6 of My Best Comfort Food Recipes

Here are six of my best comfort food recipes! Whether you are cooking in your pressure cooker, slow cooker, oven, or on the stove top, one of these cozy dinner ideas will be perfect for the next cold winter’s evening or rainy day.

Once the weather gets cold and there is a chill in the air, I’m all about hearty meals and cozy dinners! I love slowly simmering dinner until the house smells amazing and the meat is fork tender.

Cozy Recipes for Cold Days

For this round up I’ve chosen just a few of my favorites. Dinners I’ve enjoyed time and again, both newer recipes like my pressure cooker pot roast and old favorites like my rich and meaty pork ragu. These are all recipes I would make for my family during a blizzard or on a nasty, rainy day but I would also serve them at a dinner party with good friends.

With no further ado, let’s get to the food!

1 – Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

This chicken comfort food recipe was one of my top reader favorites from last year and with good reason! Fluffy dumplings, tender chicken, creamy sauce all together in one delicious meal. This is food like a warm hug.

Creamy comfort food from scratch! You'll love this classic recipe for old-fashioned homemade chicken and dumplings cooked on the stovetop.

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2 – Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy Stew

Here is a favorite crockpot recipe of mine! (Though you can certainly make it in the oven instead if you wish.) Get everything going in the morning, let it cook all day while you enjoy the snow, and come home to a rich and flavorful stew in the evening.

Grab a bottle of Burgundy or Pinot Noir because it's time to make some classic French comfort food! My recipe for slow cooker beef burgundy is wonderful to come home to after a long winter's day - tender beef, bacon, lots of onions, and carrots all in a rich red wine sauce.

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3 – Braised Pork Shoulder Ragu

How about an Italian ragu? Pork shoulder and sausage are amazing when simmered with tomatoes until the meat just falls apart. Toss the ragu with super wide pasta for a classic recipe which is sure to please.

Italian comfort food of tomato, braised sausage, and pork shoulder ragu simmering on the stove is the perfect way to spend a chilly day. This pork ragu is easily doubled and freezes well.

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4 – Pressure Cooker Italian Pot Roast

If you love your Instant Pot, you need to try making a pot roast! This Italian version is easy, no fuss, and cooks in a fraction of the time that it would need in the oven. Set it once to cook the meat and a second time for perfectly done vegetables.

My Italian-style pressure cooker pot roast is braised in red wine until the meat just falls apart and the potatoes and carrots are tender. Easy instant pot comfort food dinner!

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5 – Braised French Short Ribs

Short ribs have long been a cold weather family favorite around here! Red wine, meaty ribs, black olives, and plenty of time will give you the perfect braised meal to have over mashed potatoes. Yum!

Beef short ribs are browned on the stove top and then oven braised for hours in red wine until they are meltingly tender in this recipe for French short ribs.

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6 – Chicken Fricassee with Root Vegetables

What about a wintry recipe when you don’t have a lot of time? Then you’ll love this fricassee! Delicious, creamy dinner with lots of veggies in less than an hour. Doesn’t get better than that.

My quick French chicken fricassee is comfort food for a weeknight dinner. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are braised along with root vegetables in white wine and then finished with a bit of cream and egg yolks to make a smooth and silky sauce.

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– Happy Eating, Annemarie