Grocery budgeting for one: why cooking for yourself costs more per serving

It's not your imagination: cooking for one really does cost more per serving than cooking for a household. The good news is most of that gap comes from a small number of identifiable causes, not an unavoidable "solo tax."

Why the maths works against single cooks

Packaging is sized for more than one person. A bag of spinach, a pack of chicken thighs, a bunch of herbs — most grocery packaging assumes at least two servings, often more. Buying it for one meal and using a third of it means the other two-thirds either gets wasted or has to become a second meal you didn't necessarily plan for.

Fixed costs don't shrink. A jar of a specific spice or sauce costs the same whether it seasons one serving or six — spread across fewer portions, its contribution to each plate's cost is proportionally higher.

Batch cooking's efficiency needs a batch. Most of the time-and-cost savings from "cook once, eat twice" scale with portions — one person cooking once still only gets one or two meals out of it, not the four-to-six a family recipe produces.

What actually closes the gap

Cook in batches anyway, then freeze. A "family-sized" recipe portioned into individual containers and frozen turns the packaging-size problem into an advantage — bulk-bought ingredients become several single-serving meals spread across weeks, not one.

Build a repertoire around ingredients that don't need using up fast. Dried legumes, rice, frozen vegetables, canned goods — a kitchen leaning on shelf-stable bases avoids the "half a bag of fresh spinach going off" problem entirely.

Share bulk purchases if at all possible. Splitting a large pack of meat or a bulk bag of rice with a friend, roommate, or family member gets the per-unit savings of buying more without needing to use it all yourself before it spoils.

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Mealconomy supports single-person households the same way as larger ones — set your household size to one, and the generated plan and shopping list are sized and priced accordingly, not just a family plan divided down.