---
title: Cooking Glorious One-Pot Meals for One
date: 2013-10-01T04:33:14Z
modified: 2013-10-01T04:33:14Z
permalink: "https://elizabethyarnell.com/cooking-glorious-one-pot-meals-for-one/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 3556
categories:
  - Glorious One-Pot Meals
tags:
  - cooking for one
  - Glorious One-Pot Meals
  - single person meals
author: Elizabeth
---

_Reader question: Thank you for this way of cooking! I cook for one only. Should I get the LC 1 qt dutch oven and cut your ingredient amounts in half? Will that work? No where in book or website, have I seen cooking for one only mentioned. Is there any drawback if I got the 1 qt pot and halved the amounts? Would cooking time be the same? Thank You! Love the taste of food cooked this way! But too much leftovers. ~ Patricia D., Hot Springs, Arkansas[![](http://www.gloriousonepotmeals.com/images/pages/Products/LIZ_GOPM-new.jpg)

](http://www.gloriousonepotmeals.com)_

Hi Patricia! Thanks for writing. You have a point: I haven’t written much about making [Glorious One-Pot Meals](http://www.gloriousonepotmeals.com "glorious one pot meals cookbook healthy recipes") for one even though the topic often comes up during my [appearances and classes](http://www.elizabethyarnell.com/events.htm "Elizabeth Yarnell events"). In fact, many single GOPM fans habitually make a 2-person GOPM and refrigerate half of it in a covered Pyrex dish for enjoying the next lunch or dinnertime.

And, you have the right idea: just as Glorious One-Pot Meals can be easily doubled or tripled to feed four or six people, so can they be halved to feed just one person. I have a couple brands of 1-quart to 1.5-quart size cast iron Dutch ovens that I often utilize to make a single GOPM (I have a Le Creuset and a 1-quart seasoned cast iron Dutch oven from Cajun Cast Iron. One is deeper and the other is wider). I love using the 1-quart pots because they contain just enough for one person, they cook very quickly (typically 25-25 minutes), and fit easily inside a toaster oven.

Does it work? Absolutely.

Be sure to follow the core tenets of making Glorious One-Pot Meals: use a [cast iron Dutch oven](http://elizabethyarnell.com/effortlesseating/2013/06/cast-iron-is-essential-for-glorious-one-pot-meals/ "why use cast iron with Glorious One-Pot Meals") and [fully preheat the oven to 450 degrees F](http://elizabethyarnell.com/effortlesseating/2010/01/have-you-checked-your-oven-temperature/ "using an oven thermometer to validate oven temperature") before putting the full pot inside. You’ll be able to tell when your meal is ready, as always, three minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven.

Happy cooking!