.

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving in linked recipe.

Shortcuts

Use a pre-packaged bag of supermarket salad. There’s discussion here and here about nutritional value, and chlorine washing, and there’s more on the internet, so this shortcut is up to you. You can choose to wash the leaves again, or not. Personally, I don’t like the packet dressings, but am willing to sacrifice those for the convenience of the salad mix.

Black Bean, Grapefruit and Chicken Salad

Assemble the salad – 5 minutes. Pan fry a chicken breast – depending on thickness 8-15 minutes. Chicken can be pre-marinated or sprinkled just before cooking with your favourite spice or herb mix.

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving in linked recipe.

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Buy some rotisserie chicken, or even a whole one. It will last you several meals. Plus you can use the carcass to make a stock for the next recipe. Note: stock from precooked chicken bones will not be the same as stock from raw chicken bones.

Invest in an artisanal balsamic glaze such as this one. It will elevate any salad, and lasts.

Leftovers Noodle Soup

Leftover rotisserie chicken can be used here, or keep it to vegetables for vegetarian. Broth – 10 minutes. Vegetables in the broth – 2 minutes. This recipe assumes you have a few dried spices in the pantry.

Recipe will give you 2 meals.

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Fabulous if you need to use up some of the stock you made with the chicken carcass. Otherwise buy a quality low sodium chicken stock/broth. It’s easier to put salt in, than to take it out. Look for stocks that contain mostly natural ingredients such as bones, vegetables, herbs, water and salt. Cheaper stocks have additives such as maltodextrin.

5-Ingredient Pork & Mash with Green Apple

Recipe is for one serving.

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I like mash here as it makes this a real comfort meal, but if you’re short on time, just serve with salad, but I’d suggest you to keep the apple as is rather than use something from a jar, as this goes toward your daily fibre intake.

One Sausage, One Tomato, 100g Pasta Meal Deal

Pasta – usually around 11 minutes. Sauce – cooks while pasta’s cooking.

Recipe is for one serving.

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Finishing pasta off in its own sauce helps to thoroughly coat the pasta with flavour. Works well with other types of pasta sauces too. I keep the skin on the tomato for fibre value.

Back to the Future Tuna Mornay

15 minutes will give you the tuna mornay base. You need another 15 minutes in the oven if you want the baked crunch on top.

Recipe is for 4. I’d suggested simply halving it so you have some for lunch the next day.

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While you’re making the mornay on the stovetop, crisp up some croutons, or even some cornflakes in the oven, and simply sprinkle over the top to keep it within 15 minutes.

Chef’s Kiss Mango Avocado Salad

For a light meal, eat on its own or team with leftovers. Halve the recipe as this salad lasts well in the fridge and will give you another meal the next night.

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Prepare the bacon and dressing in advance and assemble at the last minute.

For a taste of summer, buy some cold cooked prawns to have with the salad.

Creamy Lemon Gnocchi with Chicken

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving in linked recipe.

There are a couple of variations in the linked recipe.

Shortcuts

Find a wonderful seller of fresh pasta and purchase gnocchi in bulk in advance. Freeze gnocchi in a single layer in individual portions. Do not thaw or you’ll have mushy gnocchi. Cook from frozen for 2-5 minutes until they float.

Pork Chipolata Sausages with a Salsa Cheat

Leave out the roasted potato and sweet potatoes and turn the oven up slightly, as the sausage will take only 15-20 minutes.

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving.

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Slice the onion thinly, rather than in wedges, then start at step 3 in the recipe, putting in tomato, asparagus (or another green), onion and garlic and a nice drizzle of olive oil to cook for 15-20 minutes, turning often. Use the salsa cheat.

If you need some quick carbs, try couscous or microwave potato.

Smoked Salmon Pasta with Sour Cream

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving.

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No shortcuts here. The whole recipe is a shortcut 😂

Salmon Bowl

Cook the salmon as per the linked recipe – 12 minutes. Ignore the beans and olives in linked recipe (unless you just want to do that recipe). Use thinly sliced onion and lemon under the salmon, some chopped cherry tomatoes, oil, sugar, lemon juice.

Adjust ingredient amounts to cater for one serving.

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Add microwave rice, some tinned pineapple and raw snow peas and you have a full meal. Alternatives – avocado, grapefruit, orange, any leftover vegetable too.

Quick & Easy Frittata

Ok, so the prep takes a little bit of extra time, but the frittata will give you breakfast, lunch, or dinner for days.

I’d suggested halving the ingredient amounts for two light meals.

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Use up your leftover vegetables or smallgoods here. You can also raid the pantry for cans of asparagus, green beans, artichokes, corn.

You can keep it simple with ham and extra grated cheddar.

Eton Mess

Adjust ingredients to cater for one serving.

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Don’t worry about all three fruit. Just use strawberries if that’s all you have.

If feeling very lazy, just buy the meringue nests and tinned fruit, such as cherries or passionfruit, in syrup. Spoon that over with a little whipped cream.

Lemon Curd Tartlets

Halve the ingredients for six tartlets (more than enough for one but, hey, life’s short). Will take slightly longer than 15 minutes, but well worth it.

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It doesn’t hurt to have a jar of curd in the pantry for moments like these. It’s surprisingly versatile and goes with pancakes, crumpets, in cakes, and with Greek yoghurt.