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Cozy chicken soups, all forms of potatoes, warm breakfasts, literally anything steamy and cheesy. That’s my cold weather food vibe! Here are my Favorite Winter Recipes For Your Next Meal Plan – breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas!
Here’s what all my Favorite Winter Recipes have in common:
- All of these recipes are served hot – which is my preference in the chilly Winter! Perhaps obvious, but worth saying.
- These are all various levels of comfort food for me. From the brown sugar maple oatmeal to the Jojo Potato Wedges, lots of these recipes remind me of things I ate as a kid!
- All use easy to find ingredients usually with Winter inspiration like squash or chicken soup.
Things this list of Winter Recipes is missing:
My list of Favorite Winter Recipes is just that – favorites! Yes, I still eat salad and other seasonal foods in the Winter. Here are some Winter recipe ideas from other sites that look amazing:
- Winter Crunch Salad – This is the kind of winter salad I want to try! Kale, brussel sprouts (raw only for me please), apples! Yum.
- Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup – Potatoes + soup + cheese. Now this is winter comfort food at its finest. Sign me up. Seconds please!
- Chicken Marsala – Somehow I’ve never made or had this dish, but it looks so good and I’m adding it to my to-try list!
- Shepherd’s Pie – I don’t have my own recipe for this, but we love any version! I’ve linked my friend Steph’s version made from leftover cooked roast beef!
Here are some of my favorite tools for cooking in the Winter:
- Instant Pot – My Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt (affiliate link!) was so trusty, I never got the burn signal once! I had it for years and recently gave it to my sister, who is also loving it. The Instant Pot is the best for soups, meaning it’s the perfect Winter food appliance!
- Air Fryer – I use a Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!) and I love it! I use it almost daily. This is a larger size which I recommend for households of two or more.
- Dutch Oven – I splurged on a Le Creuset but a Lodge 6 qt Cast Iron Dutch Oven (affiliate link!) will do the trick!
- Souper Cubes – These 2-Cup Souper Cubes Trays (affiliate link!) were sent from the soup gods above to help meal preppers everywhere! I use them constantly. Best for freezing perfect sized portions for later!
How to start meal planning:
For an easy method to get you started with meal planning, check out my article 5 Steps to Help You Make a Meal Plan That Works!
The best way to meal plan is a little bit different for everyone – some use a mobile app, some write on a laminated sheet with dry erase marker, some simply keep a note with meals listed in their phone.
The only way to know what works best for yourself is to start and give it a try. If it doesn’t work very well, try another method instead.
Here are some of my Favorite Winter Recipes for Your Next Meal Plan:
One of the most popular Winter recipes on Project Meal Plan, this is the place to start if you're looking for a cozy soup to make on a cold day. Packed full of ginger and garlic, with tons of veggies, shredded chicken breast and brown rice. It currently has nine 5-star reviews!
This oatmeal brings me back to childhood. The maple and brown sugar flavor combo is just too good! A warm bowl of oatmeal is perfect for Winter mornings.
What I want on a cold morning is a hot, steamy, cheesy, egg breakfast sandwich. And I've wanted this every morning for the last 3 weeks or so! After making multiple batches of these sandwiches already in 2022, I can confirm they really hit the spot on a Winter morning.
This recipe takes a Winter squash and stuffs it with juicy chicken breast, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach greens and my favorite traditional pesto for a delicious cheesy hot spaghetti squash based meal!
While I know French toast is appropriate any time of the year, there's something special about hot fried bread on a cold day. To me, French toast is a decadent dessert/breakfast hybrid that can totally brighten a Winter morning!
I absolutely love my Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer for this and all my air fryer recipes!
If you're looking for a new family friendly casserole to try, may I recommend this Tuna Noodle Casserole? My version is made from scratch with mushrooms, egg noodles and potato chips on top. This is my favorite new Winter recipe this year!
Tons of veggies, hot steamy cheesy goodness, perfect make-ahead lunch that reheats wonderfully! What more could you ask for in a Winter meal prep lunch?
Here are the 2-Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers I love!
Cold weather also means Football! This app is loved by Pinterest and always peaks around Super Bowl time. Use your slow cooker or Instant Pot to create this simple, hot and cheesy masterpiece for dipping or making nachos!
Pancakes, but no flipping! This recipe uses the oven to bake the pancakes instead of relying on traditional methods. Cut the work in half and still have warm, steamy delicious pancakes to warm up with! My favorite brand of pancake mix is Kodiak Cakes, but this works with other kinds too!
Here's another one I make all the time, especially when it's cold. Something about the hot buffalo chicken really hits the spot for me when it's dark and dreary outside! Anytime I've got leftover chicken and flour tortillas, I make these!
Soup is the most Winter thing on this list! This is another Instant Pot chicken soup, but this one reminds me of jalapeño poppers and packs a bit of kick! If you like chicken, bacon, cheese and jalapeñoes, you'll love this soup!
Just like soup, casseroles and bakes belong in Winter. This one is creamy, cheesy and packed with pasta and chicken. Feel free to swap with your favorite steamed veggies, or stick with peas.
Have you made any of these Winter recipes?! Let me know your favorites in the comments below!
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