When you're feeling under the weather, the thought of preparing a complicated meal can be overwhelming. "Under the weather is an idiom that means “feeling sick or unwell.” It’s often used to explain that someone is ill without having to go into details. What you crave most are simple, comforting dishes that require minimal effort but deliver maximum flavor and nourishment. This article provides a variety of easy-to-prepare recipes perfect for those days when you need a little extra TLC. From soothing soups to gentle carbs and refreshing treats, these meals are designed to be gentle on your system and help you on your road to recovery. Show a little love to those under the weather with a meal or treat that's good for body and soul.
Soups: The Ultimate Comfort Food
Soups are a classic choice for sick days, offering hydration, essential nutrients, and warmth in every spoonful.
Chicken Noodle Soup: A Timeless Remedy
Of course chicken noodle soup is on the top of the list! It's easy to digest, full of nutrients, and is just pure comfort. Ali Slagle pares down the classic from-scratch chicken soup recipe by using rotisserie chicken meat and chicken broth, store-bought or homemade. Adding egg noodles, carrots, celery and herbs makes it into the beloved cure-all we know and love. Make a hearty, warm bowl of homemade chicken soup with just a few easy steps. Instead of cooking chicken from scratch, this recipe swaps in pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make the process all that more simple. For many, it’s got to be chicken soup or congee.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup: If you make it in an Instant Pot, it's only ten minutes of prep.
Chicken and Dumplings: A Hearty Embrace
Fluffy dumplings floating in rich chicken broth? Yes, please! Every spoonful feels like the edible version of a weighted blanket when nothing else sounds good. Slow-cooker chicken and dumplings are an easy weeknight comfort food, and my kids adore them! If you'd like, omit oregano and marjoram and substitute cream of chicken soup with herbs. Whether your person is recovering from an illness or just down in the dumps, this streamlined chicken and dumpling recipe from Alexa Weibel will boost their spirits. It’s not traditional - it calls for store-bought rotisserie chicken and gnocchi for the dumplings - but it’s flavorful, rich and ready in just 20 minutes.
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Lentil Soup: Protein-Packed Recovery
This hearty soup is packed with protein and fiber to help you power through recovery mode. The tender lentils soak up the savory broth, so every spoonful feels comforting without feeling heavy.
Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup: A Flavorful Boost
If your taste buds are begging for something with a little more oomph, this is it. The smoky sausage balances the creamy beans and tender kale for a comforting bowl that tastes fresh.
Italian Chicken Soup: A Taste of Tradition
Garlic, herbs, and a little pasta make this broth feel way more special than your average sick-day soup. It's light enough to sip but full of flavor that actually makes you want seconds. Also known as Italian egg drop soup, stracciatella soup consists of three key ingredients: chicken stock, egg and Parmesan cheese. It provides a savory, comforting flavor perfect for those colder days.
Italian Meatball Soup: Miniature Comfort
Mini meatballs bobbing around in tomato broth are somehow more fun than grown-up soup. It's cozy, slurpable, and exactly what you'd want after a long nap on the couch.
Vegetable Soup: A Nutrient Powerhouse
You can make this feel-good meal in less than 30 minutes. All those veggies and vitamins will help you build your strength back, plus it's so easy to sip and savor. My best vegetable soup recipe is perfect to prepare on a crisp autumn afternoon. A friend gave me the idea to use V8 juice in vegetable soup because it provides more flavor. This vegetarian soup features a rainbow of vegetables. You can use any multicolored pasta in place of the spirals. I remember my mom making this soup; now I make it for my kids as often as I can. It's a good way to use up leftover vegetables. Sometimes I add a can of rinsed and drained kidney or garbanzo beans. Corn steals the show in this vegetable soup. Its naturally sweet taste is enhanced with butter, milk and lemon juice, while potatoes and carrots balance it out.
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Tomato Soup with Parmesan Croutons: A Classic Reimagined
If you're up for the task, skip the canned kind and make tomato soup from scratch! Ree's recipe only takes ten minutes of prep and tastes a thousand times better.
Wonton Soup: A Chinese Tradition
Wonton soup has been a Chinese tradition for hundreds of years and has a very satisfying taste and texture. The wontons have a smooth wrapper and hearty filling and are enveloped in a rich chicken stock.
Light Soup With Mushrooms: A Vegan Option
If the person you’re cooking for eats a vegan or vegetarian diet, let this Yewande Komolafe recipe be your guide. She swaps out the dried meat typically called for in this traditional Ghanaian soup with dried and fresh mushrooms. Ginger, tomato paste and a Scotch bonnet chile give it mild heat and flavor.
Caldo de Res: A Mexican Staple
“Caldo de res,” which means “beef broth” in Spanish, is a staple of Mexican home cooking, full of fall-apart tender beef shank and vegetables, like zucchini, corn and carrots. Simmer it on the stove while the person you love is resting, and the smell alone might revive them.
Goulash
Lidey Heuck’s extremely hearty recipe for an American version of the traditional Hungarian dish is sweet and earthy from bell peppers and paprika. It’s made in one pot, and is wholesome enough to feed a whole slew of sick people, if necessary. (But we hope it’s not.)
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Other Soups
This soup reminds me of being a kid. I would probably add some ginger to this if you’re sick. Simmering up a big pot of this soup is one of my favorite holiday traditions. This is a variation on a recipe my mom made while I was growing up. My husband and children can't get enough of the tender dumplings. A variety of winter vegetables gives the broth for this classic Jewish soup a deep flavor. You can use a few green onions instead of the leek. This soup has helped me through so MUCH.
Stews: Filling and Flavorful
Stews offer a heartier option when you need something more substantial.
Chicken Stew: Soup's Heartier Cousin
Think of this as chicken soup's heartier cousin. The veggies and potatoes make it extra filling, while the thick broth tastes like something straight from Grandma's kitchen.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Effortless Comfort
If you just want to dig into a hearty meal, beef stew is the answer! It's got your meat, veggies, and carbs in one bowl of comfort and the slow cooker does most of the work for you.
Gentle Carbs: Easy to Digest and Soothing
When your stomach is sensitive, simple carbohydrates can provide energy without causing discomfort.
White Rice: A Blank Canvas
Much like poached chicken, making a batch of white rice is a great idea. It is gentle on your stomach but will fill you up. Plus, there are dozens of uses for leftover rice to make when you're on the mend.
Crock-Pot Mac and Cheese: Creamy Indulgence
Nothing tastes as good as creamy, dreamy mac and cheese when you're sick. You can whip this version up in the slow cooker for minimal effort (and maximum couch time).
Homemade Chicken and Noodles: A Thick and Hearty Dish
This one is Ree's go-to when her kids are sick-and for good reason. It's a thick and hearty dish not to be confused with thinner, brothier chicken noodle soup, and it's perfectly yummy and soul-pleasing.
All-Purpose Biscuits
Sam Sifton’s all-purpose biscuits are just the thing to nibble on when you have an upset stomach or want something to dip into chicken soup. They’re easy to make, with only six ingredients, and come out perfectly buttery and flaky every time. As one reader writes, “I’m 78, Southern and these were the best biscuits I’ve ever made.”
Skillet Broccoli-Cheddar Rice
The combination of broccoli, Cheddar and rice can’t help but be appealing, even when you can’t stomach much. Ali Slagle’s true one-pot recipe features buttery rice scattered with broccoli florets, topped with cheese that becomes gooey under the broiler. And that’s it!
One-Pot Kabocha Squash and Coconut Rice
Sue Li knows just what you need when you don’t feel well, and it’s easy-to-digest warm, coconuty rice and tender squash. The rice is seasoned with garlic and ginger for a mild flavor, and with her magical instructions, you can cook this all in one pot.
Pasta Marinara With 40 Cloves of Garlic
There’s a tasty twist to this red sauce recipe from Ali Slagle: She treats garlic like a protein here, braising it to extract its flavor, resulting in a dish that’s cozy, but can cut through the dullness of any sinus-induced haze.
Lemony Orzo With Asparagus and Garlic Bread Crumbs
This bright, springy recipe from Ali Slagle makes the list because all of the ingredients are cut up into similar sized-pieces, so it’s barely any work to eat. Finish it off with garlicky panko bread crumbs, and you have a hug in a bowl.
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
Sorry not sorry, you can't have tomato soup without grilled cheese. It is so easy to make in the air fryer, too! Just grab your favorite cheese and bread combo and get (air) fryin'.
Protein: Essential for Recovery
Protein is crucial for rebuilding strength and supporting your immune system.
Poached Chicken: Gentle and Versatile
Protein is essential to getting your strength back. But if your stomach isn't feeling all that great, gently poaching chicken is the way to go. Then as you start to feel better, you can add it to so many meals just like rotisserie chicken. Get yourself a rotisserie chicken and some vegetables. This is what my grandma used to make us when we weren’t feeling well. There are like 4 ingredients max.
Chinese Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs
“This is the most effective comfort food I have ever eaten,” one reader wrote about this classic home-style Chinese recipe from Francis Lam. It’s profoundly simple, but its restorative properties when eaten with a bowl of rice have to be experienced to be understood.
Soothing Beverages: Hydration and Comfort
Staying hydrated is key to recovery, and these beverages offer added benefits.
Hot Toddy: A Soothing Elixir
Not for the kids of course, but a hot toddy can be so soothing to sip. All you need is hot water, lemon, honey, and a splash of bourbon or whiskey. This hot toddy (pictured here with tequila) will help you sleep well.
Citrus and Herb Tonic
This sunny tonic from Yewande Komolafe is chock-full of warming ingredients, like citrus (a lot of it), ginger, turmeric and lemongrass. It will last for a while in the fridge, perfect for portioning as needed and stirring into a mug of hot water. As one commenter put it, “Perfect for a cold, Covid recovery or just a cold winter’s night.”
Masala Chai Tea
Perfect for cold nights, this masala chai tea recipe incorporates spices that make it so delicious, you'll want to drink it every day.
Lemon Thyme Tea
Fresh sprigs of lemon thyme make this citrusy tea so refreshing-it’s like sipping summer from a cup.
A Cup of HEALTH
I take a shot glass full of this fire cider at the start of a cold. I made this all year long.
Gentle Sweets and Treats: A Little Pick-Me-Up
Sometimes, a little sweetness can provide a much-needed mood boost.
Slow Cooker Applesauce: Childhood Comfort
If your throat is sore, go for something easy to swallow and digest. Plus, applesauce has that feel-good factor from childhood and lots of vitamins that'll make you so much better. Mother liked best for applesauce. (Today I use Cortlands.) I do know that her applesauce was very white. The secret, she said, was to keep the apples in salt water while she peeled them so that they wouldn't darken.
Mango Sorbet: A Refreshing Treat
Remember when you were a kid and ice pops made all the difference? Sorbet is homemade answer to that! In this recipe, you can use frozen fruit and skip the ice cream maker churning process entirely. If you need something to soothe the throat, this sorbet will do the trick.
Frozen Yogurt Pops
I enjoy these frozen yogurt pops because they double as a healthy snack and a cool, creamy sweet treat.
Chewy Brownie Cookies
Vaughn Vreeland’s recipe offers the comfort of two classic desserts in one, so bake a batch for someone who needs it. The triple whammy of semisweet chocolate, cocoa and espresso powder will delight the taste buds and heal the soul. Make sure to bang the pan on the counter to get the satisfying, crackly surface.
Other Ideas
Ramen is also a very good choice. Also a good option. Smoothie bowls! Since I started making this green smoothie recipe for breakfast every day, I honestly feel better!
Additional Healthy Options
Even people who normally don't care for Brussels sprouts will ask for a second helping of these. 3/4 cup: 56 calories, 2g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 214mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 3g fiber), 2g protein.