Comfort Food Recipes That Will Make These Bitter Cold Days Seem Slightly Less Miserable
We all have that one comfort food dish that reminds us of home. For my family, it’s lumpia, a Filipino egg roll. My Filipino mother would tightly pack a plastic container full of these irresistible rolls — packed with ground beef, water chestnuts and various other veggies — for road trips, holidays, you name it. My father, on the other hand, makes the best damn biscuits and gravy you’ve ever tasted thanks to the recipe his father, my late grandfather, passed down to him. So in our mixed-race household, we were lucky to get the best of both worlds. And we know we’re far from alone.
Comfort food has a way of transporting you back to your childhood and doing just that, comforting you. And in the winter months, as we’re all in hibernation and bulking up guilt-free, comfort food almost always has a way of finding its way into our respective kitchens. Because, really, is there anything better than a creamy, heaping pile of mac ‘n’ cheese when it’s gray and 20 degrees outside? Or how about a bowl filled to the brim with warm chicken corn chowder? Ugh, our stomachs are growling just thinking about it.
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Ahead, we’ve gathered the best comfort food recipes guaranteed to get you through the winter. And because the pandemic is still a thing in 2021, we highly recommend using a service like Instacart or Kroger’s delivery to get your ingredients delivered to your door while helping reduce the spread.
Beef Ramen
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Ramen is one of the most versatile dishes out there. You can add some leftover protein from a previous night’s dinner, use up some veggies that have been sitting in your fridge or experiment with new herbs and spices to really amp up the flavor. There really is no wrong way to make ramen but this simple beef ramen is one of our favorites because it’s the food version of a warm hug and it’s so simple to make.
Get the recipe from Pass Me Some Tasty
Bolognese mac & cheese
Elevate your traditional mac ‘n’ cheese recipe and add rosemary, a host of other fragrant herbs and Bolognese sauce. The meat sauce in this particular recipe also calls for red wine, and you can’t go wrong with that.
Get the recipe from Drizzle & Dip.
3-cheese everything spice grilled cheese
Image: Half Baked Harvest.
Don’t skimp on the butter, the everything spice or the grated cheese when making this gloriously sinful grilled cheese sandwich. Half Baked Harvest manages to take it one step further, embracing a variety of cheeses, including sharp cheddar, Parmesan and your choice of either Havarti or fontina.
Get the recipe from Half Baked Harvest.
Chili
Image: The Food Charlatan.
Dubbed “the best chili recipe,” The Food Charlatan has combined tender shredded beef and Mexican masa harina, a very finely ground corn flour, and created a simultaneously refined yet down-to-earth pot of chili garnished with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, finely chopped onions, chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.
Get the recipe from The Food Charlatan.
Swedish meatballs
Image: Cafe Delites.
It doesn’t get more authentic than this. This Swedish meatball recipe from Cafe Delites was passed down from a Swedish grandmother to her granddaughter.
These meatballs are made with a mixture of minced ground beef and pork, and although traditionally, they aren’t served with a creamy gravy sauce, Cafe Delites still added the recipe for sauce because, let’s be honest, no one can resist gravy-soaked meatballs.
Get the recipe from Cafe Delites.
Homemade scalloped potatoes
Image: Well Plated.
Looking for a tiny twist on classic scalloped potatoes? This recipe from Well Plated is lighter on the cheese, skips the béchamel sauce and uses crumbled goat cheese, slices the potatoes even thinner and adds garlic and rosemary.
Get the recipe from Well Plated.
The “best” lasagna
Image: Carlsbad Cravings.
Rich. Satisfying. Perfectly proportioned. When a lasagna is described in such a way, how can you possibly resist?
Carlsbad Cravings’ meaty lasagna is loaded with three layers of pasta, creamy ricotta, homemade meat sauce and Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
Get the recipe from Carlsbad Cravings.
Chicken & dumplings
Image: The Hopeless Housewife.
Fluffy dumplings and moist chicken swimming in a flavorful broth: We couldn’t think of a better way to warm ourselves up. The Hopeless Housewife highly recommends using a Le Creuset Dutch oven for this recipe.
Get the recipe from The Hopeless Housewife.
Biscuits & gravy breakfast skillet
Image: Wife Mama Foodie.
Everyone knows that when it comes to biscuits and gravy, the gravy makes the dish. While Wife Mama Foodie’s recipe isn’t particularly traditional, it’s still legitimate. Her gravy recipe calls for butter, onions, mushrooms, cornstarch, almond milk, vegetable stock, sage, thyme and black pepper.
Get the recipe from Wife Mama Foodie.
Egg & cheese strata
If you’re more of an eggs-for-breakfast person, this delicious egg and cheese strata from Leite’s Culinaria is for you. You need to make it the night before, which ensures you’ll have the perfect lazy morning the following day.
Get the recipe from Leite’s Culinaria.
Slow cooker roast
Image: Jo Cooks.
Described as a “fool-proof recipe” by food blog Jo Cooks, this slow cooker roast is fall-apart tender and supported by a colorful cast of veggies and herbs. But make sure you have plenty of time to let this simmer. It takes 10 hours to cook in the slow cooker.
Get the recipe from Jo Cooks.
Mexican chicken corn chowder
Image: The Recipe Critic.
This isn’t your grandmama’s chicken corn chowder recipe. It’s much more colorful — and overloaded with Mexican flavors and spice.
The Recipe Critic’s recipe is so incredibly easy and quick too, as you don’t even need to cook the chicken. Simply purchase a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, pull it apart and throw it into a large pot along with the rest of the Southwestern ingredients. In just 25 minutes, you have yourself six servings of Mexican chicken corn chowder.
Get the recipe from The Recipe Critic.
The Pioneer Woman meatloaf
Image: The Cozy Cook.
Did you also grow up eating dry, overcooked meatloaf covered in thick layer of rubbery ketchup? Then it’s time you met the Pioneer Woman’s meatloaf recipe.
Wrapped in bacon, this meatloaf is made with 70 percent-lean ground beef and soft, white sandwich bread — Ree Drummond’s two secret weapons.
Get the recipe from The Cozy Cook.
Sweet tea fried chicken
Image: Grandbaby Cakes.
Sweet and savory join forces for this fried chicken recipe by Grandbaby Cakes. The key is brining the chicken in sweet tea for 48 hours then combining it with the salty flour mixture. Perfection.
Get the recipe from Grandbaby Cakes.
A version of this article was originally published January 2020.
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