30 Comfort Food Recipes for a Delicious Sunday Dinner

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Published on October 3, 2021

EatingWell's Eggplant Parmesan

Settle in for some evening comfort with these delicious recipes. Cozy shepherd's pie, creamy casseroles and simple slow-cooker dinners are all on the menu, so take your pick. Recipes like our Eggplant Parmesan and Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips are healthy dinners that will leave you satisfied ahead of a new week.

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American Goulash

American Goulash

American goulash, also known as old-fashioned goulash, is the perfect economical family meal. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, so this satisfying dish can cook in just one pot.

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EatingWell's Eggplant Parmesan

EatingWell's Eggplant Parmesan

Here we bake breaded eggplant for crispy results with fewer calories to boot. This makeover of the classic recipe was originally developed by our Test Kitchen in 1995 and got an update in 2020 for our 30th anniversary issue.

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Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips

The spice blend in this healthy beef stew recipe--cinnamon, allspice and cloves--may conjure images of apple pie, but the combo is a great fit in savory applications too. Serve over creamy polenta or buttered whole-wheat egg noodles.

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Mini Meatloaves with Green Beans & Potatoes

This healthy meatloaf recipe and side dishes are all made in the oven on two sheet pans so that everything's ready for the dinner table at the same time. The potatoes go into the oven first to start roasting while the mini meatloaves and green beans are prepped and added to the oven partway through.

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Spinach, Feta & Rice Casserole

spinach, feta & rice casserole

This one-pan recipe is the casserole version of spanakopita! It's hearty enough to enjoy as a vegetarian lunch or dinner, yet versatile enough to serve alongside just about any protein. To make it extra creamy, top each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

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Taco Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Revamp traditional shepherd's pie with this Tex-Mex take on the classic comfort food with taco seasoning, black beans and a little jalapeño. The flavor- and veggie-packed filling gets topped with cilantro-lime sweet potatoes for a satisfying and healthy dinner recipe.

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Cheesy Ground Beef & Cauliflower Casserole

Cheesy Ground Beef & Cauliflower Casserole — Jason Donnelly

Ground beef and cauliflower combine to create a hearty weeknight casserole that both kids and adults will love. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.

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Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

This Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe is full of healthy veggies and two kinds of beans. Chipotle chiles give it a hint of smoke and a nice kick. Top this quick and easy chili with cheese and sour cream, or enjoy it as a vegan chili by garnishing with veggies such as avocado, sliced jalapeños, onions, radishes and scallions or cilantro.

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Skillet Chili Mac

Poblanos add a kick of heat to this chili mac recipe. If that's not your thing, swap in green bell peppers to tone down the heat in this easy pasta dish, which mashes up mac and cheese and chili into a seriously satisfying skillet dinner.

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Creamy Mushroom, Chicken & Asparagus Bake

This comforting weeknight casserole recipe features plenty of mushrooms and asparagus combined with chicken and brown rice and a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. Whip this up anytime you have leftover chicken or cooked brown rice to spare.

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Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

butternut squash soup with apple grilled cheese sandwiches

ayering apple slices into grilled cheese sandwiches adds a little crunch to a favorite soup dipper. And creamy butternut squash soup with ginger, cumin and turmeric is a nice change of pace from grilled cheese's usual tomato soup partner. Serve the duo for a comforting and easy weeknight dinner for the family. The soup keeps well in the fridge, so save leftovers for lunch or dinner later in the week.

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Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

This easy load-and-go crock pot recipe is a great dinner to make with your kids. Let the kids stir the sauce while you rub the ribs, then just let the slow cooker do the rest of the work! Serve with a colorful coleslaw and brown rice.

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Noodle-Less Butternut Squash Lasagna

Noodle-Less Butternut Squash Lasagna

Slices of butternut squash stand in for noodles in this veggie-packed lasagna with spinach, mushrooms and a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce. You can make the Parmesan cheese sauce with regular flour or swap in gluten-free flour to make this dish gluten-free. Look for a squash with a long, straight neck for the best results. Serve with a green salad for a vegetarian meal that you'd be happy to serve to company.

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Roast Chicken with Parmesan-Herb Sauce

Roast Chicken with Parmesan-Herb Sauce

A store-bought rice blend and quick-cooking chicken breast help get this healthy chicken recipe on the dinner table fast. Check the label to avoid excessive sodium or other undesirable ingredients. Other herbs, such as rosemary and sage, are also delicious in this recipe.

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Four-Bean & Pumpkin Chili

This healthy vegetarian chili has a fragrant touch of cinnamon for added flavor. Let diners top it with whatever suits their taste.

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Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta

If you've ever wanted to make a meal out of warm spinach and artichoke dip, this creamy pasta is for you. And here's what's almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

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Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Load the crock pot and go with this stew recipe that's prepped in the morning and simmers all day so you'll come home to a Sunday-worthy dinner (and your house smelling downright heavenly). Tender beef, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and carrots in a rich broth--this could be the best and easiest beef stew you've ever made.

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Slow-Cooker Butter Chicken

Browning the chicken and sautéing the aromatics before everything goes into the crock pot is key to building the flavors in our version of this popular curry.

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White Bean & Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi

White Bean & Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi — Jacob Fox

Sun-dried tomatoes are the star of this recipe— providing texture and umami. Combined with the spinach, they make this dish a great source of vitamins C and K.

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Meat Loaf with Sour Cream-Mushroom Sauce

This made-over classic boasts whole-grains and plenty of veggies for a really satisfying comfort-food dinner.

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Slow-Cooker Arroz con Pollo (Chicken & Rice)

Slow-Cooker Arroz con Pollo

This one-pot chicken dinner, inspired by the traditional dish of Spain and Latin America, comes together easily in the crock pot. The instant brown rice is added near the end, to keep it from overcooking.

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Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

Think of this vegetarian enchilada casserole as a veggie-packed Mexican lasagna with corn tortillas standing in for the noodles! If your peppers are mild and you like heat, opt for spicy pico de gallo. This easy vegetarian dinner recipe is sure to become a new family favorite.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

This rustic stew cooks all day in the slow cooker so you can come home to a comforting, hot dinner. Not a fan of polenta? Try this healthy chicken dinner over pasta instead.

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Slab Chicken Potpie

Slab Chicken Potpie

Slab fruit pies are all the rage for summer parties, so why not give classic chicken potpie the same treatment and create buzz at a cool-weather gathering as well. Premade pie crusts and frozen veggies make this chicken dinner easy to prepare without sacrificing flavor.

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Vegan Meatballs

For these hearty and healthy vegan meatballs, we've swapped out the traditional ground beef and pork for protein-packed chickpeas and quinoa--without skimping on any of those Italian flavors that you look for in a classic meatball. Mushrooms up the umami factor, and a simple tomato sauce completes the picture. Serve over your favorite pasta.

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Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry

To make this 20-minute vegan curry even faster, buy precut veggies from the salad bar at the grocery store. To make it a full, satisfying dinner, serve over cooked brown rice. When shopping for simmer sauce, look for one with 400 mg of sodium or less and check the ingredient list for cream or fish sauce if you want to keep this vegan. If you like a spicy kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.

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Easy Italian Wedding Soup

Bowl of Easy Italian Wedding Soup on a gray cloth background

Forget the marble-size meatballs you find in many versions of this soup. In this easy recipe, they're full-size, full-flavored and plenty filling.

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Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

Stuffing is not just for Thanksgiving with this easy chicken and stuffing casserole. And speaking of Thanksgiving, if you have leftover turkey, feel free to substitute it for the chicken in this comforting and healthy recipe. It's also a great use for extra carrots, celery, onions and day-old bread you might have on hand around the holidays. There's no boxed stuffing mix or canned soup in this lighter take on the comfort-food casserole, but it's still super-easy to make. Poultry seasoning helps humble bread to taste like stuffing, while thickened chicken broth takes the place of canned soup. There are plenty of veggies in this one, too, making this a healthy casserole you can feel good about serving year-round.

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Chickpea Dumplings in Curried Tomato Sauce

Inspired by a dish served in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India called "dharan ji kadhi," our rendition studs the tender chickpea-flour dumplings with chiles and greens. Serve with naan to sop up the sauce for a healthy vegetarian dinner with plenty of protein.

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Creamy White Chili with Cream Cheese

creamy-white-chicken-chili-with-cream-cheese

This rich, yet healthy, white chicken chili comes together in a flash thanks to quick-cooking chicken thighs and canned white beans. Mashing some of the beans acts as a fast thickener when your soups don't have a long time to simmer. Cream cheese adds the final bit of richness and a hint of sweet tang.

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