21 Lightened-Up Comfort Food Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What foods are considered comfort foods? ›

Fast food like burgers, French fries, and pizza. Homemade meals that your family makes like casseroles, fried chicken and biscuits, pasta, pot pie, and soothing soups and chowders like beef stew, matzo ball soup, and chicken soup. Snacks like chips, pretzels, popcorn, nachos, and munchies that curb snack attacks.

Here are some classic comfort foods that people often turn to: Macaroni and Cheese:Creamy, cheesy pasta is a classic comfort dish that appeals to both kids and adults. Chicken Noodle Soup:A warm bowl of chicken noodle soup is often considered soothing and is a go-to remedy when feeling under the weather.

Not the kind you mix from a box but the slow-stirring, melty goodness that reminds you of family dinnertime. That's comfort food. Common types of comfort foods that come to mind include heavy casseroles, stews and breads that tend to be high in both taste and calorie count.

There is a reason why friends, family, and neighbors gravitate toward carb-heavy meals like lasagna, mac n' cheese, pulled pork, and various casseroles for grieving families: they're comforting. Most people are familiar with these dishes, and it reminds them of happier times.

Nearly 15 percent of the 2,252 adults surveyed by Harris listed pizza as their top comfort food, more than twice as many as said chocolate (7 percent) or ice cream (7 percent) and more still than said mac and cheese (5 percent), chips (4 percent), hamburgers (3 percent), steak (3 percent), or either popcorn, pasta or ...

This is why we may crave certain dishes like carb-heavy pasta or burgers when feeling down or stressed. The emotional connection we have with comfort food is also important.

Lasagna. This Italian classic doesn't require as much explaining as the previous entry. Lasagna hits all the comfort food pleasure points: Pasta, meaty tomato sauce, melty cheese, a crisp layer of cheese on top, all coming together in a rich mouthful that will send you right to the couch after eating.

Some 15 percent of Americans list pizza as their favorite comfort food, nearly double that of any other food choice, according to a study conducted by the Harris Poll, one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the United States. Harris surveyed 2,252 U.S. adults in December for the study.

Is popcorn a comfort food? ›

When we bite into a perfectly popped kernel, the crunch sends signals to our brain, triggering a release of dopamine, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. This pleasurable response can create positive associations with popcorn, making it an enjoyable and comforting snack.

Buy pre-prepared food: Make eating as easy as possible. This could mean buying pre-chopped vegetables, cooked meat, or even pre-prepared meals. When you're grieving, you're more likely to eat if you can stick something in the microwave rather than having to prepare a whole meal from scratch.

Ice cream, along with chocolate, is often seen as a comfort food providing a temporary escape from stress or negative emotions and soothing our mood.

Topping the list of most comforting foods: Grilled cheese. Does that come as any surprise? Sometimes nothing can soothe the soul quite like melted cheese sandwiched between two slices of crusty bread.