21 Healthy Comfort Food Recipes

Sunset Magazine

Readers' favorite recipes, slimmed down with smart substitutions.


Grown-up Mac 'n' Cheese
In our reboot of the childhood favorite, mac 'n' cheese is made for grown-ups with bacon gruyère.
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Vegetable Enchiladas
Your typical vegetarian enchiladas are mostly cheese. That's not the case with this version, loaded with fresh spinach, corn, and two types of beans.
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Eggplant Parmesan
This (non-casserole) version of eggplant parmesan is lighter and fresher tasting than the classic--we ditched the breading and added spicy sauce and fresh herbs.
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Quick Chicken Potpie
Everyone loves chicken potpie, but it takes 2 hours to make. We've traded from-scratch pie dough for homemade croutons, creating a great potpie in half the time.
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Lasagna with Sausage Ragù Redux
Turkey sausage subs for fattier pork, puréed cottage cheese mimics béchamel, and a splash of olive oil replaces nearly half a cup of butter.
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Browny's Clam Chowder Revisited
The original recipe, from a now-defunct Seattle restaurant, called for a quart of heavy whipping cream--we used milk thickened with flour.
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Luscious But Low-Fat Cheesecake
Egg whites replace half the original whole eggs; a graham cracker crust stands in for pie dough, low-fat cottage cheese for cream cheese, and Greek yogurt for sour cream.
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Fettucine Alfredo with Peas and Prosciutto
Prosciutto and parmesan cheese keep the satisfaction factor high for this lean dish.
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Chicken Cacciatore
Boned chicken thighs make a quick, flavorful starting point for this lightened meal.
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Curried Mussels with Oven Frites
These mussels were inspired by a dish prepared at Château Loudenne in the Bordeaux region of France. The shellfish cook quickly in a curry-wine broth and join crisp fries made lighter by being cooked in the oven.
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Sweet and Sour Pork
It's as fast to whip up this colorful, light version of the take-out classic as it is to order out for Chinese.
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ALL 21 COMFORT FOOD MAKEOVERS

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