14 Best Comfort Foods According To Reddit

Life is hard, y'all. The world has been doing the most lately (looking at you, 2025), but through all the chaos there's one thing that never fails to wrap us in a warm, delicious hug: comfort food. From the very first bite, these foods magically transport you back to your mom's kitchen, your college dorm at 2 a.m. (whipping up the struggle meal that still lowkey slapped), or that one 24-hour diner that always got the chili cheese fries just right.

The best part? There's no judgment with this nostalgic fare. These dishes don't judge your life choices, blink at your messy bun, or look down on the fact you've been wearing the same sweatpants and tee while on your third rewatch of "Gilmore Girls." Comfort food is always there — you might even say it's the ultimate mood magician. But which comfort foods reign supreme? We wanted to know, so we went straight to the source. From ooey-gooey sweets to salty snack combos, here are 14 of the most beloved comfort foods according to Reddit.

Pizza, when cut in those iconic triangular servings, presents strugglers with proverbial slices of heaven. We never, ever seem to tire of our beloved pies. Pizza is like the ex you'll never quit: They may not be the most healthy choice, but you'll keep reaching for them when feeling low.

When asked about this classic comfort food, Redditors turned the comments section into a love letter to all things pizza. The gravitational pull of a greasy slice after a long night out seems universal, along with the subsequent late-breakfast, cold-triangle leftover that somehow makes the hangover a little more manageable. No, it's not the best idea to leave pizza out overnight ... but we did anyway.

Let us confess: Pizza not only satisfies our appetite, but soothes our emotional woes. The smell alone transports us back to boxes stacked in the corner of our dorms during finals week, or the "let's split a large and lean into man-hating for a minute" post-breakup therapy session that seemed to circle back every few weeks. All to say: Pizzaphiles of the world (and Reddit) unite!

Do you have a go-to cookie recipe? If happiness has one specific scent, it's the aroma of freshly baked cookies — especially straight from the oven and hot to the touch. The smell alone makes your inner child do a cartwheel, or maybe curl up beneath a blanket; warm cookie in one hand and cold glass of milk in the other. Redditors went deep with this one: They shared memories of foster homes with cookie dough on hand for emergency placements, so scared kids are met with warmth, sugar, and a sense of safety.

That was just one epic example of the comfort fresh-baked cookies can bring. Whether they conjure up nostalgia of baking with grandma, or tap into the realtor trick of helping a house smell like home, the vibe with these American biscuits is always the same: sweet salvation.

Perhaps that's why even store-bought cookie dough can fix what ails us on our worst days — or at the very least, feel like justified self-care. While money may not be able to buy happiness, it sure as hell can buy butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips. 

Next on the comfort food MVP list? The hallowed cheese quesadilla. Like the grilled cheese's cool cousin from south of the border, Redditors love this one for many reasons. Often included among recipes you would teach someone with no cooking experience, quesadillas come through as low-effort, high-reward comfort munchies thanks to their melty, toasty, and endlessly customizable characteristics. 

Speaking of customizations, Reddit comments were chock-full of recommendations for the best (all of which sound super yummy). Part of the beauty of a cheese quesadilla is that it's a blank canvas for whatever chaos your fridge has left to add. Think shredded chicken, three more random cheeses, or nothing else but straight-up hot sauce when you've had one of those weeks. There's something fascinating about how every version of a "perfect quesadilla" tells a tiny story about the eater's perspective on comfort in an unpredictable world.

When the tortilla folds and you hear that first crisp sizzle hit your pan, you morph into a multi-tasking mental health practitioner; cooking and stabilizing your emotional mess with every fistful of cheese sprinkled. One bite, and suddenly everything feels a little less hard.

Mac and cheese always feels like a bop no matter the remix — you could say it's the Beyoncé-level diva of the comfort food world. This dish is universally beloved, timeless, and a crowd-pleaser that never falls short. Reddit's take on mac and cheese? The comment section reveals that everyone's got their own version. Some like their mac basic: Boxed, neon orange, and straight from childhood circa 1990-something.

Others go full-on culinary renaissance, channeling their inner Julia Child with baked macs that include breadcrumbs, bacon, lobster, truffle oil ... even tuna and peas (one Redditor swore by a "Dad special" that got them through tough times). It's pretty amazing how a single dish means so many things to so many people.

One commenter stated mac and cheese is sent from above, while others simply posted delicious images of their bubbling mac masterpieces with zero context. This silent sharing makes perfect sense — who needs words when there's mac?

When you're sick, heartbroken, or just done with a day, ordering Vietnamese pho off the menu is equivalent to a warm, welcoming hug in a bowl. Commenters on Reddit flooded the channel with high praise of pho, which might just be the sick-day food since chicken noodle soup. It feels like more, though. We may just be so bold as to call it soup-adjacent soul medicine.

Many Reddit users shared how pho is their go-to comfort food when they feel under the weather. One commenter wrote specifically about reaching for a bowl when battling a bug: "If it's a cold, or anything similar, I'm craving a big, hot steamy, spicy bowl of pho." Everyone in the thread started agreed; a chorus of post-sniffly souls who knew firsthand the "healing" properties pho seems to possess.

We like to think of pho as the soup that says, "Get well soon," but follows that well-wishing with an equally vital whisper of acknowledgement: "I know you're doing your best, sweetie." Just keep slurping. You got this.

What can beat a big, buttery bowl of mashed potatoes? They're fluffy, creamy, and ready to support you through almost anything. Reddit commenters were unanimous in their adoration, and claimed that mashed potatoes are indeed the ultimate carb-based therapy in a bowl.

While its comfort crown was agreed upon across the board, here's where things gets fascinating: Everyone's "perfect mash" is just a wee bit different. Reading through the Reddit thread felt like scanning results of potato-based personality tests. Some folks keep their mashed taters traditional; scooping up smooth spoonfuls swimming in butter. Others go rogue, adding everything and the kitchen sink. This includes roasted garlic, sour cream, or frying their mashed leftovers into crispy potato patties (genius, by the way). 

Then there are gravy loyalists, who believe mashed potatoes exist solely as a vehicle for that rich, velvety goodness. One commenter deemed pureed golden-Yukon goodness one of the top inventions, ever. They might just be right. And if not? No bother. We'll enjoy testing that theory, one spoonful at a time.

Let's talk about poutine. For those tempted to claim poutine is just a fancy name for loaded fries, Reddit would strongly disagree. In fact, considering the intense ardor with which Reddit commenters refer to this international delicacy, poutine might claim the crown jewel of Canadian comfort food cuisine.

Ready for poutine's Canadian origin story? Born in Quebec, this glorious mess of golden fries, squeaky cheese curds, and hot gravy is the ultimate edible hug from the Great White North. And oh, how Reddit loves it. Eating poutine somehow feels both indulgent and oddly grounding, like edible flannel sheets for the inner soul. The minute that first forkful hits, you almost forget whatever hellscape adulting slapped together this week — or year, if we're being real.

As for Americans in the Reddit thread? They're officially converted. One person even admitted to trying poutine on a whim and described it as changing their life. A bit dramatic? Yeah, no, yeah; it is. But we get it, bestie.

Now it's time to tackle the great homemade debate. There's comfort food, and then there's homemade comfort food — the two cannot be compared. Such is the case for our next entry: classic chicken and dumplings. Reddit made one thing VERY clear, which is that this dish hits best (maybe even only) when made from scratch.

Ignoring grandma's recipe and heading to the canned soup aisle? Absolutely not. Pillsbury slice-and-bake biscuit shortcuts? Don't even think about it. When we say chicken and dumplings, most Redditors want flour-dusted counters, slow-simmered broth, and fluffy, dropped dumplings drowned in stick-to-your-ribs stew.

Why is this handmade so important? It has something to do with conjuring childhood memories, often of rolling sleeves and helping mom or grandma perform scratch-made chicken and dumpling magic. Maybe it makes no logical sense, but somehow, with each spoonful, there's a spell cast. That's scratch, son.

There's something sacred about golden squares of cornbread still sizzling in cast-iron skillets. This is especially true for those who grew up in the South, where a slab of cornbread beside nearly every meal (especially when served with buttermilk) is basically a birthright. Reddit commenters had different preferences for their favorite cornbread pairings: Beef stew , chili, or simply eschewing all accompaniments save for butter and drizzles of honey.

Would it be too extreme to say cornbread is home? For most this yellow gold is special, invoking the smell of childhood Sundays or weekday family dinners. Some like it sweet, but others swear that's blasphemy (Southern debates get heated about this). Sweet-bread naysayers prefer the twang of buttermilk and briny salt that comes with drowning torn-up morsels in the tart dairy and scooping it all up with a spoon.

Regardless, there's something about cornbread's buttery flavor that has a way of softening everything around it. What's that you say? Life's kicking your butt lately? Come here honey, have some cornbread. It'll crumble in that cuppa, not you ...

If any dessert exudes main character energy, it's cheesecake. Think about it: Just like our favorite Hollywood starlets, cheesecake is smooth, rich, and unapologetically extra. According to Reddit, it's also a dangerously delightful comfort food pick. One Reddit user even likened the dessert's allure to kryptonite.

However, there's a plot twist we didn't see coming while reading through Reddit threads. Several Redditors swear the perfect cheesecake pairing is a cup of strong, black coffee. These recommendations were very adamant and very specific, so we're inclined to take their word and order a cuppa with our next cheesecake confection.

What's so special about this dairy dessert? Maybe it's the dense texture that makes it feel like you're digging into something substantial. Or maybe it's the nostalgia factor (those graham cracker crusts take us back to childhood). Then again, maybe it's how one bite almost makes you forget you're sad. Don't get us wrong: We (or Redditors) aren't saying cheesecake will fix every problem, but it certainly seems to shush them for a spell. At least until the fork is licked clean.

There's something about a grilled cheese that just feels right. The sandwich isn't fancy (just bread, butter, and cheese), but it manages to hit all the right culinary notes and teleport you away from the grit and emotional grime of life's everyday hustle. In an ideal world, days would be filled with one crispy, warm, melty grilled cheese sammy after another. Redditors agree, and couldn't stop gushing about the dish's mouth-watering merits.

The undiluted adoration makes sense. A grilled cheese is quick to make, requires minimal effort, and whipping one up amid a stressful or otherwise wonky day still feels like a small act of kindness. We do what we can, after all.

If you want to up the ante on this proactive step of self-therapy, Reddit says what takes a grilled cheese from good to great is pairing it with tomato soup. That's it. That's the move.

We like to use our imaginations here. After reading through Reddit threads, we feel if joy had a smell it might be that of bread baking. Some kind of magic happens when the slow, yeasty perfume of fresh-baked dough fills your home; the enchanting aroma permeating every inch of your abode. That's some sorcery schizzle there, and Redditors agree. This comfort food pick hits every sensory sweet spot: smell, warmth, texture, and taste.

There's something deeply human about the near-primal satisfaction from turning flour and water into something which rises, transforms, and comes alive (we're getting deep here; just go with it). Or maybe it's just the carb rush, or the mouth-watering feel that butter melting on contact on still-warm crust conjures up. Whatever the case, fresh bread is practically therapy — only much cheaper and tastier.

Whether it's rustic sourdough that gets you salivating, a no-knead loaf that lures your low-effort loyalty, or a humble slice of banana bread you mastered baking during 2020's lockdown, scratch-made carbs mean pure comfort. Bonus points when still warm from the oven. That homemade warmth puts the world on pause, even for just a slice of time.

This might sound like something your broke college roommate would eat at 2 a.m. — but not so fast. Reddit commentary proved saltine crackers spread with a simple slathering of butter go way deeper than that.

When several commenters mentioned buttered saltines as a childhood go-to, this snack clearly hit every nostalgia nerve imaginable based on the seconding of that sentiment. One story stood out, involving a Redditor who grew up poor and would eat a sleeve of crackers with margarine while watching cartoons. Now grown and comfortable, they apply real butter and bring the tradition full circle by sharing it with their son. There's something beautiful about the same foodie ritual in different seasons of life (we aren't crying; you are).

At the end of the day, isn't this the power of comfort food? It's never just about taste. However, regarding the taste: Saltines and butter actually slap. For all the salty skeptics out there, don't knock it 'til you try it.

Fried chicken is the crunchy king of most comfort food lists, and for good reason. Reddit users praised these breaded, well-seasoned birds like gospel, and it doesn't surprise that this savory, golden dish makes a VIP appearance at nearly every potluck or major celebration. Weddings, funerals, picnics, bad days, great days ... you get the picture.

While most prefer classic buttermilk chicken, many fans of fried fowl flocked to Reddit with recipe hacks or fancy tweaks. These featured everything from secret herbs and spices to preparing the poultry Nashville-hot, Korean-style, or even air-fried. Whatever Reddit warriors decided to name their fried chicken takes, they were all pure comfort at the core.

In a life that threatens to break us down most days, little treats like a plate of fried chicken can really make a difference. We're all just winging it, after all. At least the journey can be tasty.