Comfort foods with a healthy twist can be just as delicious, and we've come to give you the best healthy comfort food recipes you can come across.
Your version of the healthiest comfort food might be a gluten-free dish, dairy-free, or something with more vegetables.
Our list of comfort food healthy recipes has a dish for everybody regardless of their preference.
Try these comfort food that are healthy for a lighter spin on all your favorite classics.
12 Healthy Comfort Food Dinner Ideas
To kick off our healthy comfort food recipes, we'll start with healthy comfort food dinners that will suffice for families, gatherings, and yourself on a busy weeknight. The Waldorf chicken salad wrap is our first choice for a healthy comfort food dinner.
1. Waldorf Chicken Salad Wrap
The Waldorf chicken salad wrap is a yummy meal to have as dinner with the family or even share at a gathering during the day.
It's a low-carb dish rich in nutrients and flavors, depending on your dressing (you can use greek yogurt), fruits, and veggies.
The Waldorf chicken salad wrap is a healthy dinner that will leave an impression.
2. Homemade Caesar Salad With Blackened Tilapia
The homemade Caesar salad with blackened tilapia is your ultimate comfort food recipe if you want a lighter spin on dinner or even lunch.
This dish has a meal prep time of about 20 minutes and is guaranteed to leave you with a fantastic combo of flavors.
3. Poached Salmon Salad With Apples, Fennel, And Blue Cheese
Eat healthily with this recipe and get a hearty combination of flavors from the crisp apples, fennels, blue cheese, and walnuts.
The healthy dish will serve well as a light dinner and even better as lunch.
You can also experiment with other vegetables of your choice.
4. Easy Zucchini Pizza Boats
The zucchini pizza boats are a perfect weeknight meal you can make with only six ingredients. It's the healthy version of a delicious pizza without the meat and extra cheese.
The delicious food is made with basil, sauces, mozzarella or parmesan cheese, vegetables of your choice, and pepperoni.
The recipe can accommodate extra veggies to suit your taste as a vegetarian or vegan.
5. Stuffed Zucchini Boats
You can also eat healthy comfort food with ground beef as the main stuffing in this low-carb meal.
The recipe includes juicy ground beef, fresh mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, zucchinis, vegetables, and tomato or marinara sauce.
Serve the healthy main meal with a side dish of pasta, jalapeno poppers, or the southern fried cabbage.
6. Grilled Salmon With Avocado Black Bean Salsa
Got a can of black beans and salmon fillets?
Make this classic recipe easily in about 10 minutes, and enjoy a delicious dinner.
The nutritious ingredients include cilantro, salmon, black beans, avocado, tomato, lime, cumin, paprika, and a few either ingredients.
7. Vegan Mac And Cheese
Mac And cheese is a classic recipe for a weeknight meal, and you can have the healthier version with extra veggies and even more flavors.
Eat it with salad, and it'll be your top healthy comfort food as a vegan.
8. Roasted Butternut Squash And Chickpea Curry
The roasted butternut squash and chickpea curry is healthy comfort food that's easy to make and perfect as a vegan dinner.
It's the comfort food perfect for cold autumn nights and can be stored for later to eat. Your chickpea curry can have cooked cauliflower and even more veggies for extra nutrients.
9. Stuffed Potatoes With White Bean And Guacamole
Whether you're a vegan or you eat meat, this healthy dish made with sweet potatoes will have you coming for more.
A load of nutrients backs the excellent combination of flavors to make the perfect healthy comfort food.
You can add any vegetables of your choice as toppings to balance the sweetness of the sweet potato used.
10. Broccolini Vegan Corn Dogs
This is a healthy recipe that's vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for a light dinner. The broccolini vegan corn dogs are delicious and will accommodate more veggies to make healthy comfort food.
Serve hot for the best flavors!
11. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
If you want a slow cooker dinner where you can dump your vegetables and ingredients in a crockpot to cook, this is the recipe for you.
It's an entire meal to fill yourself and your family, but you can add side dishes that will give you more fiber.
12. Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
Do you want the vegetarian chili for dinner as soon as possible? Then, this healthy recipe is the one for you!
Food ingredients include black beans, lentils, kidney beans, vegetable broth, yellow onions, and a few others.
10 Healthy Easy Comfort Food Recipes
In this section, we'll see popular recipes that you can quickly whip up within minutes to satisfy your cravings, give comfort, and still keep you healthy. To kick off the recipes, we have the classic chicken noodle soup!
1. Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
This recipe is one of the most popular recipes incorporating chicken and a load of veggies. The ingredients that go into the soup give hearty flavors, from the shredded chicken to the egg noodles used.
The soup can accommodate a few staples for more nutrients like sweet potato and vegetables.
2. Lentil Potato Soup
The lentil potato soup is one you can cook in one large pot to share with your family on a cold fall night. It's a hearty, delicious soup with options to tweak your vegetables as much as you want.
Serve with fresh sourdough bread, homemade Challah bread, or garlic bread.
3. Hearty Quinoa Veggie Burger
The Quinoa veggie burger is your go-to meal if you want a vegan burger that you can whip up in about 30 minutes.
Cook and serve immediately in a bun or as a healthy main meal with a side dish or two.
4. Chicken Pot Pie Soup
The chicken pot pie soup is a healthy comfort dish with flavors from the tender chicken, bacon, veggies, and buttery pie pastry.
The delicious chicken pot pie soup is very easy to prepare and will leave your family coming for more!
5. Instant Pot Ginger Chicken Pot & Rice Soup
Brown and cauliflower rice mixed with veggies in hot ginger chicken soup is the definition of healthy comfort food. And it's super simple to make with ingredients you can easily grab from your pantry.
It's the real food to leave you filled and craving more in no time! You can optionally serve with fresh parsley!
6. Low Carb Chicken Mushroom Soup
This low-carb version of the chicken mushroom soup is one of the recipes that will leave an impression on your family and friends.
The soup is gluten-free and takes a total cooking time of 45 minutes.
7. Chicken Enchilada Soup
Enjoy a dairy-free soup with healthy chicken enchiladas with this recipe that provides all the comfort you need on a chilly night.
It'll be ready in about 30 minutes, and you can tortilla chips and cheese as toppings.
8. Vegan Mexican Salad Wraps With Creamy Avocado Dressing
If your resolution was to lose weight and still enjoy the best flavors from salads, this recipe serves tastiness, healthiness, and comfort in one meal.
Eat real food with the creamy avocado dressing, green onions, red onions, black beans, jalapeno, corn, and fresh bell peppers that go into the food.
9. Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Wrap
Have an easy and delicious meal as a vegan with this recipe that combines ingredients to give different flavors.
Roast the chickpeas and cauliflower with buffalo hot sauce to add spice to the crunchiness and freshness of the meal.
10. Hummus Vegetable Wrap
The hummus veggie wrap is an easy healthy meal packed with nutrients and tastiness from various veggies.
These veggies include cucumbers, avocado, carrots, and bell peppers. Add hummus and brown rice, and wrap with a gluten-free tortilla.
5 Healthy Comfort Food Takeout
This section is dedicated to you if you want to make restaurant-style healthy comfort foods. There are several healthy comfort food restaurants in the USA with tasty dishes packed with highly nutritious components.
Some of these restaurants detail the calories you'll find in their dishes, with most typically under 700 calories. First on the list is Applebee's copycat Thai shrimp salad.
1. Copycat Applebee's Thai Shrimp Salad
This food is also known as the Shrimp Yum Goong, and it's a healthy dinner or lunch with spicy, sweet, sour, and salty flavors.
It can be made in about 20 minutes with ingredients easily fetched from the pantry.
2. Chipotle's Burrito Bowl
The healthy food bowl has three main components: rice, chicken, and beans. Ingredients you'll need include Cilantro lime rice, skillet chipotle chicken, roman lettuce, and chipotle pinto beans.
Other optional ingredients include salsa, guacamole, shredded cheese, and Southwest chipotle ranch.
3. Denny's Copycat Loaded Veggie Omelet
The food is packed with fresh veggies, including baby spinach, zucchini, and mushrooms.
It's one of the tastiest and healthiest foods on Denny's menu, and you can make it from the comfort of your home.
4. P.F Chang's Buddha's Feast Stir Fry
This stir fry is packed with more vegetables than you know what to do with, making it the healthiest food on P.F Chang's menu.
Make your tofu, get condiments, and your favorite veggies to make the Buddha's Feast stir fry.
5. Taco Bell's Fresco Crunchy Taco
This food is made with ground sirloin, iceberg lettuce, and a load of other condiments. The Fresco Crunchy Taco is perfect as a light and hearty dinner on a busy weeknight.
9 Healthy Comfort Food Snacks
Snacks can be healthy while they're delicious, and we have a list of recipes to prove us right! The Oatmeal raisin cookies are our first choice on our list of healthy comfort food snacks.
1. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
The oatmeal raisin cookies are flavorful when properly spiced and sweetly chewy for days after baking.
Making this snack requires jumbo raisins and good old-fashioned rolled oats. Get your baking equipment out for this healthy deliciousness.
2. Bruschetta With Mozzarella
Add mixed chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella to make this tasty, healthy comfort food snack on a slice of warm baguette.
This snack is perfect for gatherings with friends and family to leave a memorable taste.
You can also have it as a light dinner when you do not have the time for elaborate food.
3. Curried Deviled Eggs
At BBQs, picnics, potluck dinners, and other food gatherings, the curried deviled eggs will be the winning snack of them all.
It's healthy, tasty, and easy to whip up.
4. Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
The flavor combination you get from dill, cheese, capers, and onions with smoked salmon on top, makes this healthy snack impressive.
They're perfect for weekend brunches, picnics, and get-togethers at work.
5. Crispy Avocado Fries
Textures and flavors in this snack will leave your taste buds rejoicing and clamoring for more. The avocado fries are creamy and tasty in filling and crunchy on the outside.
Serve warm with a creamy dip or as a side dish for a fine dining experience.
6. Root Veggie Chips
If you didn't know carrots, beets, and parsnip can make great chips, you're in for a treat with this recipe.
You can serve the chips with a creamy dip, sour cream, or hummus.
The chips are as tasty as they're healthy, and you'll definitely come back for more.
7. Fruit Salad With Zesty Sour Cream Dressing
The only fruity snack on our healthy snacks recipes is a must-try. The fruit salad and its dressing is a classic in whatever season and has a total preparation time of five minutes.
Refrigerate it till it is time to serve for the best flavors.
8. Almond Butter Cookies
All you need is an all-purpose or almond flour, almond butter, and a few other baking ingredients to make this chewy goodness.
You can tweak your toppings to suit your diet and balance the sweetness.
9. Peanut Butter Cookies
You can make these peanut butter cookies flour-free, gluten-free, and without artificial sweeteners.
Without the above-listed components, you still get amazing flavors and texture in the cookies that will have you coming back for more.
6 Quick Healthy Comfort Food
Healthy comfort foods are probably the fastest to whip up at any time of the day as brunch, dinner, or appetizers. So if you need healthy meals in minutes, these quick healthy comfort food recipes are all you need.
1. Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad
Check your pantry for cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, and basil to make this food.
Its max preparation time is about ten minutes, and you'll get amazing flavors in food packed with nutrients.
2. Easy Green Pea Soup
This delicious soup will be ready with minimal ingredients in about ten minutes. The green pea soup is made with olive oil, garlic cloves, onions, frozen peas, sour cream, vegetable broth, black pepper, and salt.
Serve with potatoes, cheddar quiche, or spicy pinwheels.
3. Quinoa Salad With Black Beans, Feta, And Lemon Garlic Dressing
This is an easy, hearty dish with zesty lemon garlic dressing to make a light dinner.
Put your veggies together, add your condiments, and you have a savory dish. You can substitute the veggies as much as you want, and Brussels sprouts are not excluded.
4. Spinach Salad With Chicken, Bacon, And Brie
The chicken makes you prepare your ingredients the night before, and you pretty much just have to put it together in minutes the day you want to eat it.
The flavors in the healthy salad are held together by the red wine vinaigrette.
5. Couscous Salad With Chopped Vegetables, Mint, And Cilantro
You do not need a dressing for this amazing combination of veggies. The juices bring out the flavors to make a healthy, tasty meal.
If you must make a dressing, opt for plain yogurt.
6. Pear, Beet, And Goat Cheese Salad
This salad is perfect before a heavy pasta dish with the tartness, sweetness, and acidity incorporated in the dish.
It's the perfect blend of flavors to whip up in about ten minutes.
7 Healthy comfort food breakfast
If you're looking for a healthy breakfast to keep you light and energized throughout the day, these healthy comfort food breakfast recipes have you covered.
1. Bacon Quiche
If you love bacon, the creamy bacon quiche is the perfect dish for quick breakfasts, picnics, and brunch with friends.
Add corn starch to your egg mixture for a thicker consistency in the quiche.
2. Zucchini Noodles With Butter And Parmesan
Make Zucchini noodles with minimal ingredients in about 20 minutes!
The Zucchini noodles make you feel like you're having pasta for breakfast, and they're absolutely delicious.
3. Traditional Baked Ziti
This Italian-American food remains a classic in healthy comfort food breakfasts.
Bake Ziti pasta with tomato paste/sauce, sausage, and various types of cheese for yummy deliciousness.
4. Tuna Noodle Casserole
The Tuna noodle casserole is one of the classic recipes sure to give you comfort. It's equally healthy and comes with several flavors from its different components.
Serve warm with toppings of your choice.
5. Baked Eggs And Avocado
Avocado is filled with great nutrients, and a combination of it with eggs is the healthy comfort food breakfast you want for yourself.
Bake till the egg white is set for the best texture and flavor.
6. Ezekiel Bread
If you've wanted to try tasty flourless bread, Ezekiel bread is your go-to choice. It's made from various sprouted grains that come out flavorful when properly baked.
7. Spaghetti Squash Taco Bake
Eating bird food makes this recipe look delicious with the amazing ingredients that go into cooking it. Although turkey is one of its main ingredients, you can swap it with ground vegetarian meat crumbles for a vegetarian dish.
Healthy comfort foods takeaway
From snacks to main dishes, there's something tasty to enjoy with wholesome nutrients to keep you healthy. Try these dishes today for a mind-blowing experience with healthy comfort food.
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