Surviving winter is easier with these cozy stovetop dishes

While it’s true that there’s no hard and fast rule explaining why winter cooking can feel so blah, a fact of life it is. An easy ham and bean soup that seemed like a revelation in the fall starts to feel like a chore come February. Meal prep, meanwhile, can feel like a bore, and eating cold grain bowls or salads is nobody’s idea of winter comfort food, anyway. Thankfully, reinventing the wheel when it comes to winter cooking is not too big of a life. With a deep sauté pan, Dutch oven, or large pot in hand, you’re en route to cozy stovetop dishes that make winter much easier to survive. Here are some ideas for getting you through the dark days, until Spring cooking can bring some freshness back into the mix:

A warming coconut curry

Banish the winter blues with the rich flavors of a curry. A quick stovetop curry like Nik Sharma’s Okra and Shrimp Coconut Curry is packed with warming spices like cinnamon, turmeric, and Kashmiri chili powder (or use another mild, powdered chili). 

Cozy rigatoni with a simple Bolognese

Ask anyone what the perfect winter comfort food is, and we’d venture to guess that at least fifty percent would say pasta. And as far as wintery pasta dishes go, HexClad’s recipe for Vodka Bolognese Rigatoni is a contender for GOAT. You’ll make a quick stovetop bolognese before adding the eponymous glug of vodka that balances the tomatoes in the sauce. Tossed with al dente rigatoni (or your favorite pasta shape), a generous pour of heavy cream, and a shower of grated Parmesan, this is the perfect stovetop winter pasta dish. For the vegetarians out there who want their cozy winter pasta fix, try Nik Sharma’s recipe for Vegetable Pasta with Broccoli. Winter is also a great time to try out other pasta sauces.

A saucy Italian chicken dish

Forget trekking through a snowstorm to your favorite Italian restaurant. You can make a chicken cacciatore that rivals theirs, and in just one pot, too. You’ll simmer boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a spicy tomato, pepper, and mushroom sauce to infuse them with flavor (and render them perfectly tender). They’re perfect served over buttered rice, a pile of olive oil-slicked noodles, or creamy polenta.

Ditch the takeout Thai

Bust out your wok for an epic, restaurant-worthy Thai noodles that will transport you to Bangkok’s famous street food stalls. Winter is a great time to get the hang of building ‘wok hei’—which translates to the breath of the wok—that deeply savory, smoky flavor that comes from a well-seasoned wok. Try it out on Holy Basil’s recipe for Pad Thai or Pad See Ew.

Recreate a diner classic

There are few simple pleasures as delightful as dunking a perfectly browned grilled cheese into homemade tomato soup. Upgrade your winter version with Jake Cohen’s cottage cheese-stuffed grilled cheese, which adds a touch of dill to play off his shortcut tomato soup. (If you’re skeptical about folding cottage cheese into this classic sandwich, Jake Cohen makes the case for why you should be cooking with cottage cheese here.)

Turn a summer staple into a winter classic

While you might associate fried chicken with summertime picnics and backyard barbecues, there’s a case to be made for tackling this comfort food staple in winter. While it’s not exactly difficult to make, fried chicken requires a bit of maintenance and standing over a pot of hot, bubbling oil. That’s not so great in July when you want to be outside enjoying the good weather, but it’s not such a big sacrifice on snowy January or February evenings. Channel the best of summer by pairing your fried chicken with coleslaw and corn, or lean into Southern dishes like braised collard greens and mashed potatoes for a perfectly wintery feast.

A spicy Korean-inspired soup

The classic stew kimchi-jjigae is meant for cold winter nights. Made with chunks of salty pork belly, a variety of vegetables like zucchini and mushrooms, a pile of kimchi, and a hefty dollop of gochujang, the broth in kimchi-jjigae (Kimchi and Tofu Soup) will wake even the sleepiest cooks up from their winter hibernation. The broth is studded with piles of kimchi, planks of silken tofu, and chewy enoki mushrooms. Serve it over white or brown rice.