Cooking for One: a Weekly Meal Plan Without Food Waste
Family packs, half a cabbage forgotten in the fridge, leftovers nobody wants. With four dinners of two portions and one or two open evenings, the week for one person gets simple again.
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For one person the simplest rule is to cook four dinners of two portions each (cook once, eat twice) and leave one or two evenings open. You buy for the plan, not for the pack, and you freeze portions you will not eat within two or three days. According to the Federal Statistical Office (BFS), 37% of private households in Switzerland are one-person households, yet, in our observation, many packs are sized for more people.
Updated October 2026. Sources: BFS “Households and living arrangements” (data 2024); foodwaste.ch “Zahlen und Fakten”, figures from ZHAW/BAFU, interim report 2025; FSVO (BLV) “Hygiene when handling food”; SRF Wissen “Foodwaste: Wie lange sind Essensreste haltbar?” (2014).
According to foodwaste.ch, households throw away about 80 kg of food per person per year, worth about CHF 600. The statistic does not single out people who live alone, but the solo risk is familiar: many packs are made for several eaters, and a plan stops the rest from being forgotten in the fridge.
Why do pack sizes trip up solo cooks?
The traps are almost always the same: the family pack, fresh herbs, bagged salad, the half cabbage that sits in the fridge after the first dinner. The problem is not the amount you need, it is the amount in the bag.
- Loose vegetables instead of packed: three carrots and one courgette, not the one-kilo bag.
- Bulk counters, where available: for rice, pulses, nuts and cheese cut to order, you choose the amount.
- Buy the pack, but plan for it: if leeks come in a bunch of three, plan two dishes with leek (a risotto on Monday, a quiche or soup on Thursday).
- Split and freeze right away: bread, minced meat, cream and sauces go into single portions as soon as you are home.
- Herbs and salad: one pot of herbs for the whole week, or leafy vegetables that keep longer (white cabbage, radicchio).
For what one portion looks like, see the portion sizes per person chart, and for long-lasting products the pantry staples list.
The screens show how to scale a recipe down to one person and fill your day in the Planner, so nothing is left over.
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Set servings to one
Plan the day
How does cook once, eat twice work?
| Base on day one | Second dinner | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted vegetables with chickpeas | Wrap or couscous salad | Fridge, three days at most |
| Tomato sauce | Pasta on day one, eggs poached in the sauce (shakshuka style) on day two | Reheat to 70 °C |
| Polenta | Grilled polenta slices with cheese or mushrooms | Let it cool in a flat dish |
| Lentil stew | Soup: stretch with stock and add vegetables | Freezes well |
| Risotto | Risotto patties, pan-fried or baked | Rice: fridge right away, two days at most |
How do I freeze without losing track?
Divide into single portions, in suitable containers or bags, and write the dish and the date on each one. Chilled and frozen products go into the fridge or freezer right after shopping (BLV). Soup, sauce, stew and minestrone work well; storage times food by food are in the guide to freezing food and how long it keeps. Before you plan the week, glance into the freezer: the first dinner of the week may already be waiting.
A solo week: what does it look like?
| Day | Dinner | Portions cooked | Into fridge or freezer | Next use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Roasted vegetables with chickpeas and yoghurt sauce | 2 | 1 portion in the fridge | Tuesday, in a wrap |
| Tuesday | Wrap with yesterday's vegetables | 0 | Nothing | Used up |
| Wednesday | Pasta with tomato sauce | 2 (sauce for two) | Half the sauce in the fridge | Thursday, eggs in the sauce |
| Thursday | Eggs in tomato sauce with bread | 0 | Nothing | Used up |
| Friday | Leek risotto | 2 | 1 portion in the fridge right away | Saturday, patties |
| Saturday | Risotto patties with salad | 0 | Nothing | Used up (rice: two days at most) |
| Sunday | Open evening: Rösti with a fried egg, or minestrone from the freezer | 1 | Check the freezer | Plan next week |
If you want something heartier, cook Älplermagronen for two on Wednesday instead and eat the second portion the next evening. The pattern is the same: one portion now, one tomorrow.
Where do I find the budget figures for one person?
The figures are in the guide to the single grocery budget in Switzerland, with source and method. To use up what you already have, see use-up leftovers recipes and the page on what to cook with what I have. The general method is in the guide to meal planning in Switzerland; more ideas are in the recipes.
How does Rappn help you plan for one?
In a recipe's detail you set the Servings to 1 or 2 with the plus and minus buttons, and the ingredient quantities rescale. On the Planner screen of the Kitchen you see the day split into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snack, with kcal, minutes and servings for each recipe (recipe data, not advice). Then you send the ingredients to your list: the items under “You might already have”, such as salt and flour, start unticked. Rappn is a free, independent app with no commercial agreements with any retailer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I shop for one person without wasting food?
Plan four dinners of two portions and one or two open evenings, then buy only what the plan needs. If a pack is bigger, plan a second dish with the same ingredient or freeze portions.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?
Three days at most, and cooked rice two days at most, always in the fridge (SRF Wissen, ZHAW Wädenswil). Reheat to 70 °C (BLV).
Can I freeze a dish cooked for two?
Yes, in single portions with the dish and the date on the container. Storage times food by food are in the Rappn freezing guide.
What do I cook with half a vegetable left over?
Plan two dishes with the same ingredient, for example leek in a risotto and then in a soup. Or pre-cook it and freeze it in portions.
How do I scale a recipe for four down to one person?
In a recipe detail in Rappn you set the servings to 1 or 2 and the ingredient quantities rescale.