10 Comforting Dinners to Make When the Evenings Turn Cool

Hearty stews, rib-sticking casseroles, and more dishes to keep you warm and cozy this fall.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published October 20, 2025
Baked Pot pie with one serving taken out of skillet and on a plate. Skillet is on a white tablecloth and has serving plates around it.

Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

I’m not one of those people who live for sunshine and warm weather 365 days a year, which is why I live in San Francisco, in a part of town that lives up to the moniker “Fog City.” I actually prefer it when temperatures drop below 50°. It gives me an excuse to cook heartier fare, like spicy Korean pork rib stew and chicken pot pie, that make my home feel all warm and cozy. If you’re looking to take the chill off, we’ve curated a list of hearty dinner recipes, from a stellar boeuf bourguignon and comforting chicken and dumplings to easy no-boil baked ziti, to carry you through those cold nights. 

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  • The Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings

    bowl of chicken dumpling soup on a rustic stoneware bowl, with a tarazzo tabletop, dark green textiles and the pot of soup to the side

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    Homemade broth made from simmering a whole chicken with aromatics not only makes for superior chicken and dumplings, but it also efficiently delivers a more robust poultry flavor and tender meat. Separating the breast and legs from the rest of the carcass allows you to pull the breast meat first before it overcooks. Baking soda and sour cream yield light, airy dumplings, which are cooked directly in the broth, thickening it and absorbing all its wonderfully chickeny flavor.

  • All-American Beef Stew

    20160116-american-beef-stew-recipe-34.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    This rendition of the All-American classic features big, juicy chunks of tender beef enveloped in a rich and intensely savory sauce, with vegetables that bring distinctive and complementary texture and flavor. Replacing most of the flour with gelatin as a thickener results in a brighter, cleaner-tasting, glistening sauce, while soy sauce, anchovies, and tomato paste provide an umami boost that deepens the flavor, yet allows the beefiness to shine.

  • Mississippi Pot Roast

    Mississippi Roast with mashed potatoes on blue plates and blue surface, Napkins and cups are blue and gold decor

    Serious Eats / Fred HArdy

    Inspired by the viral Mississippi pot roast—famously made with a packet of ranch dressing mix, a packet of au jus gravy mix, a stick of butter, and half a jar of pepperoncini added to a chuck roast in a slow-cooker—our Birmingham test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh developed this from-scratch version that’s even more flavorful and takes just about the same amount time. Ditching the slow-cooker in favor of a Dutch oven allows you to properly sear the meat to build flavor, while leaving the lid cracked keeps the braise at a low, steady simmer, preventing the meat from overcooking. Chicken broth fortified with unflavored gelatin, buttermilk, and fresh dill replaces packaged au jus and ranch dressing mix to give the pot roast its signature tangy, savory flavor profile.

  • Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew With Red Wine, Mushrooms, and Bacon)

    A bowl of beef bourguignon with big chunks of juicy beef, plump carrots, mushrooms and more.

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    In the culinary canon of must-make beef stews, boeuf bourguignon is upper strata (if not at the very top)—it's the dish that supposedly helped launch Julia Child’s legendary career as a cookbook author and TV star. For our version of the Burgundian classic, we’ve adhered to the traditional components—beef (we’ve chosen a beef chuck roll with plenty of collagen-rich connective tissues), mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, aromatics, tomato paste, and dry red wine—but included a touch of soy and fish sauces to deepen the savoriness and add complexity. We also tweaked the technique to ensure succulent pieces of beef and tender but not overcooked vegetables throughout the stew.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Gamja-tang (Korean Pork and Potato Stew)

    Bowls of gamja-tang with garnishes and sides of white rice.

    Vicky Wasik

    This spicy pork bone stew, thickened with potato and crushed perilla seeds, topped with sliced scallions, fresh chiles, and torn perilla leaves, and served alongside a piping bowl of steamed rice, is classic Korean comfort food designed to revive you after a long day. Traditionally made with pork neck bones, our version calls for St. Louis-cut pork spareribs, which are easier to sear and eat. The meat, aromatics, and vegetables are cooked in stages to ensure each component is cooked to the perfect texture.

  • The Best White Chili With Chicken

    3 blue bowls of chicken, on a chambray textile with 2 glasses of sparking water

    Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

    When temps take a precipitous dive, it’s a harbinger of chili season, and this excellent white bean chili with chicken is one you’ll want to make to stay warm and cozy. Charred fresh green chiles lend brightness and smokiness to the dish, while a healthy dose of shredded cheese turns the broth into a rich, creamy base for the stew.

  • No-Boil Baked Ziti

    Overhead view of no boil baked ziti

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    There’s nothing better than the aroma of pasta, marinara, and cheese baking in the oven on a cold autumn night—except maybe skipping par-boiling the pasta completely. Here, we simply soak the ziti in hot water, then toss it in a mixture of marinara, cream, and ricotta before baking, which results in perfectly al dente pasta. Cubes of diced mozzarella scattered over the top create molten pockets of stretchy cheese for textural contrast.

  • Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

    Baked Pot pie with one serving taken out of skillet and on a plate. Skillet is on a white tablecloth and has serving plates around it.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    This recipe proves that you can make a to-swoon-for chicken pot pie packed with tender chicken and vegetables, bound in a creamy, velvety sauce, and topped with a buttery, flaky pastry on a busy weeknight in under an hour. The savory filling comes together in one skillet, brightened with some fresh lemon zest. A store-bought puff pastry brushed with a bit of egg wash yields a golden, shatteringly crisp crust.

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  • French Onion Soup Mac and Cheese

    Large dish of French onion soup mac and cheese, with 2 cups of servings on dishes, a candle, a striped tablecloth

    Serious Eats / Hannah Huffman

    What happens when good old All-American mac and cheese takes a flavor detour through France? You get this incredibly delicious, savory, cheesy, creamy casserole chock-full of deeply caramelized onions flavored with thyme, dry sherry, and concentrated beef bouillon paste,a all topped with store-bought crispy fried onions and buttery panko crumbs. C’est magnifique!

  • Tater Tot Casserole

    20170921-tater-tot-casserole-vicky-wasik-22.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    This iconic Midwestern hot dish is a meal unto itself, consisting of meat, typically ground beef, frozen vegetables, condensed soup, and a topping of tater tots, baked together until golden and bubbling. While it takes a little more time and effort, our scratch-made version (all but the tots, that is), delivers a fresher tasting hot dish, eschewing condensed soup for rich and creamy mushroom béchamel, and flavoring the ground beef with Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce for a spicy, savory kick.

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