Ideas
Cozy dinner ideas for when you cannot decide
Sometimes the problem is not the recipe, it is choosing one. Find the evening you are having below, and we will hand you the dish that fits it.
It is raining and nobody wants to go out
A pot of chicken and dumplings, with the dumplings steamed right on top of the broth.
Get the recipeYou have 30 minutes and one skillet
Beef and cheddar macaroni — the pasta cooks in the sauce, so nothing gets watery.
Get the recipeSunday, and you want the house to smell like cooking
Slow cooker pot roast, started in the morning and forgotten until dinner.
Get the recipeFeeding a table of six
Baked ziti with torn mozzarella — one dish, everyone quiet.
Get the recipeYou want something green but still comforting
Tuscan white bean and kale soup, thickened by mashing part of the beans.
Get the recipeBreakfast for dinner
Buttermilk pancakes with maple butter, held on a rack so they stay crisp at the edges.
Get the recipeCompany is coming and you need one good thing
Whipped feta with hot honey, five minutes in a food processor.
Get the recipeYou want dessert to be the whole point
Midnight chocolate tart, cut into small slices because it is very rich.
Get the recipe
Cozy and quick (under 35 minutes)
Pasta & Risotto
Saffron Lemon Risotto with Basil Oil
A slow-stirred, unapologetically buttery risotto that tastes like late sun on a stone terrace.
35 min · 4 servings
Pasta & Risotto
Brown Butter Tomato Pasta
Blistered cherry tomatoes collapse into nutty brown butter and cling to every strand.
20 min · 2 servings
Vegetables
Charred Broccolini with Anchovy Crumbs
Deeply blistered stems under salty, crunchy breadcrumbs — the side dish people fight over.
15 min · 4 servings
Seafood
Crisp Skin Salmon with Shaved Fennel
Skin like glass, centre barely set, and a cold fennel salad cutting straight through it.
18 min · 2 servings
Soups & Stews
Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup
A brothy, garlicky bowl that thickens itself when you mash a ladle of the beans.
35 min · 4 servings
30-Minute Dinners
Skillet Gnocchi with Spinach and Lemon
Crisped straight from the package — no boiling, no colander, one pan.
20 min · 4 servings
Side Dishes
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Warm cream, nutty butter, and a ricer instead of a masher.
35 min · 6 servings
Breakfast & Brunch
Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Butter
Lumpy batter, a rested ten minutes, and a griddle held at exactly 375°F.
25 min · 12 pancakes
Appetizers & Dips
Whipped Feta with Hot Honey
Five minutes in a food processor and it disappears faster than you can toast the bread.
15 min · 6 servings
Beef & Pork
Skillet Beef and Cheddar Macaroni
One skillet, 30 minutes, and the pasta cooks right in the sauce so nothing gets watery.
30 min · 4 servings
Vegetables
Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots
Roasted hot until the edges caramelize, then tossed in honey butter that turns to glaze in the hot pan.
35 min · 4 servings
Seafood
Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp cooked two minutes a side, then a garlic butter pan sauce loosened with pasta water.
20 min · 4 servings
30-Minute Dinners
Creamy Tomato Tortellini
Twenty minutes, one pan, and the tortellini cook right in the tomato cream.
20 min · 4 servings
Chicken & Poultry
Crispy Parmesan Chicken Cutlets
Pounded thin, breaded with Parmesan in the crumbs, and shallow-fried four minutes total.
25 min · 4 servings
Side Dishes
Skillet Cornbread with Honey Butter
Batter poured into a screaming-hot buttered skillet, which is what gives it that crackling edge.
32 min · 4 wedges
Appetizers & Dips
Warm Spinach Artichoke Dip
Squeeze the spinach dry and the dip comes out thick and scoopable instead of soupy.
35 min · 4 servings
Cozy and slow, for a night with time
Baking
Olive Oil Almond Cake
One bowl, one whisk, a crackled sugar top and a crumb that stays damp for days.
1 hr · 8 slices
Baking
Midnight Chocolate Tart
A mirror-black ganache set in a cocoa shell, cut with a hot knife and a little drama.
55 min · 10 slices
Casseroles & Bakes
Baked Ziti with Torn Mozzarella
Undercooked pasta, a loose sauce and torn mozzarella — that is the whole trick.
50 min · 6 servings
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
Sear it hard, then walk away for eight hours and come back to fork-tender beef.
8 hr 20 min · 6 servings
One-Pan Meals
Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes
One tray, 425°F, and a staggered start so nothing comes out soft.
45 min · 4 servings
Chicken & Poultry
Buttermilk Roast Chicken Thighs
An overnight buttermilk soak, then hard heat for skin that shatters.
50 min · 4 servings
Beef & Pork
Smothered Pork Chops with Onion Gravy
Deeply browned chops finished in a silky onion gravy built in the same pan.
40 min · 4 servings
Soups & Stews
Chicken and Dumplings
Shredded chicken in a silky broth with dumplings that steam soft on top and stay light all the way through.
50 min · 4 servings
Casseroles & Bakes
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
A from-scratch cheese sauce instead of canned soup, baked until the top is bubbling and browned.
50 min · 4 servings
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Everything goes in cold and comes out creamy — no browning, no thickener, no fuss.
6 hr 10 min · 4 servings
One-Pan Meals
One-Pan Lemon Chicken Orzo
Chicken browned skin-side down, then the orzo cooks in the same pan under the thighs.
45 min · 4 servings
Breakfast & Brunch
Baked Cinnamon French Toast
Soaked overnight, baked in the morning — custardy in the middle, crisp and sugary on top.
55 min · 4 servings
Keep browsing
Easy comfort food recipes
The cozy soups, cheesy skillets and slow Sunday dinners, sorted by time.
Easy dinner recipes
Everything we cook on an ordinary weeknight, from 15 minutes to a slow braise.
30-minute meals
Dinners on the table in half an hour, mostly in one pan.
Fall comfort food recipes
Sweater-weather cooking: braises, bakes and anything that warms the kitchen.
Dinner for two
Small-batch comfort food scaled for two, with almost nothing left over.