40 Cozy Comfort Food Recipes to Soothe Your Soul
Delicious comfort food for chilly nights or challenging times. Sometimes you just need a super cozy meal to enjoy with your loved ones.
Oof. This year has been no joke. I know our family isn't the only one feeling the stress and anxiety of the world pressing down coupled with the normal challenges of raising kids and balancing work with family life.
Some nights the answer to all your troubles is a truly cozy comfort food recipe for your family dinner.
Enjoying a meal with your loved ones can help you forget your troubles for a little while and these delicious recipes will help fuel your strength for tomorrow.
Below you'll find my Top 10 dinner ideas for nights I'm too worn down to cook much along with 40 more utterly tasty dinner ideas when a little cooking therapy is what the doctor ordered.
Know a family going through a hard time? Any one of these recipes would make for a super thoughtful meal train dinner, too.
Top 10 Dinners for Struggle Bus Nights
Some nights you just don't have any energy left to give to the day. Cooking anything feels like an insurmountable challenge.
When life feels too hard and even the decision required for making dinner feels too much, these are the easy quick-cooking recipes I often turn to myself:
- Buttered Noodles: Pick your favorite pasta shape, add some butter and garlic salt. Or, if you're like me, upgrade it to this lemon butter pasta.
- Poached Eggs and Toast: I have an egg poaching pan I adore. If that's too fussy, stick to simple scrambled eggs.
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
- Cheese Quesadillas: All you need is shredded cheese and a tortilla to make my easy quesadillas.
- Pizza: Delivery or frozen totally work, but there's something very cozy about rolling out your own pizza dough for a homemade pizza.
- Cheese Tortellini with Pesto: 3 ingredients, I grab them all at Costco so I can make this easy cheesy tortellini dish in minutes.
- Buttered Popcorn
- Peanut Butter Toast: Slice up an apple to go with it.
- Mac and Cheese
- Microwave Nachos: I keep leftover bits of chicken or pulled pork in the freezer in small bags for making quick microwave nachos on tired nights.
Delicious Comfort Food Ideas for Dinner
If your family, or a family you know, is going through a hard time, a cozy family dinner can help so much.
Some of these dishes are quick and easy, some take a little more time to simmer, but the one thing they all have in common is that they will make your home smell amazing and bring a whole lot of comfort to the ones at your table.
Chicken and Dumplings
This creamy chicken and dumplings is cooked in a Dutch oven right on the stovetop in about 30 minutes. It was one of the first dinners I had after a major surgery and was perfect for my sensitive tummy.
Scrambled Eggs
A little bit of cheese and some seasonings make these scrambled eggs with vegetables totally dinner worthy on a challenging night. Add your favorite toast.
Beef Stew with Mashed Potatoes
Buy a tub of prepared mashed potatoes and just heat them in the microwave to pair with my easy stovetop beef stew.
Fettuccine Alfredo
On a tough day, this creamy fettuccine alfredo is so delicious and cozy. If I have a little more time I'll add sliced broiled chicken or make my alfredo with ham and peas if I have leftover ham.
Tater Tot Hotdish
You can prep this Minnesota tater tot hotdish ahead and even freeze it if you know you'll want some easy comfort food later.
Chicken Enchiladas
Personally, I love just a little spice when I want some comfort food. Tender chicken, a seasoned tomato base, and lots of cheese make my easy chicken enchiladas a fantastic pick.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Pop all the ingredients into the Crock Pot and you'll have Mississippi pot roast with potatoes and carrots ready for dinner in no time. You can serve it over rice, as a stew with bread, or over mashed potatoes.
Sausage Lasagna
If you want to bring comfort food to a friend, this sausage lasagna is an amazing choice. You can prep it ahead, it is very travel friendly, and it can be frozen for later.
I love it with my homemade garlic bread but there's a certain guilty pleasure if you serve it with baked Texas toast from the freezer section.
Chicken Noodle Soup
My rich chicken noodle soup has a bit of tomato in the broth that adds a wonderful depth of flavor but still has all the chicken soup elements you know and love.
Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
Tender chicken, packaged wild rice, and a creamy sauce: what's not to love about chicken wild rice casserole with slivered almonds on top??
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
I often serve this easy chicken pot pie soup with puff pastry croutons floating on top but if I've been to Costco, I love to grab a package of their croissants to serve with it, too.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Crispy breaded buttermilk fried chicken tenders with a buttermilk ranch dip or honey mustard dip is comfort food at its finest.
Baked Mac and Cheese
While my husband might grab a boxed mac and cheese if he's in charge of dinner, my homemade baked mac and cheese with breadcrumbs on top is my kids' all-time favorite.
Ham Pot Pie with Biscuits
As much as I love pot pie with pie crust on top, this ham pot pie with biscuits on top is a real winner when there's leftover ham in the fridge.
Crock Pot Shepherds Pie
For chilly nights when you something warm and cozy, it is hard to beat a Crock Pot shepherds pie with rich beef and veggie base and a creamy mashed potato topping.
Chicken Pot Pie
This lighter chicken pot pie has been served at our family table so many times it is one of the few recipes I can cook without even looking at the recipe. Sometimes I make it with a phyllo dough topping and on really hard nights I just serve it with a side of baked biscuits for dunking.
Chicken Tetrazzini
Creamy pastas are my love language. This creamy chicken tetrazzini casserole with tender chicken and sweet peas has a salty parmesan topping that I love.
Saucy Pork and Noodle Bake
The #1 most popular recipe on this entire site is my mom's famous saucy pork and noodle bake. Literally thousands upon thousands of readers have made and loved this easy casserole.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Classic spaghetti and meatballs can be made with a jar of sauce and a package of frozen meatballs for a cozy dinner in minutes. But if you're trying to make something extra-delicious, it is worth the time to cook a batch of my Italian meatballs in tomato sauce and then just stir the spaghetti right in.
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
You could make a simple grilled cheese with canned tomato soup or you can give your dinner an upgrade and serve these easy ham and cheese sliders alongside bowls of my creamy tomato bisque soup.
French Dip Sandwiches
Toast the buns and then pile up savory tender shredded beef. These French dip sandwiches taste amazing when dunked into individual cups of beefy au jus.
Sloppy Joes
You can use the same method as my Crock Pot sloppy joes to make several variations on this family-favorite sandwich. Next time try my ground turkey sloppy joes or these peppery Philly cheesesteak sloppy joes.
Baked Cheese Tortellini
When you don't have time for a full blow lasagna, my baked cheese tortellini skillet hits all the same notes: meaty, cheesy, with veggies tucked into a rich tomato sauce.
Cheese Pizza
I love funky pizza toppings and enjoy them every chance I get but some nights you want just a simple childhood favorite and this classic cheese pizza hits just right.
Ground Turkey Soup
My husband's most-frequent soup request when he's feeling under the weather is this quick Instant Pot ground turkey soup with a tomato base and lots of tender veggies.
Potsticker Soup
On the other hand, my kids' new favorite soup is this spicy potsticker soup. When they feel a sniffle or scratchy throat, the big dose of garlic and spicy seasonings in the broth helps soothe them.
Baked Spaghetti
I love the texture of the noodles in this baked spaghetti. It's another easier option over lasagna when you want a cozy pasta dish for dinner.
Chicken and Rice Soup
When I made my roasted chicken leg quarters to prep my make ahead roasted chicken gravy ahead of Thanksgiving, I used the shredded meat to make this creamy chicken and rice soup for dinner.
Even though I was tired after all that cooking, the soup was easy to prep for dinner and was just what I needed at the end of a long day. You could always use a shredded rotisserie chicken to make it quickly.
Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches
Sweet and spicy is my favorite flavor combo so these hot honey chicken sandwiches would top my list of comforting meals.
Baked Boursin and Tomato Pasta
The sauce for this baked boursin and tomato pasta starts in the oven. The cheese tortellini cook in just two minutes. Such an easy pasta dish for a busy weeknight.
French Toast
Breakfast for dinner, anyone? Sometimes when you really need some comfort food, it is helpful to make something extra delicious even if that means french toast for dinner!
Sausage Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
Another excellent breakfast-for-dinner option is this sausage biscuits and gravy casserole. It's a perfect choice if you prefer your dinners savory but want something warm and filling.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
My chocolate chip walnut cookies can be prepped into cookie dough balls and frozen. This lets you bake just 1 - 2 as needed for nights when you really need comfort food. Pour an ice cold glass of milk to enjoy your cookies and milk.
Banana Bread
When my kids were little and would have tummy troubles, I always baked a batch of my banana zucchini bread to help soothe them when they got their appetites back. You could add chocolate chips to the loaf for an extra treat.
Bread Pudding
I think bread pudding is right there in the definition of "what is comfort food?" Chunks of fluffy bread in a vanilla egg custard, served warm? Yes, please!
This New Orleans bread pudding with bourbon sauce is inspired by the best dessert my husband ever had.
Banana Pudding
You'll spot banana pudding at every party here in the south but what is someone who doesn't like bananas supposed to do?? Make my banana pudding without bananas, of course!
Apple Turnovers
If you need a little treat, fresh and warm out of the oven, you can use 3 easy ingredients to make my air fryer apple turnovers in just a few minutes.
Pumpkin Bread
With just one bowl of batter, you'll get three loaves of this awesome pumpkin bread. Enjoy one now, freeze the other two for later or share them with friends.
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