Serious Eats / Robby Lozano
Among the many reasons I've been called weird is the fact that I don't just tolerate salads—I love them. But in the depths of winter, when the streets are icy and it's dark before 5 p.m., even I don't want to eat salad. After the holidays, though, I do crave something lighter—I just want it to be warm and cozy. Preferably, it's something in a bowl I can use as a handwarmer as well as a belly warmer.
If you're also craving meals that are both comforting and light, scroll through these recipes popular among users of MyRecipes, our tool for saving and organizing recipes from Serious Eats and beyond. I've added them all to my MyRecipes collection and am looking forward to ticking each one off as I make it.
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5-Ingredient Greek Chickpea Stew (Revithia)
Serious Eats / Niedle Creative
This cozy, five-ingredient chickpea stew captures the essence of traditional Greek revithia with minimal effort. Plus it's vegan, freezer-friendly, and very satisfying.
Lebanese Lentil Soup
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
Learn how to make adas bi hamoud, a tangy, aromatic, and comforting Lebanese lentil and lemon soup made with brown lentils, cumin, Swiss chard, and fresh lemon juice.
Cabbage Soup With Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Coconut Milk
Serious Eats / Robby Lozano
This one-pot cabbage soup delivers a brothy, flavorful, and satisfying meal in under an hour.
Spaghetti Puttanesca (Spaghetti With Capers, Olives, and Anchovies)
Melissa Hom Pasta puttanesca is an easy weeknight spaghetti dish that packs an aromatic punch in its tomato sauce, thanks to garlic, anchovies, capers, and olives.
Continue to 5 of 14 belowRoman-Style Spaghetti Alla Carrettiera (Tomato, Tuna, and Mushroom Pasta) Recipe
Add this tomatoey Roman-style pasta sauce to your arsenal of recipes you can make from a small handful of pantry staples.
Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Bean and Pasta Soup)
Serious Eats / Fred Hardy
This Tuscan-style pasta e fagioli soup is all about the beans, which are cooked to creamy, tender, and plump perfection.
Pollo Guisado
Serious Eats / Lorena Masso
This pollo guisado recipe calls for simmering chicken, potatoes, and carrots in a spiced tomato broth for a comforting, flavor-packed stew you’ll want year-round.
Roasted Butternut Squash Stuffed with Kefta and Couscous
Serious Eats / Vy Tran
Hearty roasted squash stuffed with spiced kefta, fluffy couscous, and herbed yogurt is an easy, show-stopping fall dinner perfect for weeknights or entertaining.
Continue to 9 of 14 belowNeapolitan Escarole Bean Soup
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This classic Italian soup combines escarole, beans, garlic, and olive oil for a simple, nourishing meal. Learn how to make it with smarter prep and deeper flavor.
Channa Masala Recipe
Serious Eats / Mateja Zvirotic Andrijanic
As one of the most popular dishes in the world, channa masala—chickpeas cooked in a spicy and tangy tomato-based sauce—is the kind of dish that stirs passions.
Air-Fried Southern Fried Chicken
Serious Eats / Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Ana Kelly , Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
A buttermilk-pickle brine and a well-seasoned dredge work together with the air fryer for this quick, easy, and fantastically juicy and crispy "fried" chicken.
Hearty White Bean and Spinach Soup with Rosemary and Garlic Recipe
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt White beans in a garlicky rosemary broth with wilted spinach make for a quick and easy, balanced, and delicious 30-minute meal in a bowl.
Continue to 13 of 14 belowGambas al Ajillo (Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp)
Serious Eats / Julia Estrada
This recipe calls for juicy, tender shrimp packed with plenty of garlic, yielding a simple-yet-perfect version of this traditional classic.
Avgolemono Soup (Greek Lemon-Egg Chicken Soup)
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
Avgolemono is a mixture of eggs and lemon used to thicken soups and sauces in Greece, and here it's used to make a tangy and creamy chicken soup.