The Comfortable Kitchen: 105 Laid-Back, Healthy, and Wholesome Recipes

by Alex Snodgrass

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller New York Times Bestseller It’s comfort food—redefined! Here are healthy meals the whole family can enjoy, night after night . . . What does comfort mean in  The Comfortable Kitchen? For Alex Snodgrass, New York Times bestselling author of The Defined Dish, bringing her family around the table to share a home-cooked meal is a favorite way to show love. Her recipes are designed to bring joy into that display of affection, from your own comfort cooking to your loved ones’ delight at the delicious flavors, to knowing that you’re caring for your family’s nutrition with each bite. Though many of her meals are fully paleo compliant, or at the very least paleo-ish, there are plenty of other recipes with simple, flexible ingredient swaps for a cleaner meal when desired—perfect for people who are enjoying their “food freedom” stage of their health journey. And for those who have dietary restrictions, Alex clearly marks each recipe as gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and paleo, as appropriate. Alex brings back the joy of being in the kitchen for those at all levels of cooking skill and provides food for every occasion, with soups, salads, pasta, vegetarian and non-vegetarian mains, apps, and sides ranging from one-pot meals to not-so-junky junk food--and even cocktails and desserts--with recipes With 105 approachable and nutritious recipes for real, busy life,  The Comfortable Kitchen  is a must-have cookbook for everyone who cares about what they eat and what they make. 

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Health, Food

272 pages, Hardcover

Published December 28, 2021

Reviews

[Betsy]

These recipes look delicious for the most part but waaaaay too many ingredients for me.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book to make the Dan Dan noodles (which were 5/5). I can’t wait to work my way through this cookbook. I’m working my way backwards through them, this will be our 2nd book to cook through of hers.

[Kate Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this cookbook! Working my way through it and the recipes are delicious.

[Julie Zilkie]

I might need to buy this one to add to my collection. A LOT of good recipes!

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

[x] Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dynamite Sauce
[x] Salmon Fish Taco Bowls
[x] Creamy Cajun Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
[x] Easy Greek-Inspired Lemon Chicken Soup
[x] One Pot Cacio e Pepe Israeli Couscous
[x] One Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta
[x] Sheet Pan Kielbasa with Mustard Vinaigrette
[x] Ultimate Skillet Chicken Fajitas
[x] Crunchy Chicken Tinga Tacos
[x] Parmesan Roasted Zucchini
[x] Sesame Asparagus Sauté
[x] No Bake Monster Cookie Bites
[x] 7 Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this cookbook. Would make a great gift for someone who enjoys eating real food or cooking.
I do think the cover is deceiving because even though the recipe steps are basic, the ingredients list is not. The average American will not have these ingredients on hand or will have trouble finding them in the local grocery.

[Hannah Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of delicious looking recipes, however, most have a lot of ingredients and not all are readily available in my local supermarket in Australia. The book has a lot of recipes for the Whole30 challenge- a regime followed largely in the US and not Australia.
I was recommended this book by an American and got it from the library. I will make a few recipes before I return.

[Danielle Touchstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Love Love! We use this and the Defined Dish every single day! Printed the checklist for both of her cookbooks and cooking my way through them! Everything we made from these books is amazing! Our kids call this "The Magic Cookbook" because they love everything that comes from it!

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

More overexposed food photographs! What fun.

[Caroline Cormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cookbook with good narrative. Lots of naturally gluten free recipes I marked to try. Her opening really met me where I am right now.

“My intention with this book-and all of the recipes I create-is to bring you into my kitchen with me, in the hope that I can bring a little more comfort into yours. Even if you love cooking as much as I do, it can feel like you are in this constant cycle of cooking, scrubbing pots and pans, and filling the dishwasher, only to get up and do it all over again-I get it. But even when we are stuck in this constant cycle, how can we remind ourselves about the joy cooking can bring us, and how it makes such a positive impact on the way we feel? How can we get creative in our kitchens without worrying about overcooking our chicken? How can we put food on the table that's somewhat healthy and still makes our taste buds sing and fill our loved ones with comfort? ….. At the end of the day, food is a powerful way of expressing love and forming deeper connections, and my hope is that as you cook your way through this book, you'll take the time to appreciate the way that food brings us all together.”

[Sarah Kellogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

*not counting this towards my reading goal*

I don't often review cookbooks but with this one, I want to sing its praises from the rooftops! Alex Snodgrass has managed a wonderful collection of healthy, satisfying, and delicious recipes in this staple book. I don't often cook through a cookbook but this is one I keep coming back to again and again. Some of my favorites are the Zuppa Toscana, panning curry-inspired chicken meatballs, chicken quesadillas with jalapeño sauce, and her herby rice pilaf. Bonus points for the amount of celiac-friendly recipes!

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect cookbook for fall and winter with lots of cozy comforting one pot meals. I saved multiple recipes and they've all be absolutely delicious so far. Beautifully formatted. My only gripe is some of the cook times are not realistic, ex: brown bacon in 5 minutes, but I always take longer to cook than the projected times anyways.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this cookbook! I have cooked so many recipes from her website and this book is a nice physical version, with new recipes and beautiful photos.

I borrowed the book from the library and have already cooked 3 yummy meals from it, with plans for 3 more. Each recipe was amazing (even when adapting for gf).

I now have plans to buy the book for myself.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Alex Snodgrass’s first cookbook and this one is great too! Her recipes are approachable, healthy, and tasty. And I enjoy the little stories and comments added for some of the recipes, as well as the photographs.

[Ann Koh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recipes made:
- Balsamic Steak Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
- One-Pot Beef Stroganoff (nk)
- One-Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta (nk)
- Eggplant Lasagna (nk)
- Mongolian Mushrooms
- Honey-Sesame Sheet Pan Cauliflower
- Salmon al Pastor (nk)



nk = not keepers

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 Library Winter reading challenge: Reader's choice

[Margery Gerard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful dessert recipes with no white flour or sugar. A lot of almond flour and maple syrup become just plain healthy deliciousness. Easy to follow, few ingredients, and yum throughout.

[Jeanette Durkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great compilation of recipes! They seem very easy to follow and I can't wait to try some of them!

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looks good, but most recipes are comfort foods and not what I want to make in the summer. I will have to reread it come autumn.

[Monique Morin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and practical recipes….too many meat options for me

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2022 staff favorite recommended by Andrea. Check our catalog:
https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...

[Terressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recipes were good, but most were very heavy on the salt and spices.

[Ashby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex is my favorite cookbook author! The recipes are delicious, healthy, and a lot of them are perfect for busy weeknights. I want to make almost everything in this book!

[Deborah Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking forward to trying some recipes, but especially some of the cocktails!

[Michele M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex Snodgrass is simply the best! Looking forward to her next cookbook!

[Danielle Shroyer]

Local Dallas author so I wanted to support. Found some keepers, but many just weren’t our style. Still working through a few marked recipes…

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cookbook had great illustrations. I'm not paleo, so I wasn't the target audience, but if you are this would be great. I saved some recipes for later.

[Alynna Hillman]

Love everything Alex Snodgrass does. A great one to cook through if you're wanting more of her flavors and cooking style from the OG Defined Dish book!

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cookbook. All of the great things - a large color photo for every recipe, and some commentary plus detailed instructions. Interesting and easy recipes.

[Amy Gressell · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT recipes, but I liked it more for the ideas. There is barely a single recipe that has less than 15 ingredients - a little too much for weeknight cooking.