Eleven delicious and easy dishes for one person for Singles' Day

Status: 10.11.2023, 13:00 PM

By: Sandra Keck

Tired of frozen pizza, pasta with tomato sauce or cheese bread? You can also cook something delicious on your own, especially on Singles' Day. © Rupert Oberhäuser/IMAGO & Simply Tasty

On Singles Day, it's time to do something good for yourself. With delicious recipes for one person, you can prepare a relaxed dinner that tastes good.

Tomorrow is 11.11.2023. But this date not only marks the start of the fifth season, which was eagerly awaited by Jecken, Narren & Co. throughout Germany. No, November 11 is also marked by "Singles' Day" for singles worldwide. Originally from China, this day has become a global phenomenon in recent years, inviting people to celebrate the single life. While Singles' Day is often associated with shopping excesses, as this day offers huge discounts in every industry, there is another way to celebrate that is at least as worthwhile: cooking and then enjoying delicious dishes for one person.

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Single and/or living people often face the challenge that many ingredients are simply sold in too large quantities to enjoy on their own. A seasonally suitable example is cabbage. Because even with a lot of cabbage steam, many recipes with whole heads of cabbage are designed for several people or large families. Of course, you can cook hearty dishes such as savoy cabbage pasta or braised cabbage on your own, but who wants to eat the same thing over and over again on the following days to use up the leftovers? Exactly, none.

1. Recipe for one person: Classic Spaghetti Carbonara

A classic spaghetti carbonara doesn't include whipped cream. The creamy sauce is based on egg yolks and Parmesan. (Symbolic image) © Addictive Stock/IMAGO

Sometimes it's the simple dishes with few ingredients that have the potential to become an absolute favorite food and are also a real feel-good dish. This definitely includes pasta, but who is good at cooking pasta for just one person? With this simple recipe for a creamy spaghetti cabonara, it's sure to work.

For a serving of a classic spaghetti carbonara, you only need a few ingredients:

• 100 g spaghetti (alternatively you can use other types of pasta)
• 50 g streaky bacon, diced
• 2 eggs
• 50 g Parmesan, grated
• Pepper

It takes no longer to prepare than to cook the pasta:

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If you've got a taste for it and are looking for a bit of variety, you can next prepare a Swabian interpretation in the form of spaetzle carbonara or quick spaghetti with creamy pumpkin carbonara.

2. Fried chicken breast with vegetables

Tastes like a holiday: fried chicken breast with Mediterranean vegetables. (Symbolic image) © Simply Tasty

This recipe is a great way to treat yourself to something healthy and tasty. The chicken breast is fried in a pan and served with vegetables. With the right marinade, which is used for both meat and vegetables, you can adapt the dish to your heart's content. For example, a tender chicken breast with pineapple and tomato salsa is sweet and fruity.

For a delicious chicken breast with Mediterranean vegetables, you need the following ingredients:

• Marinade:
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp basil, grated
• 1 tsp oregano, grated
• 1 tsp rosemary, dried
• Salt and pepper to taste
• In addition:
• 1 (approx. 150 g) chicken breast
• 1 small aubergine, sliced
• 1 small red bell pepper or pointed bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced

The preparation is straightforward:

Alternatively, you can also prepare the dish in the oven. The video shows how the Mediterranean oven chicken with potatoes succeeds:

Easy: Tasty recipe videos non-stop are available directly to your smartphone thanks to Xymatic's free Green Feed. Start scrolling now!

3. Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce

Who can resist? The recipe for Eggs Benedict with green asparagus tastes great for brunch and also for dinner. © Simply Tasty

What could be better than a composition of eggs, ham, green asparagus and a five-ingredient hollandaise sauce on crispy toast rolls? The classic breakfast dish is the perfect feel-good food and tastes like pure indulgence! Preparing the Eggs Benedict is easy and even poaching the eggs will be a breeze with these five hacks.

4. Grilled salmon with honey-soy marinade

It's delicious Asian with the simple recipe for a honey-soy salmon. (Symbolic image) © Zoonar/IMAGO

Delicious and healthy is also in the foreground of this quick fish dish with salmon. The advantage: Salmon fillet is usually sold pre-portioned, making it perfect for dishes for one serving. Thanks to the spicy honey-soy marinade, which also functions as a sauce, you save time and additional ingredients. If you like, you can serve some broccoli and mushroom vegetables with flat rice noodles instead of rice.

For the quick fish dish with an Asian touch, you need these ingredients:

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 0.5 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1 (about 150 g) skinless salmon fillet
• 100 g rice (how to make the perfectly cooked rice)

The preparation is simple and fast:

5. Pasta with pesto and cherry tomatoes:

A homemade pesto is quick to make and much more aromatic than store-bought pesto from the jar. (Symbolic image) © Pond5 Images/IMAGO

In addition to frozen pizza, which you can also simply make yourself, because a perfect pizza dough is not that difficult, many often have noodles on the table. In fact, pasta is so popular that the food has its own holiday dedicated to it, and on World Pasta Day, you have to enjoy one of these pasta dishes. But pasta also tastes good on Singles' Day and once you've made a classic basil pesto yourself, you'll never reach for the sauce shelf in the supermarket again, I promise.

These are the ingredients you need for the basil pesto aka. Pesto genovese:

• Pesto:
• 60 g fresh basil
• 30 g pine nuts, toasted
• 1 clove of garlic
• 100 ml olive oil
• 50 g Parmesan, grated
• 50 g pecorino, grated
• Salt
• Stewed tomatoes:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 150 g Kirschtomaten
• Salz

Die Zubereitung ist unkompliziert:

Ob Basilikumpesto, asiatisches Koriander-Pesto oder süßes Minz-Pesto, hier gibt es acht leckere Pesto-Rezepte, die nicht nur zu Pasta schmecken.

6. Kartoffel-Lachs-Auflauf mit Spinat

Zarter Fisch, viel Gemüse und eine cremige Sahnesauce überbacken mit einer gelb-goldenen Käsedecke ergibt einen wunderbar wohltuenden Kartoffel-Lachs-Auflauf. © Einfach Tasty

Jetzt wirds deftig! Alle Zutaten kommen zusammen in eine Auflaufform und werden so lange gebacken, bis eine knusprige Käseschicht zu sehen ist. Perfekt, um nebenbei etwas Selfcare zu betreiben oder einfach nur um die Seele baumeln zu lassen. Wer keinen Lachs mag, ersetzt den Fisch durch Gemüse – ganz einfach. Das schnelle Rezept für den cremigen Kartoffel-Lachs-Auflauf mit Spinat gibt es hier.

Wer sowieso nicht genug von leckeren Rezeptideen bekommt, der sollte sich beim Einfach Tasty-Newsletter anmelden, um damit immer up to date zu bleiben.

7. Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A tomato soup cooks quickly and becomes a satisfying meal thanks to the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. (Symbolic image) © Zoonar/IMAGO

With this recipe, the days of cup or bag soups are finally over! Because the ingredients for the vegetarian tomato soup are usually already at home.

For a simple tomato soup made from canned tomatoes, you need these ingredients:

• Tomato soup:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 can (400 g) chopped tomatoes (alternatively: tomato passata)
• 100 ml vegetable broth
• 50 ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp sugar
• 0.5 tsp Italian herb mix (e.g. basil, oregano)
• Salt and pepper
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich:
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 slices of bread (e.g. homemade toast)
• 2 slices of cheddar cheese or other cheese

The preparation is uncomplicated and quick:

8. Chicken quesadilla from the toaster

Here you can see a small folding guide so that the quesadilla does not leak in the toaster. © Simply Tasty

Usually, quesadillas are fried on a comal (a type of shallow frying pan) or in a pan. However, with the right folding technique, you can also prepare them in the toaster in no time at all – perfect for one person. And if the toaster is already on the kitchen counter, you can prepare other savoury and sweet snacks in it.

For a quesadilla with chicken and peppers from the toaster you need these ingredients:

• 1 wheat tortilla
• 50 g grated cheese (e.g. cheddar or mozzarella)
• 75 g cooked chicken, cut into pieces
• 75 g green bell pepper, diced
• 30 g onions, finely diced
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
• Salsa and sour cream for serving

The preparation is simple and fast:

9. Gyros Bowl with Tsatziki

The simple recipe for a Greek gyros bowl tastes like a holiday on the Aegean. © Simply Tasty

Here, singles have a significant advantage: they can eat as much tzatziki as they want, because no one complains about the garlic plume! Whether kebab, bread with aioli or all Greek delicacies combined in a delicious gyros bowl - you can feast to your heart's content.

10. For dessert: apple crumble

But also as a mini dessert in small molds, the crispy apple crumble cuts a fine figure. (Symbolic image) © Panthermedia/IMAGO

With five ingredients, you can not only make the perfect autumn dessert, but also the perfect dessert for one serving.

These are the ingredients you need for a quick apple crumble:

• 2 apples
• A little lemon juice
• 50 g wheat flour
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g butter, cold
• Cinnamon (optional)

The preparation is almost self-explanatory:

Also delicious is the variant of the classic crumble with pear and walnuts.

11. Lava Cake (chocolate cake with liquid core)

This chocolate tart with a liquid core is the dream of many those with a sweet tooth. The recipe for the Lava Cake can be found here. © Simply Tasty

The small chocolate cakes with a liquid core are the icing on the cake of every menu and have become an integral part of the menus of many restaurants. With this simple recipe, you can also enjoy the dessert at home. And smart singles know that you can easily make lava cakes in advance analogous to this recipe if you put the batter in silicone muffin cups and then freeze them. If you're in the mood for a chocolate cake, all you have to do is preheat the oven and bake the frozen cake for two to three minutes longer than the recipe indicates. Brilliant, isn't it?

True to the motto "Dinner for One. Drinks for Two" can be enjoyed with a delicious dinner, as well as a tasty cocktail. Whether it's a fancy lavender blueberry martini, an autumnal Aperol fall spritz with pear or an alcohol-free blueberry mojito with mint – you're guaranteed to find a cocktail creation for every taste. And best of all: the recipes are perfectly matched to one or two glasses.