One Pot, One Portion: Simple, speedy recipes, just for you

by Eleanor Wilkinson

The cookbook for people who eat, cook or live alone, but are tired of washing up.

Cooking for yourself should be an act of celebration, but can sometimes feel like more effort than it’s worth. One Pot One Portion takes the stress out of solo cooking – no more dividing a recipe by four, or surviving on leftovers for three days. This is easy, effortless food that won’t leave you with a sinkful of dirty dishes.

With one-pot one-portion versions of classics like Lasagne, Beef Wellington and Apple Crumble, as well as fresh, flavourful dishes like Ginger Chicken Rice Bowl and Peanut Noodle Salad this is food tailored to suit your every mood. And with recipes paired to help you make use of leftover ingredients, this is truly low-waste, low-effort cooking.

Whether you live alone, or just find yourself cooking for one, this is easy, effortless food that will have you eating well whatever your mood.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

I thought this was a great cookbook! Lay flat binding, every recipe has a photo, and I really enjoyed the broad range of flavor profiles and cooking styles here. Unlike other books with a similar concept, this book stays true throughout to "one portion" meals -- some of those are probably like 1.5 portions, or maybe even two portions, but I appreciated that the focus here was on cooking for one. Some of the ingredients might be a little more specialty, and a few of the meals here are definitely a bit more time/labor intensive than I'd probably ideally spend for just one meal, but I am also somebody who loves leftovers, as I don't actually want to have to cook a full meal every night. I bookmarked several recipes and I'm definitely looking forward to trying them!

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have made 7 or 8 recipes so far and literally all of them are so easy, perfectly portioned, and taste amazing, how is this possible

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique recipe options. Some really great desserts!

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the pictures, the tips and tricks. What tools you actually need. My favorite though is the recipes also include pairing recipes that use some of the ingredients from the other so you don’t have food waste when you are cooking for just one. Definitely recommend if you are looking for single portion and different recipes.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm all for doing small-batch cooking (who wants to eat leftovers for days?), but most of these recipes are way too involved to only get one serving.

I'm not going to spend 60 minutes caramelizing onions to get ONE SERVING of French Onion soup.

That's just silly.

Still, there's a variety of recipes, and they ARE pretty to look at!

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

About 9 recipes I would make. Most are not healthy.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept for this recipe collection is long overdue. Some of us are cooking only for ourselves or a two-some. These recipes are amazing, not your run of the mill meals but some appealing choices. Each dish is photographed and has tips for using leftover ingredients. My only wish would have been for nutrition/calorie information for the recipes - but they appear to generally be healthy. My library system has both the book and the ebook available. I encourage people to check it out!

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

big fan of eleanor's tiktok/instagram & I think this translated really well to a cookbook. I may actually buy this, it's very fun

[Zuzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great cookbook which explores the joy of cooking for one.

[Kerry Croucier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a cookbook like this has been a long time coming because there are so many more people these days that are cooking for themselves, from college students on their own for the first time, to young adults, empty nesters, and those that are on their own, no matter what age. Eleanor Wilkinson’s ONE POT ONE PORTION – 100 Simple Recipes Just for You would be a great jumping off point. Beautifully photographed, each recipe has a picture to go along with it. The recipes are organized into sections to go with your mood: Comfort, Fresh, Simple, Special, and of course you need something Sweet. I love that it’s an attempt to cut down on both food waste and dishes, and each recipe contains a place to “Use Your Leftover” with the ingredient and a page number. There are several fun recipes, and I can see using many of them as a jumping off point to get creative with more. I plan to give a copy to my daughter when she heads off to college and a new apartment, as well as having my copy here for when I am on my own. I can almost predict that the first recipe she’ll try is the Chocolate Brownie or the Self-Saucing Chocolate Mug Cake while my favorites are the savory recipes like Pumpkin Curry or the Chickpea, Turmeric, and Coconut Curry, or the Hash Brown Cottage Pie.
This one should be on everyone’s shelf!
Thanks to Clarkson Potter for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own and freely given.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nicely done hardbound cookbook. Individual pages for the recipes and the photos. It all looks great, but as with most cookbooks, the recipes are a little above my skill level and more what I would consider restaurant quality food. Not always the most common ingredients and some of the recipes have way more ingredients than I want to bother with. Could definitely be inspirational to find new ideas for dinner and to have the right quantities to scale down to smaller portions.

[Barbara Monaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just perfect for people who love to cook, but live alone. The recipes are tasty, the instructions clear, and the tips like pointing you to other recipes to use your leftover ingredients are perfections. The recipes are quick, but flavorful. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book, but the opinions are my own.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good recipes in here. I'm particularly taken with the mac and cheese and the skittle cookie. I think I can easily make these gluten free. I also love that she included what you can do with your leftovers! Less waste.

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really good and authentic recipes from easy to more involved. Some quick and some more time consuming.
Despite the title, I might double the recipes at times to share with a friend or to have a meal at another time!

[Robert Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive Recipes for One

It’s just two of us at home, but when we cook, which is not often, we often don’t finish what is made. This book offers some impressive recipes for a small volume of food. Looking forward to tryiing.

[Melanie Atchley Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hungry

I already picked out the recipes I most want to try. I haven't prepared them yet but will do so soon. This is a great book concept but, I wish someone would do a book like this for Kidney Disease.

[Emily Duchon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical recipes in smaller portions. I rarely do things for just myself anymore, so I’d just triple the amounts and make it for the family.

[Carla Westfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful.

Very enjoyable read. I love the kindle version as it takes you to the recipes that complement spare ingredients so you can plan your menus accordingly. Brilliant.

[Pamela Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures, great concept, I tried 2 recipes and they were ok. I’d rather cook a bigger recipe and have it be good or great, not just ok