Healthy Fall Comfort Food Recipes

Holiday leftovers often end up in casseroles and soups, but they are also delicious in a light but hearty salad. In addition to leftover turkey, this recipe takes advantage of leftover stuffing--which is transformed into crisp croutons, cranberry sauce--which enhances the dressing, and whatever leftover roasted vegetables you have on hand.

Make this classic comfort food side dish in an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, to get the potatoes soft and tender in a jiff! This easy, 5-ingredient recipe is perfect for the holidays because it's all done in one pot and doesn't take up any extra oven or stove space.

Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

Free up space in your oven and on the stovetop this Thanksgiving with the help of an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot. Not only does it cook entirely in one pot, it cooks super-quick, perfect for a last-minute side dish.

Enjoy the comfort of perfectly cooked pot roast without the hours of roasting with this recipe that makes use of a multicooker, like the Instant Pot. Just 45 minutes in the pressure cooker is all it takes to make tender pot roast with potatoes and carrots alongside.

This twist on a traditional Shepard's Pie recipe uses lentils and is garnished with fresh mint.

Carrots and parsnips make a colorful (and lower-carb) alternative to mashed potatoes.

Plan to make this slow-cooker chowder recipe when you have a busy day at work. Put in just a few minutes of prep in the morning and you'll be rewarded with a hearty clam chowder come dinnertime.

This cheesy pasta recipe is made in a slow cooker but is relatively quick taking just 2 1/2 hours from start-to-finish. It's full of vegetables, whole-grain linguine and of course, lots of cheese!

Serve this cheese, tomato, and mushroom dip warm with freshly-toasted French bread slices for a wonderful party appetizer. The slow-cooker recipe makes enough for a crowd.

The apple cider sauce in this slow-cooker pork chop recipe gets extra flavor from chipotle chile peppers. The sauce is absorbed by the butternut squash while cooking, and the end result is a meal the whole family will love.

Got the weeknight "what's-for-dinner" blues? You'll sing another tune when you come home to a slow-cooked, tender beef brisket with a wine-enhanced sauce. Served with mashed potatoes, this is comfort food at its finest.

This classic French stew "Boeuf à la Bourguignonne" is often served with noodles or chunks of potato, but this version is paired with garlicky mashed potatoes. A good choice for a weekend dinner, this slow-cooker meal also tastes great reheated the next day, because the flavors develop as it chills overnight.

Start this slow-cooker beef stew before you leave for work and you'll arrive home to a delicious and hearty meal. All you'll need to do is whip up the garlic-thyme sour cream topping, and it will be ready to eat.

Ready for a little spice to your chili? This recipe uses chipotle peppers for that kick you are hoping for!

In this simple dish, shredded turkey, green beans and mashed potatoes are layered and topped with reduced-fat Cheddar cheese. It's a great way to use leftovers from your holiday meal!

Mashed potatoes are easy to make and popular with almost everyone, but why not mix it up a bit? By adding a couple of parsnips and some Parmesan cheese, you'll end up with a sweeter and nuttier taste.

This recipe takes your grandmother's 1950's meat loaf and brings it into the modern era! It's made with ground turkey, peppers, green onions, reduced-sodium taco seasoning and jalapeño pepper. Taco sauce is baked right onto the top of the loaf.

To keep this stew on the lean side, trim the stew meat yourself, or purchase stew meat that is labeled lean.

Compared to beef, turkey is lower in calories and saturated fat, which is why the Turkey Meatball is the star of our mouth-watering Turkey Meatball Minestrone soup recipe.