Some recipes just feel like they came from her kitchen—thoughtful, steady, and meant to be shared. These are the kinds of dishes that don’t need trends to matter; they’ve held their place for generations. Each of these 15 comfort food recipes carries the warmth and practicality of meals that could’ve easily sat on her table. If comfort had a seat at Sunday dinner, this is what it looked like.
Colombian Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
These comfort food drumsticks come roasted with cumin, garlic, and lime—bold but familiar in all the right ways. It’s a comfort food recipe that hits hard without needing anything fancy. Perfect for a slow Sunday dinner, they’re the kind of thing that never runs out of fans. It’s the kind of dish people ask for again next week.
Get the Recipe: Colombian Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
Potato Vegetarian Vareniki
This comfort food recipe brings soft dumplings filled with potatoes to the kind of Sunday table that never needed a big announcement. The familiar filling and ease of boiling match the kind of meals that lingered in grandma’s kitchen. It’s one of the comfort food recipes you can prep in batches and pull from the freezer without much thought. This comfort food has the kind of staying power that never fades.
Get the Recipe: Potato Vegetarian Vareniki
Matzo Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
This comfort food dinner turns matzo and pantry staples into something filling and layered, baked until crisp and soft all at once. It’s one of those comfort food recipes that came from making do and still managed to feed everyone. There’s nothing flashy, just smart cooking that holds up over time. It fits into the kind of meal that didn’t need to be perfect to be right.
Get the Recipe: Matzo Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
Homemade Gefilte Fish With Beet Chrein
Homemade gefilte fish is the kind of comfort food recipe you make when the meal means something more. With beet chrein on the side, it brings a bite of history to the table that’s sharp, strong, and deeply rooted. It takes time, but Sunday comfort food usually does. This dish doesn’t ask to be modern—it asks to be remembered.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Gefilte Fish With Beet Chrein
Ajiaco
Ajiaco is a comfort food recipe built on slow-cooked chicken, potatoes, and corn that fills the pot and the table. It’s rich, steady, and meant for second helpings—perfect for those long Sunday meals. The depth comes from time, not effort, which is the core of what makes comfort food special. It’s a dish that stays with you.
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Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup
This comfort food soup brings beans, tomatoes, and paprika together into a one-pot meal that tastes like something handed down. Pasulj is simple, but it stretches—and that’s exactly what comfort food recipes are meant to do. It’s built for big batches and longer nights, and it tastes better after the second warm-up. You don’t have to dress it up—it already belongs.
Get the Recipe: Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup
Homemade Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo ball soup is a comfort food recipe that never tries to be more than what it is—and that’s exactly why it works. The rich broth and tender dumplings are what Sunday dinner looked like in so many households. It’s a meal you don’t rush and one that always earns a second bowl. This is the comfort food that shows up, even when nothing else does.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Matzo Ball Soup
Chicken Sancocho
This comfort food soup loads up plantains, potatoes, corn, and chicken into one honest pot that keeps the kitchen warm. Sancocho is the kind of comfort food recipe that feeds slow and stretches far. It’s a recipe that gets better the longer it sits, both on the stove and in your memory. It’s the type of Sunday dish that didn’t need a side.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Sancocho
Mushroom Leek Pasta Kugel
This baked pasta kugel brings mushrooms and leeks into a creamy comfort food recipe that belongs in a casserole dish with your name on it. The flavor is strong but familiar, and the prep is all hands-off once it’s in the oven. It’s Sunday dinner with a little planning and a lot of reward. This is comfort food that doesn’t look for applause.
Get the Recipe: Mushroom Leek Pasta Kugel
Chicken Marbella
This comfort food recipe balances sweet and savory in a way that feels like it came from a Sunday dinner made to impress. The baked chicken soaked in prunes and olives fits right next to the dishes grandma pulled out when family came over. It’s not fast food—it’s thoughtful, and that’s what makes it comfort food worth remembering. It’s got that once-a-week feel baked right in.
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Oven-Baked Buttermilk Chicken And Potatoes
This comfort food dinner brings crisp chicken and soft potatoes to the same pan and cooks them into something timeless. It’s all done in the oven, with flavor that comes from waiting, not work. This comfort food recipe feels like the type of thing you serve once and then keep making forever. It’s Sunday food, no notes.
Get the Recipe: Oven-Baked Buttermilk Chicken And Potatoes
Classic White Fish In White Wine Sauce
This comfort food dinner with white fish and a simple wine sauce brings balance without sacrificing flavor. It’s the kind of comfort food recipe that doesn’t shout—it just shows up exactly how it should. Grandma didn’t need heavy seasoning to get dinner right. This one speaks softly but says enough.
Get the Recipe: Classic White Fish In White Wine Sauce
Mujadara
Comfort food doesn’t have to be complicated, and this mujadara proves it with lentils, rice, and deeply caramelized onions. It’s the kind of comfort food recipes that sits well on a quiet Sunday, steady and filling. It’s low effort, big payoff—the kind of thing you could reheat all week without getting tired. Comfort food like this doesn’t need a crowd to feel right.
Get the Recipe: Mujadara
Sheet Pan Paprika Chicken And Veggies
This one-pan comfort food dinner brings paprika chicken and vegetables together with minimal cleanup and zero stress. It’s practical, dependable, and tastes like something grandma would’ve had ready by five. This comfort food recipe belongs to the 'make once, feed many' category of Sunday dinners. It’s proof that effort doesn’t always equal flavor.
Get the Recipe: Sheet Pan Paprika Chicken And Veggies
Bosnian Pita Pie
This flaky comfort food pie is made with dough stretched thin by hand and stuffed with old-world ingredients. Whether filled with cheese or potatoes, it’s one of those comfort food recipes that holds tradition in every bite. It’s slow food without being complicated, and it fits right on a table where time slows down. It’s food that remembers where it came from.
Get the Recipe: Bosnian Pita Pie
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