Food Comfort Foods Comfort Food to Keep You Warm All Winter By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 22, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Carson Downing Warm up your table with casseroles, stews, Midwest chef favorites, prizewinning recipes and more. 01 of 30 Squash and Sausage Gnocchi Hello, comfort! This one-pan supper dish is loaded with Italian sausage, butternut squash, spinach and cheese. One-Pan Recipes That Will Make Dinner So Much Easier View Recipe 02 of 30 Wine-Braised Short Ribs Brie Passano With marrow-rich bones and fatty marbling, short ribs deliver flavor and richness that cubed stew meat never will. Karen Bell, chef and owner of Bavette La Boucherie in Milwaukee, recommends using grass-fed beef which tastes less sweet than corn-fed. View Recipe 03 of 30 Corn and Potato Chowder Carson Downing Why mess with a good thing? This hearty classic starts with chopped bacon then uses those flavorful drippings to cook the veggies. Corn kernels do double duty—puree them to thicken the soup and leave some whole to float in the rich broth. View Recipe 04 of 30 Gnocchi Marsala with Mushrooms and Thyme Brie Goldman Everyone knows the best part of chicken marsala is the creamy, wine-infused sauce. Here, it glosses mixed mushrooms and pan-seared gnocchi. (No separate pot for boiling required!) Cozy Pasta Recipes to Make Tonight View Recipe 05 of 30 Mac and Cheese Carson Downing This three-cheese side is a staple at River Roast restaurant in Chicago. Chef Jason Qureshi adds hot sauce as his personal twist—it rounds out the flavor without bringing too much heat. Warm-and-Cheesy Recipes View Recipe 06 of 30 Flat-Iron with Chimichurri and Smashed Potatoes Brie Passano In a riff on French steak frites, Karen Bell, chef and owner of Bavette La Boucherie in Milwaukee, pairs grilled steak with an herby sauce and rustic baby potatoes. View Recipe 07 of 30 Sour Cream and Onion Knishes Kelsey Hansen Filled with cheesy potatoes and topped with sour cream and potato chips, this modern take on traditional knishes comes from Little Brother in Des Moines. The process takes awhile, but the payoff is pure comfort food. How 3 Midwest Kitchens Are Adapting—And Expanding—Modern Jewish Cuisine View Recipe 08 of 30 Classic Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish Rich cream sauce stands in for canned soup in Minnesota chef Amy Thielen's spin on classic chicken and wild rice hotdish. The recipe comes from Amy's book The New Midwestern Table (clarksonpotter.com). Winter Comfort Food Recipes from Midwest Chef Amy Thielen View Recipe 09 of 30 Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms and Onions You can have this comforting winter supper dish on the table in less than an hour, but it's nice enough to serve to company with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. The recipe comes from Gunflint Lodge in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Our Best Pork Recipes View Recipe 10 of 30 Mexican Potato Soup Brie Passano A favorite comfort food gets a bit of a kick with spicy chorizo sausage and chiles. This recipe is quick enough for a weeknight. Simmering Soups and Stews View Recipe 11 of 30 Beans on Toast with Fried Egg Blaine Moats Inspired by British pub fare, this breakfast-for-dinner (or brunch!) dish tops buttered toast with bacony stovetop baked beans, tomatoes and a fried egg. View Recipe 12 of 30 Macaroni and Cheese Chowder with Crispy Ham A splash of hot sauce, a topper of pan-fried ham and a just-right secret ingredient for ultrasmooth creaminess. (Guilty pleasure, thy name is American cheese.) Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Recipes View Recipe 13 of 30 Shortcut Cassoulet Blaine Moats This classic country French dish is a meat-lovers' fantasy that's heavy on the beans—because why not use all the proteins? Add a blanket of crispy breadcrumbs and serve with both red wine and an elastic waistband. Great Recipes for Canned or Dry Beans View Recipe 14 of 30 Sage Biscuits and Sausage Gravy with Roasted Vegetables Your quest for cold-weather comfort stops here, with maple-flavor sausage, creamy milk gravy, herby biscuits, and mustard-glazed roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts. View Recipe 15 of 30 Cinnamon-Spiced Beef Stroganoff A few pinches of pantry spices jazz up the traditional sour-cream gravy. This cozy weeknight dish dances on the line between comfort food and curry. View Recipe 16 of 30 Garlic Mashed Potatoes Quivey's Grove in Madison, Wisconsin, whips up this version of mashed potatoes that matches plenty of dairy richness with garlic, Parmesan, black pepper and green onion. Perfect Potato Recipes View Recipe 17 of 30 Slow-Cooker Brat and Sauerkraut Soup Potatoes, onion, sauerkraut and brats pack in the German flavor in this homey slow-cooker soup. Try with Whole Wheat Pretzel Rolls; the soft pretzels' chewy, brown exterior comes from being boiled in an alkaline solution—the 1/4 cup baking soda in the water isn't a typo! Hearty Slow-Cooker Soups and Stews View Recipe 18 of 30 Fork-Tender Pot Roast This pot roast slow-cooks until the meat turns brown and tender and the flavor mellows to an almost caramel overtone. Browned bits in the pan become the base for the rich red-wine gravy. View Recipe 19 of 30 Meat and Potato Pizza Chalk this recipe up as an occasional indulgence. It's topped with a totally mouth-watering combo of thin-sliced potatoes, bacon, sausage and a delectable garlic-rosemary butter. The recipe comes from Hidemi Walsh of Plainfield, Indiana. Recipes for So-Good Homemade Pizza View Recipe 20 of 30 Lemon-Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Vegetables Rub a blend of lemon peel, rosemary, thyme, parsley and garlic on the chicken before baking; Add fresh thyme sprigs and garlic bulbs around the chicken for even more flavor. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots make this a one-pan meal. View Recipe 21 of 30 Bacon and Baked Potato Soup Salty-smoky crumbled bacon tops our cheesy potato soup. "I made this soup and we loved it! Best potato soup ever!" writes one of our website reviewers. "I put carrots in mine; made it even better." Smoky, Sizzling Bacon Recipes View Recipe 22 of 30 Old-Fashioned Chicken and Noodles Lasagna The chicken, vegetables and gravy are as rib-stickingly good as you remember, or maybe even better, tucked up cozily under a blanket of dill Havarti. View Recipe 23 of 30 Creamy Scalloped Potatoes This easy-to-make layered cheesy potato dish—a potluck favorite—pairs well with pork chops or ham. View Recipe 24 of 30 Sweet Potato-Corn Chowder Cincinnati-area chef Paul Dagenbach upgraded the classic Midwest corn chowder. Sweet potatoes and andouille sausage made their way into the mix, along with cumin, chili powder and Cajun spice for a little zing. View Recipe 25 of 30 Never-Fail Rice Pudding This warm and comforting dessert recipe, one of the winners in a Midwest Living Favorite Winter Recipes contest, comes from a Brookfield, Missouri, reader. Serve with raisins, dried cherries or dried cranberries for extra flavor and color. View Recipe 26 of 30 Classic Lasagna With its rich meaty sauce and creamy cheese layers, this lasagna is always a favorite main dish. View Recipe 27 of 30 Barbecue-Sauced Meat Loaf This easy, saucy meat loaf makes a quick weeknight dinner—and a great sandwich the next day! We love it between slices of whole wheat bread with banana peppers, lettuce, onion and extra barbecue sauce. Fast-Fix Weeknight Recipes View Recipe 28 of 30 Apple Harvest Chili Fresh apple, dried fruit and cashews add color, sweetness and crunch to a ready-in-45 vegetarian chili. For a twist on the traditional toppers (and to hint what's inside), garnish with apple slivers. Top Vegetarian Recipes View Recipe 29 of 30 Chicken and Kielbasa Winter Stew Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but this hearty supper soup takes just an hour to make. The secret? Deli-roasted chicken and precooked sausage. Pair with breadsticks or a crusty baguette for a perfect cool-weather meal that will fill your house with good smells. Family-Favorite Soups and Stews View Recipe 30 of 30 Lemon-Rosemary Pork Loin with Cherry Sauce The classic fruit and pork combo gets a bold update: Slather the meat with a paste of garlic, mustard, lemon and rosemary, then serve with ruby red cherries. This recipe multiplies easily for entertaining. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit