Healthy, hearty recipes to keep you cozy this fall

There’s a chill in the air, and it seems everyone is yearning for comfort food. Kate Sherwood, our own Healthy Cook, knows how to make a meal hearty, cozy, and healthy—no small feat! But rest assured: These sides, salads, soups, stews, curries, mains, and even desserts are all NutritionAction-approved and easy to whip up on a work night. Read on for satisfying meal ideas every night of the week—and even a year-round source of good food inspo. 

Start with in-season sides

As the seasons and harvests change, fall is the perfect time to explore fun side dish recipes that showcase rich autumn flavors. Roasted Roots with Spicy Yogurt (above), Spiced Root Vegetable Cakes, and Roasted Delicata Squash are delicious, nutritious, and highlight the natural sweetness and robust flavors of root vegetables, elevating your meals with minimal effort. If you still find yourself with some extra carrots lying around, try Moo Shu Veggies, Rainbow Stir Fry, or Very Veggie Fried Rice as an easy seasonal side for your favorite protein. Roasted Garlic Mushrooms, Broccolini with Crispy Parmesan Crumbs, Smoky Green Bean Almondine, Spiced Roasted Cauliflower, Savory Roasted Sweets, and Cauliflower with Lemon-Pine Nut Dressing pair well with your favorite protein and bring warm fall vibes to the table (along with plenty of fiber and vitamins).  

Want more flavorful sides to try? Check out The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Fall & Winter Vegetables.  

Warm up with hearty soups and stews 

There's nothing quite like a comforting bowl of soup or stew to warm you up in the fall. Dive into our hearty, flavorful soups and stews, including Minestrone Stew(above), Creamy Vegetable Soup, Seafood Stew, and Italian Bean & Kale Stew, all of which are simple to prepare and offer welcome changeups to the repertoire. For a soup that’s brothy but rich in flavor, try Miso Ginger Vegetable Soup, where carrots shine and mushrooms offer plenty of satisfying umami flavor. Two Bean Chili makes the most of canned beans—a real timesaver on weeknights—as does smoky, customizable Black Bean Soup. Got a hankering for lentil soup? Good news! The Healthy Cook has six variations on the theme: Simple Lentil Soup, Tomato Lentil Soup, Greek Lentil Soup, Mexican Lentil Soup, Indian Lentil Soup, and French Lentil Stew are all easy, delicious, and full of hearty fiber, protein, and vitamins and minerals. 

Want more hearty soup recipes? Grab a copy of The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Soup.  

Don’t sleep on autumn salads 

Fall is the perfect opportunity to invigorate your meals with fresh and exciting salads. The Healthy Cook’s recipes are designed to bring fun flavors, minimal fuss, and tons of fiber and nutrients to your table—and salads are certainly no exception here. You’ll love the satisfying crunch of Kale & Tempeh Salad, the perfect balance of flavors in Beet Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette (above), Roasted Eggplant Salad, an updated classic Waldorf Salad Redux, Rainbow Carrot Salad, and Citrus & Winter Greens Salad—all simple, fresh, and delish. Spicy Chickpea Poppers make a great crispy salad topper—if you can resist eating them all straight from the baking sheet. These seasonal salads are delicious and packed with nutrients, making each perfect as a light main dish or a fabulous starter.  

Get more colorful and healthful salad ideas in The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Main Dish Salads and Salad Days! The Healthy Cook Turns Salad into Supper.  

Beat the chill with beans and lentils

Add beans and lentils to your rotation; your heart will thank you! Explore The Healthy Cook’s lentil and bean recipes for filling, healthy, and delicious dishes. Comforting and satisfying, Roasted Tomatoes & Fennel on Beans & Greens (above) make the best of late-summer/early-fall roasted tomatoes. Pan-Roasted Vegetables over Saucy Beans and Roasted Vegetables over White Bean Puree bring out the best in vegetables, and serving them atop beans is healthy and fast comfort food. White Bean & Tomato Salad is so hearty, it’s a great dinner on its own—the mozzarella pearls and beans make this salad an incredible treat, packed with fiber and protein. Other lentil-forward recipes to try: Black Lentil Tabouli, Broccoli & Lentil Salad, Crunchy Lentil Salad, Roasted Winter Veg over Lentils, and the aforementioned lentil soups. And don’t forget this Mushroom Lentil Dressing as the fall holidays approach; it just might be the perfect addition to your festive table. 

For more ideas, check out The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Beans & Lentils. 

Whole grains make healthy, filling meals 

Few foods are as satisfying as whole grains—they’re packed with fiber and nutrients and will keep you fueled for hours. Sometimes, working more whole grains into your diet is a matter of simple swaps: Use cooked brown rice for hearty Tex-Mex Fried Rice, Very Veggie Fried Rice, or as a bed for Stir-Fried Asian Greens, Golden Tofu Stir-Fry, or Salad Bar Stir-Fry. When time is tight, try quinoa, which cooks in less than half the time of brown rice and is delicious warm or cold; it’s the heart of the Healthy Cook’s Black Bean & Quinoa Salad (above), Quinoa Bowl with Ginger Dressing, Smoky Quinoa, Spinach, & Caramelized Onion Stuffed Tomato, and hearty Black Beans & Quinoa with Roasted Peppers. Expand your whole-grain repertoire with farro, bulgur, barley, and wheatberries with Creamy Mushroom Farro, Bulgur Tabouli, Savory Mushroom Barley, Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl, and Savory Pilaf.

For more creative recipes full of fiber, check out The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Whole Grains.

Dig in with hearty mains 

If you're on the hunt for standout main dishes that are both nutritious, delicious, and filling, try rich and flavorful Chicken Tagine, a classic Moroccan chicken dish that you can also prepare by using curry powder or ras el hanout instead of the recipe’s paprika and coriander. For a plant-based option, try Vegetarian Chickpea Tagine. Chicken & Mushroom Stroganoff is a healthy autumnal feast with a wild rice blend. Stuffed Italian Eggplant and Chicken Mole are both simple to make but complex in flavors, packed with protein, and sure to warm you up any autumn evening. Tofu Korma, Paprika Chickpeas, and Mushroom Kadai (above)—perfect with brown rice and lentils—bring warmth to a chilly fall day in under 30 minutes.  

For nourishing, quick-cooking recipes to pair with your favorite fall sides and salads, check out Roasted White Fish, Costa Brava Poached White Fish, Poached Provencal White Fish, Roasted Chicken Thighs, Air-Fryer Chicken, Fish Cakes, Ginger Glazed Salmon, Salmon with Lemon Herb Sauce, Crispy Tofu, and BBQ Tempeh, all of which work well as part of an entrée, bowl, wrap, or salad.  

For more hearty mains, check out The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Chicken, The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Seafood, Veggie Nice! Plant-based main dishes from The Healthy Cook, and The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Tofu & Tempeh. 

Treat yourself to dessert 

If you’re in the mood for a comforting and delightful dessert, Apple Raspberry Almond Crisp should not be missed; you can swap in your favorite seasonal fruit as each season changes: In the summer, try six peaches or nectarines instead (no need to peel them); in winter, try pears. Decadent Marzipan Yogurt with Berries (above) makes a great dessert, as does Chocolate Chia Pudding topped with your favorite seasonal fruit.

For more decadent but heart-healthy recipes, check out The Healthy Cook’s Kitchen: Heart-Healthy Dishes from the Healthy Cook.  

Use it all 

If, after all that cooking, you’ve found yourself with an abundance of vegetable scraps—beet greens or peels, skins, cores or tops from carrots, mushrooms, onions, celery, or tomatoes, for example—you’ve also got the base for a quart or two of Vegetable Stock for future meals; it makes a perfect start for soup, can give grains of all kinds more flavor when used instead of water, and is easy to freeze for quick and tasty weeknight meals in the future.  

For more waste-cutting tips, check out How to curb your own food waste on NutritionAction.

Eat well all year long

For the season’s best produce—no matter what month—check out our Seasonal Produce Guides for a list of in-season vegetables and fruit, tips for choosing the best ones at the store, cleaning and prepping them for the best results, and a handful of recipes that make each ingredient the star.  

Need inspiration for every month of the year? Every gorgeous photo in the 2025 Good Foods Calendar will whet your appetite for delicious, healthy food. And the simple tip or recipe below each photo from The Healthy Cook will help you turn that month’s star into the star of your dinner table.