Ready Meals for One: Proper Curry Without Cooking for a Crowd

Most curry recipes are written for a family and make four portions. If you are cooking for one, that means leftovers: three more dinners of the same thing, or a freezer full of tubs you labelled in a hurry and now cannot identify. The other option is a takeaway for one, which is fine now and then but is not much of a plan for a Tuesday.

This guide is about the third option: a ready meal for one that is a proper portion of properly cooked food, with the ingredients on the page and the heating instructions on the pack. It is written for a single person, or anyone in a one person household who is tired of cooking in bulk. It explains what to look for, what one CurryOut portion looks like, how to put together a week of dinners without eating the same thing twice, and how to freeze what you will not eat straight away.

What to look for in meals for one

Whoever you buy from, a handful of things separate a useful ready meal from a disappointing one.

A real portion of good quality food. A meal for one should fill one plate. Look for the weight on the product page of the website, and check whether it is meant for one person or for one and a half.

Food that has been cooked, not just assembled. Fully cooked food that has been chilled quickly reheats in minutes and tastes like the cooking rather than the packaging.

Ingredients you can read before you order. The full ingredients list and allergen information should be on the product page, so you are not guessing.

Heating you can do in a small kitchen. A pan and a microwave should be enough. If a meal needs three pieces of equipment, it is not a convenience.

A use-by date that fits how you eat, and the option to freeze. When you live alone, the thing that goes wrong with a fridge full of meals is not taste but timing. Being able to freeze some on the day they arrive solves it.

Ready meals or recipe boxes for one?

A recipe box and a ready meal solve different problems. A food box sends you ingredients and recipes to follow, which suits you if you enjoy cooking and like trying new things. A ready meal arrives cooked, so there is nothing to prepare and nothing to wash up beyond a pan and a plate.

Which is better depends on the week. In busy weeks, when cooking after work is the last thing you want, food that only needs reheating is the easier choice. In quieter weeks you may prefer to cook, and it is perfectly reasonable to use both.

Because each CurryOut tub is a single portion, you heat what you need and keep the rest. Eat it by the use-by date on the pack, or freeze it on the day it arrives and it can wait in the freezer for another night.

What one portion of CurryOut looks like

Portion sizes matter more when you live alone, because there is nobody to finish the extra. Each CurryOut curry is cooked fresh in our Batley kitchen, blast chilled and delivered cold. Most are 280g, and we say each meal serves about one to one and a half people. That means one tub with rice or bread is a full dinner, and anyone hungrier can add a starter or a second bread.

If you are not sure whether one tub will be enough, think about how hungry you usually are after work. A full portion of rice or two breads suits most appetites, and a starter covers the days when it does not. Our portion guide has the figures we use for rice and curry.

Here are four one person meals you can build from the range, using the weights on the product pages.

A meal plan for one: a week of dinners

The best way to avoid eating the same curry on repeat is to order a spread and rotate it. This meal plan works across the heat scale, with every dish checked against the chilli rating on its product page. You do not have to follow it to the letter: choose dinner night by night, and swap anything for a dish you prefer.

You will not want to eat all seven within a few days, and you do not need to. Eat the first three or four by the use-by date on their packs and freeze the rest on the day they arrive, as described below. Our curry heat guide explains how the one to four chilli scale works if you want to adjust the week up or down.

If you would rather start gentler, swap the Madras for another two-chilli dish such as Chicken Masala.

How to order for one

Online orders start at £30, excluding delivery, so the practical approach is to order a week’s worth rather than a single tub. A week of dinners with rice or bread will usually clear that minimum without trying. If you are close, add a starter or two, which heat in the air fryer in minutes and make an easy lunch.

Order by 12pm and your order arrives the next day, chilled, in insulated packaging with ice packs. You can pick your delivery date at checkout, and delivery is free when you spend over £80, which is worth knowing if you share a freezer or like to stock up.

We deliver across mainland UK. If you live near Batley, you can collect from the shop instead.

Use it by the date, or freeze it on arrival

This is where a ready meal for one comes into its own. Every CurryOut meal is its own tub, so the freezer works as a rota. Keep what you plan to eat soon in the fridge and eat it by the use-by date on the pack. If you want to freeze some, do it on the day your order arrives, keep it for up to two months, and take out one at a time when you want it. That is useful in busy weeks, when the freezer does the planning for you.

Defrost it in the fridge, never on the worktop, reheat it once until it is hot all the way through, and do not refreeze it. Our curries, starters, rice and breads are all marked as suitable for home freezing on their product pages. Our guide to chilled and frozen ready meals goes into the detail of how chilling and freezing differ.

Heating a single portion

For curries, the pan method on the pack is the one we recommend. Heat the curry in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly until it is about to boil. Add two tablespoons of water, stir it in, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for five minutes, then serve once it is hot. A high heat will dry the sauce out too quickly.

The microwave is the quick alternative. Make sure the lid is half open and heat for three to four minutes, making sure it is hot all the way through, because microwaves can heat food unevenly. Whatever you are heating, the instructions on the pack take precedence.

Rice takes about three minutes in the microwave with the lid loosened, and the pack has the exact timing. Chappaties go in a dry frying pan and are turned like pancakes until they are warm on both sides. Naan can go in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds, under a medium grill for 45 to 60 seconds a side, or in the oven wrapped in foil.

Starters suit a single person particularly well, because an air fryer handles a single portion easily. Heat them at 170°C for 6 to 10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, or in the oven at 180°C (gas mark 4) for 15 to 20 minutes, and serve once hot throughout.

Do not use the microwave, which turns them soft. The full method for every item is in our reheating guide.

Is a ready meal better than cooking for one?

It depends on the night. If you enjoy cooking, carry on, and use a ready meal for the evenings when you do not. Cooking a proper curry from scratch means a cupboard full of spices, takes time and leaves you with more than you need, and a CurryOut tub is already the right size.

What a ready meal should not be is a compromise. It should be cooked properly, with a list of ingredients you can read, and ready in minutes. That is what we have been aiming at since 1996.

Collect from the shop

If you are near Batley, you can pop into the shop at 100 Upper Commercial Street and pick up meals in person. Select collection at checkout if you order online.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best ready meal for one?

The best one is the one you will actually finish and enjoy, but there are useful things to look for: a proper portion, ingredients and allergens you can read before you order, simple heating instructions and the option to freeze. CurryOut meets those, and every dish is halal.

How much does one CurryOut meal serve?

Each meal serves about one to one and a half people. Most curries are 280g, so one tub with rice or bread is a full dinner for most appetites.

Can I order a single meal online?

Online orders start at £30, excluding delivery, so most people order a week’s worth and freeze some. If you are near Batley, you can also call into the shop.

Can I freeze a ready meal for one?

Yes. CurryOut meals are suitable for home freezing. Freeze them on the day your order arrives, keep them for up to two months, defrost them in the fridge, reheat once and do not refreeze.

How long do CurryOut meals last in the fridge?

Eat them by the use-by date on the pack, and keep them in the fridge below 5°C until then. If you know you will not get through them in time, freeze them on the day they arrive.

How do I heat a ready meal for one?

For curries, heat in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly until it is about to boil. Then add two tablespoons of water, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for five minutes. The microwave is the quick alternative, with the lid half open for three to four minutes. Follow the instructions on your pack.

Are there vegetarian ready meals for one?

Yes. Vegetable Masala, Aloo Palak (potato and spinach), Paneer Palak (paneer cheese and spinach) and Chana Dhall are the vegetarian curries, so there are plenty of vegetables on the list. Fish Masala is made with fish, so it is not vegetarian.

Are CurryOut meals delivered chilled or frozen?

Chilled, in insulated packaging with ice packs. They are cooked fresh and blast chilled, and you can freeze them at home if you want to.

Is a ready meal better than a recipe box for one person?

Neither is better in every week. A recipe box suits you if you want to cook, and a ready meal suits the nights when you do not. CurryOut arrives cooked and chilled, so it only needs reheating.

Is it halal?

Yes. All of our meat products are halal.

Order a week of dinners

Pick a spread from the CurryOut range, or start with the curries. Order by 12pm for next-day delivery across mainland UK, with a £30 minimum and free delivery over £80, or collect from Batley. Add a few starters from the starters range for the nights when a curry alone does not feel like enough.