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These easy feel good recipes will become a staple in your kitchen. They are simple to make recipes for foodies that you can make yourself in no time — even if you are a beginner. Check out these delicious, real food recipes below that can also be comfort food for when you’d rather be traveling. That way, you can indulge in tasty bites at home, but without much effort.
CONTENTS – In this article, you will learn about several recipes that you must know if you’re a foodie, including:
- Why Foodies Should Know These Recipes
- Homemade Guacamole
- Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
- Traditional Lasagne
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
- Homemade Chicken Broth
- Pan-Fried Steak
- Perfect Boiled Eggs – Every Time!
- Grilled Cheese Toastie
- Fancy Gourmet Omelettes
- Final Thoughts on Easy Feel Good Recipes for Foodies
Easy Recipes Every Foodie Needs To Know
As you go through life, you regularly encounter delicious recipes. You might come to expect this while you travel the world and come across incredible regional cuisine.
But many foodie favorites are everyday dishes that are right under your nose. And when they are properly prepared and you get a taste of them, you often wind up asking yourself “how did I not know about this before?!”
So, in this post, we take a look at some of the recipes that everyone should know, particularly those who think of themselves as foodies.
Because just because they are recipes foodies will appreciate, doesn’t mean they are complicated. One of the most important things to most foodies is fresh ingredients, made from scratch.
Most of these feel good recipes are simple to make, especially when you know the basics of cooking — but that’s not absolutely necessary.
Some of them are the basis for more elaborate dishes you might love to eat (and make) as a foodie.
All are delicious!
Homemade Guacamole
Sometimes, the simplest recipes are the best. The ingredients speak for themselves.
Guacamole is a great example of this. It’s a wonderful accompaniment when you eat something spicy, or add heat to taste. And it’s something that you can whip up in a matter of minutes.
Essential elements of a good guac include mixing the following:
- Ripe, mashed avocado
- Lime juice
- Finely diced fresh red onion
- Freshly chopped Cilantro
- Chopped Jalapeño Pepper, to taste
- Tomato, chopped (optional)
- Salt, to taste
You can also add extra flavors, such as garlic, if you wish. Don’t forget to salt it, though!
Serve immediately.
If you have leftover guacamole (unheard of!) or will not be serving the Guacamole right away, pour a thin layer of lemon or lime juice over the top, then cover it with food wrap. You want to make sure the wrap makes direct contact with the mixture, so press it down over the contents of the bowl.
That way, it prevents the air from browning the avocado.This is one of the easiest things to make, when it comes to feel good recipes for foodies!
Beef Stew (in a Slow Cooker)
On a weekday, there’s nothing better than coming back home to a bowl of warming beef stew that’s been cooking in the slow cooker all day. It’s tender, flavorsome and delicious.It’s a dish that defines feel good recipes.
Making beef stew is also easy. You don’t have to be Raymond Blanc to pull it off. Just throw these bite-sized ingredients in your crock pot and then allow heat and time to do the rest:
- Braised Stew Beef (sauteed in olive oil until brown on all sides)
- A good Beef Broth
- Carrots, cut to 1-2 inches
- Cubed Potatoes, cubed to 1½-2 inches
- Chopped onion, to your preferred size
- Herbs of choice, like thyme, rosemary, bay leaves
- Salt and Pepper
On low heat, it will take about 7-8 hours, or on high heat, 3-4 hours. If you like a thicker soup, whisk together about ¼ c flour with ½ c. of the broth, then stir it into the stew. It will thicken on cooking for another half hour.
Top with chopped parsley and enjoy with some good crusty bread. This is the perfect comfort food for a winter day.
Traditional Lasagne
Lasagne is utterly delicious when you get it right. The combination of minced beef, cheese, herbs, and pasta sheets is mouthwatering. Thank you Italy.
The first time you make a lasagne can be a little nerve-wracking. There’s a lot that can go wrong. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier. The key is multi-tasking, or just giving yourself plenty of time to make one thing at a time before layering it all.
Eventually, it will become like second-nature – and you want it all the time.
The layers traditionally include:
- A good tomato sauce – homemade is best but there are great store bought options, too.
- Ground beef, cooked and seasoned with garlic, onion, salt & pepper, and Italian herbs, like parsley, basil, and oregano
- Cooked Lasagna Noodles
- Ricotta cheese mixed with eggs, herbs, and a pinch of salt
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
You’ll want to layer these ingredients in a pan to size, depending on what kind of a crowd you’re feeding. Basically, you’ll start layering with the tomato sauce and repeat until the ingredients are gone – ending with the cheese. Then, bake in a preheated over at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) until hot and the cheese is melty.
This is one of the feel good recipes that freezes wonderfully, too. Reserve some extra tomato sauce for when you reheat the lasagna.
Naturally, if you want to make it healthier for your body, you can. Substitute the meat with soy protein or lentils, the regular pasta sheets with wholewheat, and the cheese with cashew cheese, soured with some white vinegar.
The result will be something that tastes just as good but that won’t give you any acid indigestion.
But make sure you master the traditional recipe first.
Choc-Dipped Strawberries
What could be a better example of feel good recipes than chocolate covered strawberries?
If you don’t know how to make chocolate covered strawberries yet, you’re missing out. They’re a real summer treat.
All you’ll need is:
- Fresh, clean, dry Strawberries
- Chocolate
- Thermometer to melt the chocolate between to a temperature between 110ºF – 120ºF (43ºC-49ºC), which varies by the type of chocolate you’re using
It takes about 20 minutes to make this delicious, sweet treat for yourself, your Valentine, or to bring to a party.
- Simply melt the chocolate bits over a double boiler or slowly in the microwave.
- Then dip your fully-ripened strawberries and let the extra chocolate run off.
- Next, set them to dry on wax paper.
- If you’re feeling fancy, you can further decorate them by drizzling a contrasting chocolate, confections, nuts, or even edible gold leaf. (Wow!)
The great thing about chocolate covered strawberries is the contrast between the sweetness and crunch of the chocolate, and the subtle sourness and softness of the flavorsome strawberries underneath.
You could even dip other fruit, like fresh bananas, orange slices, and blueberries, dried fruit, or pretzels to mix things up.
It’s a delightful experience, particularly when watching tennis.
Chicken Broth from Scratch
While you can buy chicken broth from the grocery store in packets, it’s rarely as good as the stuff that you can make at home. Proper chicken broth doesn’t include any artificial chicken-like flavors. It’s the real thing.
To make a chicken broth, you’ll need:
- A whole chicken, chicken parts, or a chicken carcass
- Chopped onions, carrots, celery (Mirepoix)
- Herbs to taste (like thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley)
- Salt & Pepper
In a large stock pot, you’ll saute the chopped vegetables and herbs in a little oil until they are soft. Then, add the chicken (or carcass) and cover with cold water. Be sure to remove any bagged giblets or cooked lemon from the chicken cavity.
Add an onion, rough cut carrots and celery. This will add to the flavor.
Simmer for several hours with the lid on.
Then, carefully strain the mixture and reduce to ½ by simmering with the lid off. Discard everything other than the broth itself, since you’ve already extracted all the flavors from the chicken and vegetables.
Finally, add salt and pepper to taste.(You don’t want to add the salt until this point because it will make the broth too salty as it boils down.)
Once you’ve made chicken broth, you can use it in all sorts of dishes, including casseroles and soups. You can freeze it in one-cup portions so you don’t let any of this golden liquid go to waste.
It takes some time, but it’s a delicious winter staple and one of the essential feel good recipes. In fact, many mom’s claim a good chicken broth like this has curative properties, too!
Delicious Pan-Fried Steak
For many foodies, steak is the king of foods. It’s the pinnacle of fine dining experiences, and it’s certainly one of the feel good recipes for foodies.What’s better than enjoying a perfect steak?
Cooking good steak, though, is a perennial challenge. Nobody finds it easy – even master chefs. It’s something that takes a lot of patience, time and understanding of the meat itself.
When you pan-fry a steak, you sear in the juices and flavor.
Here’s how to cook a 1-inch sirloin.
- You’ll want to brush a preheated skillet with oil before adding the steaks to the pan. If the pan at the right temperature, it should really sizzle!
- Sear the meat for about 4-5 minutes per side until it’s nicely browned but medium rare on the inside. (5-6 minutes for medium.)
- But wait, it’s not done yet! When you remove the steak from the hot pan, let it rest in a dish for at least 5 more minutes. It continues cooking a bit, and will reclaim the juice.
- Slice the meat against the grain, so each bit is tender and delicious.
What most foodies go for is meat that is cooked, tender and juicy on the outside, and then relatively raw or pink in the middle. This combination gives it the best flavor.
However you like it, this is a quick dish that is so satisfying and easy to make.
Perfect Boiled Eggs
Knowing how to produce the perfect hard-boiled eggs is a skill of its own. Oddly, it’s not as easy as you might think.
How long it takes depends on the size of the eggs and the water temperature when they go into the pan.
But here is a technique that seems to work every time.
- Cover eggs with cold water in a saucepan.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil.
- Set the timer for 10 minutes from boiling (reduce heat if needed).
- Remove eggs and plunge them in a bowl of cold water.
- Gently tap each egg on the counter to crack the shell a bit, then peel under running cold water.
Voila!
Fortunately, most eggs are now a standard size, so this cooking variable isn’t as important as it was in the past. Unless you’re using duck eggs, of course, which seem to come in every size you can imagine.
Why are hardboiled eggs included in these feel good recipes? Because they are important if you’re planning on making any number of recipes for foodies, whether that’s a scratch-made egg sandwich with homemade mayo and watercress, or deviled eggs with smoked paprika.
Hard-boiled eggs are also a nice extra touch if you want to get more creative with sandwiches, add depth to your potato salad, or create a Cobb salad. Eggs are a wonderful addition to most any recipe for foodies!
But don’t feel you have to go overboard. Sometimes, the simplest way to enjoy a hard-boiled egg is simply peeled and salted.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
The grilled cheese toastie is something that people secretly indulge in, usually on a lazy weekend. These sandwiches are delicious and open to endless experimentation.
You can switch up the type of cheese, the combination of cheeses, herbs you put in, the bread and the chutneys you serve with it.It’s truly one of the best feel good recipes, for foodies alike.
Some people even add fruits, like apples, to offset some of the sourness of the cheese and make it even more delicious. It’s all about experimentation.
Our favorite way to serve grilled cheese is with a cup of tomato soup, for dipping.
The trick is butter, plenty of butter! Just make sure the ends of the cheese aren’t sticking out of the bread at all or it will be a gooey mess.
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a fry pan, and also butter the outside of the bread. Place it in the pan. Press the sandwich as it cooks and flip it once it’s golden brown. You can add more butter before flipping as necessary.
It’s done when both sides are golden brown and the cheese melts.
Fancy Omelettes
Lastly, all foodies need to know how to make a fancy omelette. Adding spinach, mushrooms, and goat’s cheese are all viable options.You’re only limited by your imagination.
Many people who love food discover their favorite omelettes in hotel restaurants and then emulate them at home.
- To do this, start by whisking eggs in a bowl and adding a little cream or water to the mix. Water will make the omelette more fluffy, but cream adds a rich texture.
- Heat a frying pan, but not too hot. You don’t want to get brown spots on the omelette – it’s a tell-tale sign of an amateur!
- Then, pour the thin batter into a well-buttered frying pan. Some people use both butter and a little olive oil. Either way, you want to make sure to use enough fat so the eggs don’t stick to the pan.
- Now, let the eggs set up a bit in the pan without stirring them. Keep checking the temperature of the pan. Low heat is good, and takes a little more patience, but it’s key to a perfectly cooked omelette.
- Once they are set up and only a little wet, add cheese and your other fillings to the middle and gently fold in the sides, like an envelope. This makes it easier to flip. Or, you can add the fillings to one side and fold the egg mixture over one half.
- Using a large spatula, flip the omelette and continue cooking until the cheese melts and the eggs are done through. Alternatively, you can pop the frying pan in the oven at 350ºF (175ºC) until it’s done.
Making these take a little practice, but now you know how to make a professional omelette!
Final Thoughts on Feel Good Recipes for Foodies
With these basic, feel good recipes under your belt, you’re ready to enjoy some of the staples of the cooking world any time you want. Foodie or not.
And if you’re looking for more make-at-home food inspiration, look to these food tours to sample authentic world cuisines.
Enjoy!
Photo credits – Guacamole: Tessa Rampersad, Lasagna – Karolina Kołodziejczak, Steak – Emerson Vieira (Unsplash), all others courtesy of Canva Pro.
