How to Make Christmas Dinner for One Without Cooking for Ten
Christmas dinner for one works best when you pick one proper main you’d happily eat for a few days, add the sides you love and finish with something baked. Three courses is plenty. The rest of the supermarket’s festive aisle can stay on the shelf.
Every December the shops try to convince me that one person needs a starter, a soup, a fish course, a roast with eleven sides, a cheeseboard, a trifle and a tin of chocolates the size of a hatbox. The sheer number of courses wears me out just reading the adverts. So I cut it down to three, and Christmas dinner has become one of my favourite evenings of the year.
What should you cook for Christmas dinner for one?
Cook one main you’d be glad to see again on Boxing Day. Leftovers are part of the plan, so a joint that feeds four is a present to future you. Good options:
- A three-bird roast, if you fancy a bit of theatre (more on this below)
- A turkey crown or turkey breast joint
- A whole chicken, which is cheaper and cooks faster
- A small gammon joint, lovely hot on the day and cold in sandwiches
- A nut roast, if you don’t eat meat
Whatever you choose, buy it ready-prepared if you can. Christmas Day is a holiday for the cook too.
Why I buy a three-bird roast for one person
This might sound a bit mad, but every year I buy a three-bird roast. If you haven’t met one, it’s a joint made of three kinds of meat, usually turkey, chicken and duck, boned and layered together, often with stuffing in between. It comes wrapped and ready for the oven, and most UK supermarkets sell them in the run-up to Christmas, with plenty to choose from.
It’s far too big for one person. That’s the point. I unwrap it, follow the cooking instructions on the pack, and in return I get two or three days of peace in the kitchen. I eat a little more than usual over those days, and I don’t feel one bit guilty about it.
It also looks festive on the plate. Three meats in every slice feels like a celebration, even when the guest list is me and a cat.
How many courses does Christmas dinner for one need?
Three. That’s my rule, and I’ve never once missed the other four. For me the roast and the baking are the courses that matter, so the third one is whatever takes the least effort. A few easy ideas:
- A prawn cocktail in a small glass, the 1970s way
- Smoked salmon on buttered brown bread
- A cheeseboard with two cheeses and a handful of crackers, after the main
If something on the traditional list leaves you cold, drop it. Nobody is keeping score.
Which sides are worth making for one?
Make the sides you’d miss and skip the ones you only eat out of habit. These scale down nicely:
- Roast potatoes: five or six in a small tin, in the oven alongside the roast for the last hour or so
- Pigs in blankets: cook what you’ll eat on the day and keep a few for a sandwich
- Sprouts: buy them loose and take exactly as many as you want, even if that’s four
- Gravy: granules are perfectly fine, and nobody’s judging
- Cranberry sauce: a jar keeps in the fridge and works hard in the leftovers
- Yorkshire puddings: a bit of a debate at Christmas, entirely your call at your own table
Make Christmas dinner an evening event
I always eat Christmas dinner in the evening. Plenty of people plan their day around the King’s Speech at three o’clock; I prefer to sit down once it’s dark outside and the day has slowed. There’s no timetable to keep, and the roast is ready when it’s ready.
In my house this is a bigger occasion than an ordinary dinner, even with one person at the table. A few small touches help:
- Clear the table and lay one proper place setting with the good plate
- Put on music you love, or save a favourite film for afterwards
- Pull a Christmas cracker with yourself. Both halves are yours, and so is the paper hat
If spending Christmas on your own feels new or a bit strange this year, my post on how to enjoy a quiet Christmas on your own or with just a few people has ideas for the rest of the day.
What to have for pudding
Something baked. For me, that’s where the magic of Christmas dinner lives. Christmas pudding comes in single-serve sizes in most supermarkets now, and a warm mince pie with cream takes two minutes.
If you’d like something homemade, bake in the week before Christmas so the day itself stays easy. Small-batch shortbread with just three ingredients keeps well in a tin, and my soft honey gingerbread gets even better after a few days.
The cat gets Christmas dinner too
Shelby, my cat, is present for every minute of this meal. She has her own special Christmas dinner, and she still watches mine with great professional interest.
If you’d like to share a little with your cat, keep it simple:
- A few small pieces of plain cooked turkey or chicken
- No skin, bones, stuffing or gravy
- Nothing with onion or garlic, which are harmful to cats (most stuffing and gravy contain one or both)
- Festive cat food pouches appear in pet aisles every December and make an easy treat
If your cat has a sensitive tummy or a special diet, stick to their usual food and give them extra fuss instead.
What to do with Christmas dinner leftovers
The leftovers are half the reason to cook a big joint for one. Here’s how one roast turns into a few easy days:
- The Boxing Day sandwich: cold sliced meat, a spoonful of cranberry sauce and a little stuffing on soft white bread
- Bubble and squeak: fry leftover potatoes and sprouts in a hot pan until crispy, then serve with cold meat and pickle
- Leftover turkey curry: a Boxing Day classic for when you’ve had enough sandwiches
- Freezer portions: an easy dinner for the slow days before New Year
With a big joint, food safety matters even more. Cool the leftovers and get them into the fridge within a couple of hours, eat them within two days, and freeze anything you won’t get through. Reheat until piping hot, and only reheat once.
That’s how one oven and one good evening give me two or three days off from cooking.
A few questions
Is it sad to have Christmas dinner on your own?
Plenty of people eat Christmas dinner alone every year, some by choice and some by circumstance. It feels much nicer when you plan it as a proper meal, with food you love and a table set for one.
What is the easiest Christmas dinner for one?
A ready-prepared joint or turkey crown, a small tin of roast potatoes, a pack of pigs in blankets and gravy from granules. Add a shop-bought pudding and you’re done with very little washing up.
Can you buy a Christmas dinner for one?
Yes. In December most UK supermarkets sell Christmas dinner ready meals for one, along with single-serve Christmas puddings and small packs of sides.
How long do Christmas leftovers last?
The usual advice is to eat cooked leftovers within two days of keeping them in the fridge. Anything you’d like to keep longer is best frozen in portions on Christmas night.
For everything else from December to New Year, my slow Christmas guide brings all the Christmas posts together in one place. And if you like a little planning before the season begins, the free Slow Christmas Planner is waiting for you when you join the newsletter.
Merry Christmas, from my table to yours.
With warmth,
Zeny
A little calm in your inbox
If you’d like a little more calm in your week, join the Zeny Lane newsletter. You’ll get gentle seasonal notes, new stories as they’re published, and free access to my Freebie Library of printable planners and gentle gifts.
No noise, no pressure. Just a quiet letter now and then.
