18 Comfort Foods, in Case You Need Comforting Now | The Food Lab

You don't ever really need an excuse to want to feel comforted, so go ahead and indulge in these cheesy, creamy, carb-filled, fat-packed comfort classics, and take a break from the real world for a little while.

Ultra-Gooey Stovetop Mac and Cheese

It's just as fast as the blue-box stuff, but way, way better. Gooey, unapologetically unhealthy comfort, all in the time it takes to boil a pot of pasta.

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Extra-Crispy Bar-Style Tortilla Pizza Supreme

Bar pies are the ideal pizza for those who love thin crusts, and, while making them from scratch is doable, sometimes you just need that pizza now. Far from being a compromise, tortilla-based pizzas are in fact the ideal quick and easy way to make a super-crisp, extra-thin crust, for a full-on pizza experience in under 15 minutes from start to finish.

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2-Ingredient Never-Fail Cream Biscuits

These two-ingredient biscuits have one of the lowest effort-to-greatness ratios of any recipe I can think of. They take practically no work or practice to pull off, yet produce some of the lightest, tastiest, most tender biscuits around.

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5-Ingredient Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Look at that fried chicken sandwich. Now listen to this: All of that can be yours. And it can be yours, top to bottom, with just five simple ingredients.

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Light and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

They may be golden brown, crisp on the edges, and light and fluffy in the center, but when you get right down to it, classic American pancakes are not all that different from any leavened bread. Knowing the science of how a pancake gets its golden-brown color and light texture can help you get not just the breakfast you want, but the breakfast you deserve. These pancakes are extra light and fluffy, with a classic buttery flavor and browned, crisp tops and bottoms.

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The Best Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce

This rich and hearty red sauce tastes like it's been cooked for hours, because it has. The secret to its deep, complex, naturally sweet flavors is to cook the sauce in the oven, allowing the surface to brown while the sauce slowly concentrates. The resulting sauce is great on pasta, with meatballs, on your chicken parm, or scooped right out of the pan with a spoon on its own.

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All-American Meatloaf

Americans are proud of their meatloaf, and rightfully so. It's one of our national dishes and deserves a place up on the pedestal, rubbing shoulders with the likes of hamburgers, barbecue, and hot dogs. This version takes some extra work, but the velvety, rich results are worth it.

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Ultra-Smashed Cheeseburgers

Classic smashed burgers are all about maximizing that deep, brown crust. But I found myself wondering, what if I were to take this to the extreme? Is there a way I could pack even more flavor into a burger? And thus the ultra-smashed burger was born. Same burger size, but twice the amount of crisp, browned crust.

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Serious Eats' Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

A classic grilled cheese. Buttery, cheesy, and grilled nice and slow for maximum meltiness and even browning.

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15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup

Making this excellent tomato soup from scratch at home is almost as easy as simply opening a can, but the return on your minor time investment is a soup that's much, much better.

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Moist and Tender Brown Butter Cornbread

Whether you're serving it with chili or simply with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey, good cornbread, with a moist, tender crumb and intense corn flavor, is one of life's greatest pleasures. So how do you take one of life's greatest pleasures and make it even more, well, pleasurable? Simple: Add some browned butter to it.

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The Best Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce

When it comes to meat sauces, ragù bolognese is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. This is the kind of sauce that will leave you and your loved ones weak in the knees.

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Easy Pull-Apart Pepperoni Garlic Knots

These pull-apart garlic knots are baked in a cast iron skillet for a crisp, golden-brown bottom. They're intensely flavored with pepperoni, red pepper flakes, garlic, and two types of cheese, and have a moist, buttery crumb.

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Real Texas Chile Con Carne

True Texas chile con carne is made with beef, chilies, and not a whole lot else. This is the real deal: a bowl of hot Texas red with chunky, fall-apart-tender beef chuck and fresh dried chilies.

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All-American Beef Stew

You know that scene in the movie where the nerdy hero or heroine finds inner confidence and suddenly becomes much more interesting and much more attractive to the rest of the world? That hero is beef stew, and its time for confidence is now.

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American Chop Suey (Macaroni, Beef, and Cheese Skillet Casserole)

It's pasta simmered with ground beef, peppers, and onions in a garlicky tomato sauce that's spiked with Worcestershire sauce and smothered in cheese. A classic that ought to be eaten everywhere comfort and ease are appreciated. You might call it beefaroni, American chop suey, macaroni and beef, chili mac, or goulash. I just call it delicious.

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges; a rich, buttery, toffee-like flavor; big chocolate chunks; and a sprinkle of sea salt.

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Gooey Apple Pie

This apple pie slices cleanly and holds its shape as you lift it out of the pie plate. It has chunks of apple that are tender yet intact, lightly bound in a thickened sauce that's just sweet enough, with a hint of spices. This is the pie for all you gooey-pie-lovers out there (and you know who you are).

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