Food
12 Favorite New England Comfort Food Recipes
From American Chop Suey Casserole to Lobster Mac & Cheese, here are 12 of our favorite New England comfort food recipes to warm you up.
By Aimee Tucker|Mar 11 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanNew England Comfort Food Recipes
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
American Chop Suey Casserole
New England’s spin on a classic pasta dish, our American Chop Suey Casserole is a savory blend of noodles, ground beef, and seasoned tomato sauce.Shepherd’s Stew
Nothing beats a great stick-to-your-ribs stew recipe. With ingredients like sausage, potatoes, and vegetables, this hearty stew will fill you up and warm you from the inside out.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Tuna Tango Noodle Casserole
A retro-inspired comfort food classic from the Yankee archives, this tuna noodle casserole earned the name “tango” thanks to its tangy tomato zip.Mother’s Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings
Shirley Wollard Woodlock learned to make homemade chicken and dumplings the old-fashioned way from watching her mother. Tuck into a bowl of chunky, brothy goodness topped with tender, fluffy dumplings and fall in love!
Photo Credit : Hornick/Rivlin
Lobster Mac & Cheese
Combine New England comfort food with the ultimate New England splurge in this rich and flavorful Lobster Mac & Cheese. Finished with a buttery breadcrumb topping, it’s decadent and delicious.Baked Mac & Cheese with Sausage and Tomato
Humble comfort food at its finest – baked macaroni and cheese made even more flavorful with spicy Italian sausage and topped with tomato slices.
Photo Credit : Hornick/Rivlin
Firehouse Chili
Made with ground beef, veggies, beans, and the perfect blend of seasonings, this award-winning firehouse chili is a true crowd-pleaser and one of our all-time favorite comfort food recipes.Mom’s Meatloaf
Denser than most meatloaf recipes, this version tastes great the next day in a sandwich with sauteed onions and ketchup.
Photo Credit : Keller + Keller
Yankee Pot Roast
Tender and flavorful, this recipe for a Yankee Pot Roast is a cold-weather lifesaver. Serve over rice or egg noodles for warming, filling comfort food at its finest.Chicken Pot Pies with Cheddar-Scallion Biscuits
It’s hard to imagine a more comforting combination than a savory chicken pot pie filling topped with cheesy biscuits. Butternut squash replaces the usual potatoes for a nice hit of color and sweetness.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Plimoth Plantation’s Slow Cooker Indian Pudding
Who says comfort food recipes don’t include dessert? A warm bowl of Indian Pudding topped with a creamy, melty scoop of vanilla ice cream is a classic New England winter treat. With this recipe, after a little prep upfront on the stove-top, the batter heads to the slow cooker for a nice long, slow bake. Look forward to the perfect dessert while you prepare dinner.Blueberry Crisp with Oatmeal Topping
This old-fashioned blueberry oatmeal crisp recipe comes together quickly, making it a convenient New England comfort food dessert. Serve with whipped cream or a generous scoop of ice cream. What tops your list of favorite comfort food recipes? Let us know! This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
How about red flannel hash??? A favorite of mine although I haven’t had it in many years!!
Yea! My Mom used to make this.It was great. My kids had never heard of it.How about the recipe ?
Hi Ginny (and Sue). Here’s an easy Red Flannel Hash recipe from the Yankee archives. https://newengland.com/today/food/red-flannel-hash-3/ 🙂
I had a friend who grew up in New England in the 60s. She would make an eggnoodle side dish which had maple syrup and walnuts added. She said it was popular throughout New England buy I have never found a recipe. (She lived primarily in Vermont and Maine but also spent time in Mass and NH, and said she had ir “everywhere”). Hope you can help me.
I found this receipe I imagine you could replace the sugar with maple syrup. Cook 1pkg. egg noodles and drain. In another pot melt 3T of butter. Add 1lb of chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of sugar. Add noodles and toss to coat.
How about a good recipe for Portuguese blade meet like they used to do at Zito mkt in Attleboro mass
Buy the blademeat at Castro’s on County Square. Cut into pcs. put in crockpot with garlic, onions etc. Cook until tender – Serve on Portuguese rolls (also sold at Castro’s
Anyone have a recipe for Indian Scout Cookies that my neighbor used to make in New Hampshire? Light molasses cookies with candied orange rind and nuts.
We had a chicken pot pie with homemade pie crust from yankee magazine from long ago and seem to have lost it. Does anyone happen to have it? Would love to get it back it was so good. I’ve looked all over the web site and can’t find the same one. It was probably from one of the 1990’s editions
Anyone have a New England recipe for a squash casserole topped with Pepperidge farm bread crumbs, I think it had sour cream and cream of chicken or cream of celery soup. It is delicious,
A few years late, just came across this NE Yankee recipe. To answer this comment question did a yahoo search and found this
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/178968/squash-casserole/
Looking for a recipe for a pumpkin dessert with pieces of candied ginger. It was baked in a dish without a crust. Lost recipe in a move!
If someone serves you any kind of tuna casserole, it’s not because they want to serve you comfort food, it’s because they hate you. Doesn’t matter how they dress it up, it’s still tuna casserole! ????????????
Amen Roger. We ate so much of this while my ex-husband was in the army and our food budget was next to nothing, I can’t even look at it today.
Agreed~I can’t stand it!
trying to find crock pot beef barley soup found in woman’s world magazine years ago and lost my copy of recipe. looked all over and can’t find it. anyone?
Simple yahoo search. Believe this is the Crockpot Barley Soup recipe you mentioned. From Woman’s Day, Sept 4, 2014
https://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/food-drinks/recipes/a12880/beef-barley-soup-recipe-wdy1014/
Anyone heard of Guta or something like that. Kids brought these sandwiches w/what I assumed was type of ground meat. Can anyone spell it correctly or can tell me what it is please
Garton, it’s made with pork
It’s Gorton ( Gah-ton) New Englanders pronounce it that way … my Mémére from Québec and in Canada they pronounce and spell it Créton (Cah-ton). The C is curt…pronouncing. It’s a pork spread which you can google Canadian Gorton or Creton and get several recipes.. basically it’s ground pork and onion and all spice and clove with water or some use milk? And you cover enough with water and boil them simmer till it evaporates.. then put in dishes to form a pâté. With like a bit of lite fat on top?! Hope this helped?!!!
I think you are looking for (groton)French or creton(Canadian)A ground pork spread.
Don’t care what anyone says – my kids request tuna casserole frequently now and ever since they were little. One of their FAVORITES
To the people looking for recipes etc,just google it,its amazing what info you can get!! great recipes for fall& winter Yankee,thanks,been enjoying your magazine since 1970!look forward to the stories,recipes and scenes from New England.
Does anyone have the recipes for the cranberry cookies at Plimouth Plantation or Jordon Marsh original blueberry muffins?
Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2 cups unsifted flour
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups large fresh blueberries
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar (for top of muffins)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a second bowl, combine all dry ingredients. (You can use an electric mixer to combine the dry ingredients thoroughly at this point so that you won’t need to overmix once the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture along with the milk and vanilla.
Optionally, mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries, and stir in by hand (this will turn batter a light shade of blue and add a touch of blueberry flavor, but this step may be skipped, if you wish). Add the remaining whole berries and stir in gently by hand.
Spray a 12 muffin baking pan with Baker’s Joy (or other non-stick spray). Fill greased muffin cups.
Sprinkle sugar on top of unbaked muffins.
Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin after several minutes to free it from the pan and cool on wire racks. Muffins may be brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar, if desired.
https://newengland.com/food/breads/jordan-marsh-blueberry-muffins/#
Born in Acushnet Hospital, lived in Fairhaven, New Bedford, & So. Dartmouth, (including on the family cabin cruiser in Padanaram Harbor) over 60 yrs. I’m a New Englander thru & thru, (temporarily stuck in Tucson, Az.). I’ll find a way to get back home someday!