20 Grandma-Approved Classic Recipes for Peak Comfort

A steaming bowl of tiny pasta, chicken broth, and Parmesan is hard to beat. This recipe, passed down from Deputy Art Director Laura Formisano's Grammy Dorothy, incorporates sweet frozen peas and sautéed onions for a more varied texture and flavor. "It was my favorite thing she made for me," Laura says.

Get the Pasta e Piselli recipe.

A good casserole never goes out of style. This cheesy chicken-and-broccoli casserole is loosely inspired by chicken divan. We skipped the canned condensed soups, and made our own creamy sauce with olive oil, flour and water—then, grated in some Parmesan for a boost of cheesiness in every bite.

Get the Easiest Chicken Casserole Recipe.

We’re not sure if it was the ketchup glaze or the ample use of store-bought breadcrumbs, but our grandmother’s meatloaf was truly unforgettable. We made a slightly gussied-up version, adding chopped fresh parsley and a splash of balsamic vinegar for zing.

Get the Balsamic-Glazed Mini Meatloaves recipe.

With perfectly clear, dill-perfumed golden broth, tender chicken, and fluffy homemade matzo balls, this soup might just give your bubbe’s a run for its money.

Get the Matzo Ball Soup recipe.

"Though my mom’s no-measurements tteokbokki will always be my favorite, this version comes close to hitting that unique comfort and joy," says Recipe Developer Joy Cho. The dish comes together easily: simmer soaked rice cakes with cabbage and onion in a simple four-ingredient sauce (plus Korean fish cakes, if you wish) until it's saucy and delicious. Tteokbokki can lean sweet or spicy, soupier or thicker—this one strikes a happy middle ground.

Get the Vegetarian Tteokbokki recipe.

No one makes banana pudding quite like Nana. Layers of vanilla wafers, fresh bananas, and silky pudding topped with a cloud of whipped cream adds up to pure nostalgia in a dish.

Get the Banana Pudding recipe.

RELATED: 20 Grandma-Approved Dessert Recipes

Fall-apart tender meat, tangy-sweet sauce, and lots (and lots) of onions make for a brisket recipe you’ll want to cook once a week, all year, on repeat.

Get the Oven-Braised Brisket recipe.

We doubt your grandmother used a sheet pan to make her famous roast chicken—more likely, she reached for a vintage Pyrex dish or Dutch oven. But these crispy-skinned, evenly golden browned breasts could easily rival her version. Plus, the sheet pan leaves plenty of room to roast your favorite veggies alongside.

Get the Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken recipe.

Born in the 1930s and booming in popularity by the '50s, tuna noodle casserole has always been about comfort. Ours upgrades the original with a velvety cheesy sauce, tender egg noodles, flaky tuna, and a golden herb-flecked topping. It's cozy, craveable, and still a potluck hero.

Get the Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe.

We cheated—just a little—by combining two of our favorite grandma-core classics: chicken pot pie and chicken soup. The most comforting part? We use frozen puff pastry, rotisserie chicken, and store-bought chicken broth, making this dish weeknight-friendly as well.

Get the Chicken Pot Pie Soup recipe.

These drop biscuits feel like something our grandmother would have (effortlessly) whipped up on the fly. With their delightfully crumbly, buttery texture, they’re perfect for pairing with soups, chilies, or even sliced open for sandwiches.

Get the Cheesy Bay Biscuits recipe.

This savory, crispy-lidded shepherd’s pie is as good an argument as any for making a crust out of mashed potatoes. Keep it traditional by using ground lamb, or swap in beef if you prefer.

Get the Shepherd’s Pie recipe.

We’ll never get sick of a huge, steaming bowl of starchy pasta-and-bean soup. If you’ve got a leftover Parmesan rind languishing in your fridge, now’s the time to use it. It adds a slightly salty, rich backbone to the broth.

Get the Pasta e Fagioli recipe.

These buttery golden popovers are slightly fussy, deliciously retro, and feel exactly like something our grandmothers would serve at a luncheon or dinner party.

Get the Good Housekeeping’s Famous Popovers recipe.

For some, Sundays were spent with family while nonna had a gravy simmering away on the stove. This recipe will require you to devote some of the same time and energy, but it's so delicious it's completely worth it.

Get the Sicilian-Style Braciole recipe.

If you grew up eating your grandma’s spiral baked ham, we’re willing to bet it tasted a lot like this one. We use whole fresh pineapple in place of canned for maximal flavor, adding in a bottle of ginger beer for a bit of extra zip.

Get the Pineapple-Glazed Ham recipe.

A generous amount of fresh spinach make this indulgent, cheese-heavy dish feel a little more balanced, yet still hearty enough to fill us up on a cold night.

Get the Lasagna With Meat Sauce recipe.

Sweet, wholesome, and as comforting as a hug, apple pie is the platonic ideal of a grandma dessert. While modified slightly with a stenciled crust, this version is still just as gooey, flakey, and fruit-heavy as the one from your childhood.

Get the Apple Pie With Stenciled Crust recipe.

Slow-cooked and richly red from plenty of dried chiles, this hominy-packed soup is a Mexican classic that generations of grandmothers have lovingly prepared.

Get the Pozole Rojo recipe.

It might be a little unconventional (no heating required!), but this jam is still loaded with fruity, spoonable, spreadable flavor. It’s especially perfect for the peak summer months, when we’ve got a glut of overripe fruit and limited patience for standing over a hot stove.

Get the No-Cook Jam recipe.