Home Comforts: These Are Your Top Lockdown Comfort Meals

No matter how many elaborate, healthy meals we make, there will always be a place in our hearts for a good comfort dish - and the past year or so has certainly proved that. Whether it’s fish pie or a cheese toastie, a quick, simple, nostalgic meal will rarely let you down. In fact, our new Make It Gourmet series on YouTube is based entirely around that concept!

With that in mind, we asked you for some of your favourite comfort meals that got you through (or are still getting you through!) the lockdown. Here’s what you said!

Fresh Bread + Sweet Cinnamon Buns

@AnnCecilieN

For me it’s any baking involving yeast (preferably enriched doughs). Nothing smells better than a kitchen filled with the scents of freshly baked fluffy loafs and sweet cinnamon buns.

Did you even live through a lockdown if you weren’t baking? Let’s face it, there are few things more comforting or good for the soul than freshly baked goods. And cinnamon rolls will satisfy just about any sweet tooth!

Give them a go with our version of Cinnamon Rolls! Recipe from You Are Sorted.

Spaghetti Bolognese

@DanJoeWhitaker

Can't beat a good spaghetti bolognaise and some crusty bread to comfort you through anything and everything, in my opinion it's the food equivalent of a cup of tea

Spaghetti bolognese might just be our number 1 comfort pasta. Serve it up with some crusty bread and you’ve got a truly carb-tastic comfort dish! Everyone’s got their own way of doing it, but may we recommend you try our Spag Bol?

Get the recipe from Bucket List!

Fried Chicken + Hash Browns

@FreshFoodieGeek

Here in the states it was always homemade fried chicken and a huge plate of crispy hashbrowns ... they didn't have to be served at the same time but they were and still are things that I actively crave - which says a lot.

Hash browns or no hash browns, it doesn’t get much more comforting than fried chicken - but for the record, we'll have the hash browns too! Crisp, tender, slightly spicy fried chicken will see you through even the worst of times.

Get your fried chicken fix with the Gourmet Fried Chicken recipe from You Are Sorted.

Pasta Aglio e Olio

@Ghostbear2k

Even on the darkst of days, some "Pasta aglio e olio" or "Pasta al Limone" always managed to lift my spirits a little.

We are no strangers to a good pasta aglio e olio! This traditional Neapolitan dish is perhaps one of the simplest pastas out there. With ‘aglio e olio’ translating as ‘garlic and oil’, it really doesn’t take much to cook one up - but boy, does it taste good!

Try it for yourself with our Aglio e Olio recipe from How We Cook.

Fish Pie

@ShelbyBryn

I believe the only correct answer to this question is "fish pie". Right, Ben?

Fish, mashed potato and cheese - what’s not to love? Fish pie is basically comfort on a plate. We like ours with boiled eggs and plenty of veggies for that ultimate feelgood dinner.

Get Ben's favourite fix with his fish pie recipe from You Are Sorted!

Pizza

@Ali1Ruggers

Homemade pizza…

So versatile and so delicious, pizza will always deliver on the comfort factor. If you’ve got a little more time on your hands, skip the takeaway and make your own dough! Then top it with anything and everything you fancy. Worries, be gone.

Switch up your pizza with the epic Breakfast Pizza from the Ultimate Battles cookbook!

Cheese Toasties

@forzaviola15

Cheese toasties and anything with mushrooms, I do a nice mushroom bolognese.

There’s something genuinely quite beautiful about glorious bubbling cheese sandwiched between crisp toasted bread. Whether you’re calling it a cheese toastie, a grilled cheese or a croque monsieur, we guarantee that this one will hit the spot.

You’d be hard-pushed to find one better than the Grilled Cheese from You Are Sorted!

Cookies

@Mayel38

Not the uk but, cookies! I spent lockdown testing various cookies recipes and gifting them in my neighbourhood. I loved spreading happiness with baked goods, and... It allowed me to develop my recipes because I'm hopefully going to be opening my own cookie delivery business!

We love a cooking project, and this one from @Mayel38 is right up our street! A warm batch of cookies will always cheer you up, and might even give the neighbours a boost too.

We added the best choccy bar out there, aka Twix, to these cookies for the ultimate comfort fix. Get the recipe from the Ultimate Cooking Battles cookbook.

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