Top 13 Comfort Foods of All Time

Some of these arrive when you are ill, some when the rent is due, some when it snows. Every one of them is somebody's default answer.

1

Mac and Cheese

Elbow pasta bound in a melted cheese sauce, baked or stovetop.

2

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Buttered bread griddled around melting cheese until the crust crackles.

3

Fried Chicken

Buttermilk-brined chicken in a seasoned crust, fried until shattering.

4

Chicken Noodle Soup

Broth, shredded chicken and egg noodles, the standard sickbed dinner.

5

Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes whipped with butter and cream into a side dish that outshines the main.

6

Lasagna

Layered pasta, ragù and cheese baked into a sliceable brick.

7

Pizza

Bread, tomato and melted cheese, the most-ordered dinner on earth.

8

Meatloaf

Seasoned ground beef baked in a loaf pan under a glaze of ketchup.

9

Ramen

Wheat noodles in a long-simmered broth with pork, egg and scallion.

10

Biscuits and Gravy

Split buttermilk biscuits flooded with peppery sausage gravy.

11

Chili

Beef, chilies and beans stewed low until the spoon stands up in it.

12

Pot Roast

A tough cut braised with carrots and onions until it falls apart.

13

Apple Pie

Spiced apples under a lattice crust, served warm with ice cream.