Comfort food is often associated with indulgence. Creamy mac and cheese, pizzas laden with mozzarella, bowls of greasy, piping hot chili loaded with cheddar, and stacks of fluffy pancakes heaped with whipped cream and drenched in syrup are dishes that will warm the cockles of your heart but won’t do you any favors health-wise. Now, however, there are more ways than ever to turn classic comfort food into healthy food without losing the essence of what makes it so darn soothing for the soul and palate. You can make wispy, crispy fried chicken without deep frying and produce a heaping bowl of pasta that has no grains in it whatsoever.
These recipes are designed to bring back all the feelings and memories associated with comfort food -– coziness, decadence, a full stomach, and happy memories of special occasions. Each dish in this collection has been carefully crafted to provide the same textures, flavors, and even appearances of the comfort foods you love but with a nutritional profile that leaves you feeling nourished instead of sluggish. You might even find yourself eating vegetables that you didn’t think you liked or discovering that you actually prefer banana-based pancakes over flour-based ones. So, get ready to enjoy your favorite comfort foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without that lethargic, overstuffed feeling that often accompanies them.
- Healthy Coffee Oatmeal
Oats are indisputably healthy. Packed with fiber, phytonutrients, and vitamins, they are the underrated MVP of breakfast foods and have even been found to lower cholesterol ( per the American Heart Association). However, they don’t have to be the bland, beige slop that you might have encountered during previous meals.
This recipe for coffee oatmeal is rich, creamy, and sweet, with an extra dose of caffeine. Vanilla, honey, and milk make it reminiscent of an autumnal Frappuccino, but you don’t have to worry about overdoing it with saturated fats or sugar.
Recipe: Healthy Coffee Oatmeal
- Healthy Baked Breaded Eggplant
Susan Olayinka/Mashed
There are many ways to prepare eggplant, but breaded and fried is at the top of the list. Crispy and just a little greasy, it’s the kind of side dish that can enhance any meal, even breakfast.
Unfortunately, however, frying is not the healthiest way to cook, so we’ve devised a better way to indulge in crispy breaded eggplant that doesn’t involve drowning it in oil. Don’t worry, though, because it tastes just as delicious as the fried version. With a crispy coating of breadcrumbs and parmesan, it’s flavorful and indulgent without piling on the calories.
Recipe: Healthy Baked Breaded Eggplant
- Healthy Sweet Potato Quesadillas
When you think of quesadillas, you probably imagine strands of melted cheese stretching all the way from the plate to your mouth, and crispy, succulent meat. The indulgence in this particular food might prevent you from eating it as often as you’d like, but there’s no need to moderate your cravings with our healthy version.
Made with mashed sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and slices of avocado, these quesadillas provide a creamy texture and plenty of nutrients. You can add cheese to the recipe, but they are so delicious without it that you probably won’t notice its absence.
Recipe: Healthy Sweet Potato Quesadillas
- Sheet Pan Eggplant Parmesan
Eggplant parmesan is a classic comfort food. Layers of breaded eggplant drenched in marinara and cheese might not sound like the healthiest dish out there, but there’s a lot going for it.
For one thing, the base ingredient is a vegetable (technically, eggplant is a fruit, but it is commonly categorized as a vegetable). For another, there is no frying involved, meaning that the amount of oil is minimal compared to other breaded foods. Our recipe also happens to have been created by Kristen Carli, a registered dietician, which is all the proof we need of its nutritional value.
Recipe: Sheet Pan Eggplant Parmesan
- Easy Butternut Squash Pasta
Despite popular belief, carbs are not the enemy. They provide the energy we need to function, and they also have a habit of tasting delicious. That said, simple carbs, including white bread and pasta made with refined gluten, are not nutritionally well-rounded, which can lead to them being labeled as empty calories.
That doesn’t mean that you have to cut them out of your diet, though. Instead, simply add nutrient-dense ingredients to them, and they will transform into a wholesome meal. This recipe does just that: slathering spaghetti in a puree of roasted butternut squash, onion, and seasonings.
Recipe: Easy Butternut Squash Pasta
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
You can spiralize zucchini all day, but it still can’t call itself spaghetti squash. That distinction lies with a vegetable that, when cooked, can be sliced open to reveal ready-made strands that look just like pasta. It might not taste identical to spaghetti, but there’s an argument to be made that the sweet nuttiness of spaghetti squash is even more delicious than its gluten-based namesake.
Cooking this squash in the oven is time-consuming, which is why this recipe calls for an Instant Pot. With this miraculous bit of kitchen equipment, your spaghetti will be ready in a mere seven minutes.
Recipe: Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
- Simple Vegetable Soup
Few meals are as comforting as a hot bowl of soup. Whether it’s potato leek soup, a creamy tomato bisque, or clam chowder, this category is a sure bet when the temperatures are dropping or you’re feeling under the weather.
Soup can be as nutritious or as indulgent as you want it to be, but we prefer a balance between the two. This recipe is full of veggies, including carrots, celery, potatoes, and parsnips, but doesn’t shy away from a hefty dose of parmesan and lots of seasonings. It will have you feeling warm and nourished in no time.
Recipe: Simple Vegetable Soup
- Miso Soup
There are many ways to make miso soup, one of the most beloved dishes in Japanese cuisine. You can have it as nothing more than a simple broth, or fill it with dozens of ingredients. Recipe developer Maren Epstein has created a version that is full of flavor and guaranteed to pull you out of your soup-making routine.
Miso, a fermented soybean paste, comes in various strengths. White miso is milder and provides this soup with a light umami flavor to carry the ginger, tofu, noodles, and vegetables without overwhelming them.
Recipe: Miso Soup
- 30 Minute Egg Drop Soup
Swap your usual protein source for eggs with this recipe for egg drop soup, a dish that is surprisingly easy to make at home and easily adapted. If you’re wanting something substantial, toss in as many vegetables as you can find in your fridge. Almost anything will taste delicious with the gingery chicken broth, and recipe developer Tara Rylie even suggests experimenting with star anise, cinnamon sticks, and lemongrass.
The secret to smooth, velvety egg drop soup is to whisk the eggs with cornstarch. This prevents their proteins from bonding, which is a guaranteed precursor to the dreaded rubberiness.
Recipe: 30 Minute Egg Drop Soup
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Between fatty meat and creamy mashed potatoes, traditional shepherd’s pie can be rich. And while that makes it undeniably delicious, it also means that it isn’t quite as healthy as those carrots and peas want you to believe. This recipe tips the scales in the other direction, leaving out the greasy meat and replacing it with healthy, fiber-rich lentils and chickpeas.
These vegetarian alternatives to lamb and beef are surprisingly filling, with a nutty flavor that quells any fears that the dish might be less tasty without meat.
Recipe: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Split Pea Soup
Split peas are one of the best vegetarian protein sources. Creamy and filling, they can single-handedly turn a healthy recipe from something akin to rabbit food into something that feels like an indulgence. Split pea soup is a classic example. Split peas are known for their creamy texture when cooked, and anyone who takes a bite of this soup would be forgiven for assuming it’s full of dairy.
If you don’t have split peas on hand, you can swap them for green lentils, but recipe developer Maren Epstein notes that the consistency won’t be as creamy since lentils hold their shape better.
Recipe: Split Pea Soup
Credit:: https://www.mashed.com/
