30 Minute Christmas Dinner for One

If you celebrate Christmas and are spending it away from friends and family, take 30 minutes, and a couple dishes to make this special Christmas for one dinner.

It's really easy, requires just a few ingredients, and is bursting with holiday flavor.

Make this dinner as is, or use the other Christmas dinner ideas for one.

Ways to Make a Solo Christmas Special

There are many reasons anyone's celebrating a solo Christmas, the same goes for other major holidays. If you're feeling down, lonely, or complicated, I'm sending you care and compassion during this time.

Regardless of the reasons you're spending this holiday solo, you deserve a bit (or more!) of compassion and maybe a moment+ of joy. Here are a few ideas to make the most out of this solo time:

• Get yourself a special gift early. And wrap it early. It may feel a bit more special if you start to forget what's in it.
• Play your favorite holiday movie(s) or show(s)
• Enjoy some holiday music. There's so many songs out there, in lots of genres, you're bound to find some tunes you like.
• Continue a favorite tradition. Baking, decorating, snowman building, singing, movie watching, and so many other traditions can be followed.
• Attend a Christmas or holiday event. Whether it's a religious service, sing-along, market, potluck, movie, etc. Do this on Christmas or another day in the month.
• Enjoy winter or Christmas scents. Get a fresh tree, bake some gingerbread cookies, grab a favorite scented candle, get some soap or lotion, etc. Pine is my winter scent. It floods my mind with lovely memories.
• Do something you enjoy. Go for a nice walk or run, read a book, cook something, be outside, do a craft, play a game, watch something, there are lots of options here.
• Walk down memory lane. Go through scrapbooks, photos, videos, other momentos of favorite holiday memories.
• Connect with a loved one. We need community. The actual day of a holiday can be really busy for lots of people, so you may not be able to talk to a loved one, but a quick text is nice. Talk to them, if you can.
• Volunteer

I'd recommend planning this out, if you know you're going to spend Christmas day solo or have a solo Christmas dinner. That way, you don't have to decide in the moment.

I also want to remind you that you also don't have to find joy out of your solo holiday. Moments of joy are lovely, and sometimes life and circumstances are really tough and don't leave room for happiness.

That's ok, you don't owe yourself or others happiness. It's ok to sit with the discomfort, loneliness, longing, or whatever you need. You also deserve to not be miserable, so whatever spot between misery and joy you want to be is good.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the Christmas Dinner for One recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick visual + description of what's in this recipe.

• Ham steak: You may be able to find a small ham steak, or large slice of ham at the store. If you don't like leftovers, this is a great option for your Christmas Dinner for One. Get the size that makes the most sense for you.
• Potato: I love a good yukon gold potato for mashed potatoes, but a bakers potato (russet) works well too. Sweet potatoes are nice mashed too. You can make extra for leftovers if you want.
• Vegetables: You can use any vegetables here, but I got brussels sprouts. They cook about as long as you'll need for the ham, and they're really good with maple syrup. But use what you like/have on hand.
• Butter: essential in mashed potatoes.
• Milk: This will make your potatoes creamy. You can seamlessly swap milk for cream too for extra extra creamy potatoes. I generally go for milk because that's a staple in my fridge.
• Maple Syrup: It makes for a great DIY seasoning for your ham and goes great on the vegetables. Versatile and super fall/winter tasting!
• Oil: Toss vegetables in oil to crisp them up
• Rosemary: Dried or fresh rosemary add lovely flavor to the ham and vegetables in your Christmas dinner for one. You can chop them up small to blend in or leave them whole and slide them aside. They'll infuse flavor.

Instructions

Scroll down to the recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.

1. Start your Christmas dinner for one by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Then boil your potatoes for the mashed potatoes. They will cook while you prepare the ham and brussels sprouts. Check after about 10-15 minutes, once potatoes are fork tender, drain water and set aside.

3. While your potatoes are boiling, place your ham steak in an oven safe sandwich sized silicone bag, like a Stasher bag, pour 1 teaspoon maple syrup, ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, and a pinch of salt in the bag.

If you don't have a silicone bag, use tin foil. Place ham in center of foil, pour syrup, rosemary, and salt over ham. Pinch seams together to create a packet.

4. Close the seal, leaving about 1 inch open, and place on a half size baking sheet (the normal big ones lots of households have).

5. Cut bottoms off of brussels sprouts, then cut into quarters. Remove outer layers and rinse well. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add remaining syrup, rosemary, and a large pinch of salt. Mix together and pour onto baking sheet, next to bag.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the brussels sprouts in your Christmas dinner for one are crispy on the edges and tender inside.

7. While ham and brussels sprouts are baking, return to potatoes. Once they're fork tender, and drained. Return to pot, add ¼ cup milk, 1 Tablespoon butter, and about ¼ teaspoon salt.

8. Mash with a potato masher or use an electric hand mixer to mash. Cover mashed potatoes until serving.

Serve mashed potatoes, ham and brussels sprouts. Drizzle leftover syrup over ham to serve. Enjoy your Christmas dinner for one immediately.

Other Great Sides for your Dinner

• Holiday Kale Salad with Pomegranates
• Roasted Pear and Orange Salad
• Sheet Pan Broccoli for One
• Apple Cucumber Salad
• Copycat Chick Fil A Kale Salad Recipe
• Roasted Broccoli and Mushrooms
• Frozen Roasted Green Beans for One
• Swap the simple mashed potatoes for "Roasted" Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Great desserts for your Dinner

Here are a couple single serving (and one small batch) recipes for you. Single serving recipes can be great, they also can be not so great. Check out this VIDEO I made about single serving desserts. I feel complicated about them.

• Single Serving Chocolate Pudding
• Single Serving Oatmeal Cookie
• Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie
• No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars (small batch)
• Biscoff Milkshake for One
• Single Serving Apple Crisp
• Single Serve Brownie

Storage/Reheating Tips

If you made or have leftovers from this Christmas dinner for one, store leftovers in airtight container(s), in the fridge, for about a week.

The vegetables and uncooked ham can be frozen for later.

To reheat, cover and microwave until hot.

Substitutions/Tips

• If you'd like an even easier Christmas dinner for one, throw those cubed potatoes in with the brussels sprouts and roast them.
• Boil potatoes in a medium/large pot, so the water doesn't boil over.
• Swap milk for any type of cream if you have it. It'll add creaminess to your potatoes.
• Substitute brussels sprouts for zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, or another vegetable.
• Add shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese and roasted garlic to mashed potatoes for added flavor.
• You can broil the ham for a minute or a few to add a crust. Remove it from the baking pad though, it will blister (been there, done that)
• Lovely rolls are always a great addition to a holiday meal.
• Other great add-ins: extra herbs to the vegetables and ham, cheese to potatoes or vegetables, nuts, etc.

What to do with leftover ingredients

When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.

• Ham: Ham and Swiss Sliders, swap into Gnocchi Carbonara or Lemony Carbonara.
• Brussels Sprouts: Roasted Maple Mustard Salmon, Potatoes and Brussels Au Gratin, or add to this Vegetarian Harvest Bowl.
• Potatoes: Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Potatoes and Carrots, or Roasted Beets and Potatoes.

Want time saving tips to make recipes like this Christmas Dinner for One delivered to your inbox? Click here to download my Cooking for One Time Saving Tips.

Recipes are great, but you’ll need a simple 3 step process to create a meal plan that make cooking easy & helps you stop wasting food. Check out this expertly developed meal planning guide to get started.