Comfort Food Classics – Quick Meals

It’s the time of year where all we want to eat is stodgy, hearty comfort food that warms us up. When you’re craving something comforting, the last thing you want is to be stuck in the kitchen for hours making a complicated recipe. Instead, you want something quick and easy that you can settle down to enjoy while you relax after a long day. 

The good news is that comfort food doesn’t have to be complicated. There are plenty of classic, comforting dishes that can be whipped up in half an hour or less. We want comfort food and we want it now! 

Before we get into our favourite quick comfort recipes, don’t forget that our NEW cookbook is out NEXT MONTH! If you like comfort food, you’re going to love this one!! 

Pinch of Nom Comfort Food comes out on December 9th and you can pre-order now!

Perfect pasta pronto

Carby and delicious, sometimes a big bowl of pasta is all you need. 

If you’re a traditionalist, a bolognese sauce or a homemade lasagne are not recipes that you should rush. Certain flavours just need to be cooked low and slow to develop depth and richness. 

When you want pasta without the wait, this Spaghetti Carbonara will save the day. It’s on the table in just 20 minutes, piping hot, creamy and oh-so-cheesy. 

Make sure you get the pasta boiling while you’re chopping your ingredients – multi-tasking is the key to a speedy meal. With a silky sauce and oodles of perfectly cooked spaghetti, it’s hard to believe this dish could be slimming friendly. 

Pile it into a bowl and settle in for the evening. We feel cosy just thinking about it!

You don’t need several hours and a cupboard full of ingredients to put together a meal that’ll leave you feeling satisfied. What if we told you that all you need is 11 minutes and 3 ingredients? 

Bovril Spaghetti might just be one of the simplest but most comforting pasta dinners. You can make it in one pan, so it’s minimal effort and maximum flavour – ideal for busy days.

If you really like the tangy, salty taste of Bovril, you can add a little more to the mixture. Or, if you’re vegetarian or just not a fan of Bovril, why not try this recipe with some Marmite instead?

Marmite Pasta is a great alternative, and ideal when you need to balance time-saving and comforting. 

Prefer your pasta with a shot of vodka? Our Creamy Tomato Vodka Pasta has a luxuriously rich sauce and deep, tomatoey flavours – but it takes just 20 minutes to make!

Inspired by a dish called Pasta alla Vodka, our version ditches the heavy cream in favour of light, low calorie quark. It’s a simple swap that makes a world of difference to the calorie count, without having an impact on how indulgent the dish tastes. 

Every portion comes in well under 500 calories, but it packs a comforting punch. No matter how cold and miserable it is outside, this is food that will warm your cockles!

Fast fakeaway favourites

When you’ve had a long day and are craving comfort food, it can be all too easy to reach for the takeaway menu. The temptation of your favourite food delivered to your door is understandably hard to resist, but the reality is that it can often take AGES to arrive! 

If you’d rather not hang about, why not whip up a Fakeaway recipe in your own kitchen? It’ll be on the table much sooner, and it’s a healthier choice too. 

This Chicken Pad Thai is seriously tasty and packed with veggie goodness. You get all the things you expect from a Pad Thai – juicy chicken, rice noodles and a peanutty sauce – for just 276 calories. What a dream!

Best yet, you can cook it from scratch in just 20 minutes. We bet your local takeaway can’t deliver that fast. 

It’s another one pan wonder too, so there’s not even much washing up to worry about after. We can’t think of many things more comforting than that…

If your idea of comfort food is a steaming bowl of rice, you’re in for a treat. Our Dirty Rice is every bit as flavourful as it sounds, and you can have it on the table in half an hour. 

We’ve mashed up dirty rice with fried rice to create this recipe. It gets deep flavour from the pork mince, bacon and fiery Cajun seasoning, and it comes out of the pan so golden and delicious!

You could serve this as a side dish but it’s really a complete meal in itself. Spoon it out, gather round the table and tuck in. 

Butter chicken from the takeaway used to be one of our favourite comfort food dishes until we created our own Creamy Butter Chicken. The traditional dish is made using lashes of real butter, but we’ve managed to give it a slimming friendly spin. 

Instead, the buttery flavour comes from fat free natural yoghurt and almond flour, not the most obvious combo but we promise it’s so effective! 

This recipe takes just over half an hour to make and it turns out so luxurious, creamy and just 210 calories per serving! We love ours simply served with some fluffy boiled rice. 

 

Speedy sweet treats

Sometimes comfort food isn’t a meal at all, but a plate of sugary sweet deliciousness. If you’re settling down on the sofa for the evening with a cuppa, you might fancy treating yourself to something sweet. 

Whether it’s a proper pudding or just a snack, there’s nothing more comforting than a little bit of what you fancy. 

If it’s chocolate that you’re craving, may we introduce you to our incredible Chocolate Brownies? Each little square is deeply chocolatey and yet only 59 calories. 

You can whip up a batch in less than 25 minutes and they can even be frozen! Make a big batch and pop them in the freezer to save for a rainy day when you most need that little bit of chocolatey comfort. 

If your comfort pudding is something fruitier, how about a golden, crispy Apple Strudel? You’ll only need 20 minutes because these aren’t made from real pastry (shhhhh…you’ll never know the difference!). 

They’re so easy to bake when that comfort craving strikes, with a little bit of mincemeat in them to give a subtle festive flavour. If you want to go all out, a good glug of Custard will ramp up the comfort factor. 

Comfort food doesn’t have to be just for the evenings though. Maybe you need a cosy brunch to start your weekend off on the right foot? Our Banana and Chocolate Pancakes only take 15 minutes and they can be topped with pretty much anything you like – just remember to adjust the calories accordingly. 

They work perfectly for dessert too. Load them up with your favourite toppings, make yourself a hot cup of tea and cosy up for the evening. 

What’s your comfort food?

So there you have it – comfort food can be quick! If you want to make sure you’ve always got a comfort recipe to hand, don’t forget to pre-order Pinch of Nom Comfort Food. It’s packed with 100 recipes that are so satisfying, you won’t believe they’re slimming friendly. It’s out on December 9th! Order yours today. 

What’s your go-to recipe for a chilly, grey day? Let us know over in our Facebook Group where there are almost 1 million members who love to share tips, inspiration and motivation.