Highbrow vs. Down-Home: 18 Comfort Food Classics
Get ready for some choice comfort food, both savory and sweet. We’ve gathered up 18 recipes here that run the gamut from low to highbrow eats, and you know we made sure each one is as satisfying and indulgent as the next. Looking for something a bit more waistline-friendly? Check out our roundup of healthy comfort foods for some inspo along those lines.
1. Onion, Bell Pepper and Pesto Pizza: Homemade pizza dough and basil pesto are the stars of this elegant, red-sauce-free show. (via Cook With Manali)
2. Baked Pizza Bites: These bites improve upon any you can buy pre-made in the frozen foods aisle. Four ingredients is all it takes. (via A Beautiful Mess)
3. Triple Truffle Mac and Cheese: Well played, truffles, well played. In this swanky casserole, the fancy fungi infuses cheese, oil and salt with its expensive, earthy flavor. (via Runway Chef)
4. Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese: Buffalo chicken met The Blue Box and the two lived happily ever after. That’s how this comfort food love story goes. (via A Culinary Journey With Chef Dennis)
5. Queso Fundido With Roasted Salsa: No question, this classy queso sure knows how to put the “fun” in fundido. Chorizo, poblanos, two ultra-melty types of shredded cheese and a side of homemade salsa really get the fiesta going. (via Tasteseekers Kitchen)
6. Basic Queso: Dear Velveeta and Ro*tel: You’ll always have a special place in our hearts. Your convenient, two-ingredient creaminess and spice is pretty hard to beat. (via Brit + Co)
7. Brie, Fig and Apple Grilled Cheese: Packed with elements of sweet, salty and just a touch tart, this grown-up grilled cheese is nothing short of brie-lliant. (via Two Peas and Their Pod)
8. Grilled Cheese Sandwich: Follow this recipe to make a perfectly golden, gooey-centered grilled cheese every time. It’s all about the balance between technique and ingredients. (via Serious Eats)
9. Carnitas Tacos: Tons of love (and flavor) go into these crisp-tender pork tacos. Generously stuffed into a tortilla with cilantro, onions and a squeeze of lime juice, each bite is pure street food comfort. (via Serious Eats)
10. California Avocado Walking Tacos: Despite the fresh toppings, we have to say that any entree eaten directly out of a bag is pretty much lowbrow fare. But that shouldn’t stop you from indulging in this deliciousness. (via Dine and Dish)
13. Pecan Sticky Buns: Go ahead, you deserve one of these sweet, buttery, nutty, caramel-y buns for breakfast. The recipe yields just a small batch, so there won’t be too much temptation left over if that’s a concern. (via Dessert for Two)
14. Quick and Easy Cinnamon Butter Buns: Pop open a can of biscuits and get rollin’. These are quite possibly the easiest semi-homemade cinnamon buns ever. (via Baked Bree)
15. Lobster Tator Tots: So elegant yet so comforting — cheese and lobster elevate your everyday tots to Champagne-worthy fare. (via Cookbooks 365)
16. Sloppy Joe Tator Tot Casserole: A scoop of this meat and potato casserole is the perfect remedy for cold winter nights. It may not be gorgeous (what sloppy Joe is, really?), but it’ll warm you up right. (via The Cooking Jar)
17. Sean Brock’s Pimento Cheese: Pimento cheese goes gourmet with the addition of a few extra seasonings and hand-chopped roasted red peppers. Plus there’s one extra, extra-special ingredient folded into the mix: butter pickles with a dash of their brine. (via Styling My Everyday)
18. Pimento Cheese: Mayo, cheese, chopped pimentos and a sprinkle of celery salt; it doesn’t get much easier than that. Use it as a dip for raw veggies, slather it on slices of crustless white bread for a retro teatime snack or use it as the filling for a rockin’ grilled cheese — the choice is yours. (via Food52)
19. Yellow Sponge Cake With White Peach + Elderflower Syrup: Yellow cake frosted with vanilla buttercream is a timeless classic, but there’s more than meets the eye to this many-layered creation. The delicately scented, liqueur-spiked syrup soaks the sponge with both moisture and an elegant flavor, and the bouquet of dahlias on top is a beautiful bonus. (via Lightly Floured)
20. Olive Oil and Peach Dump Cake (Gluten-Free): We’re all about the one pot wonders, especially when it comes to dessert. This simple, mixed-in-the-pan cake is a thing of pure beauty. (via Brit + Co)
Share your favorite comfort foods of all time (and kinds) with us in the comments!
