Make It To Take It: Comfort Food to Make and Share

As a cook, baker, and friend, there’s nothing I love better than sharing food. Over the years, I’ve brought pot pies to new parents, cooked soup for friends who were sick, welcomed new neighbors with fresh-made banana bread, and brought food to sorts of manner of gatherings, from tender to celebratory.

When I first started delivering food to my loved ones, I wasn’t sure what to make, or how to prepare dishes that could be easily transported. On my first matzo ball soup dispatch, I hit a speed bump and half the balls bounced out of the pot into the back seat. Another time, I brought my friend a box of cookies, warm from the oven, that wound up all stuck together by the end of the trip! And then there was the time that I made a salad that wilted on the ride over to my cousin’s place. And so, over the years, I worked my way through various cookbooks and ideas until I compiled a list of recipes that could be easily made ahead and handed over. Now, I have a number of tried-and-true recipes—with delivery strategies that assure the food will arrive intact!

Want to make food to take to your friends, family, and neighbors? Here are some simple dishes that travel well. It can be cozy and convenient to bring a meal in its cooking pot (warm from the oven!), however this strategy entails picking the pot back up—a nice excuse for a second visit, but not always possible. So, we prefer instead to transport food in Tuppe rware or large Cambro containers from restaurant supply stores. Over the last few years, the number of to-go food vessels has expanded, so there are lots of sustainable options—from glass jars to upcycled to-go boxes to eco-friendly food trays from places like Bio & Chic or Zero Was te.

To transport the food, I recommend placing the container (or the pot, with the lid on) in a cardboard box lined with clean tea towels. For drop-off deliveries, a personal note on the package is especially meaningful.

1) Restorative Broths

Broth is simple to make, and very soothing for all. I love to make chicken or vegetable broth, and provide separate containers of rice, beans, and other add-ins. If you love matzoh balls, here is a simple recipe for chicken soup with matzoh balls by Wise Sons.

Delivery strategy: Cool, pour, and pack broth in jars (or, if you plan to deliver frozen, plastic containers work best). Pack the matzoh balls and other add-ins via separate containers.

2) One-pot stews

The one-pot strategy is helpful for both the cook and the eater. For my vegetarian and vegan friends, I love to make this Roasted Fall Vegetable Soup by Kathy Gunst, or this spicy Gujrati Curry by Preeti Mistry. For a meaty option, I turn to this recipe for Chile Verde by Traci des Jardins.

Delivery strategy: I love to bring the soup warm in the pot that I made it in but, practically speaking, stews are easily transported, cooled, in to-go containers.

3) Sheet-pan dinners

When you need to feed a family, you can roast up a whole meal and transport it in the pan. Cathy Erway’s book Sheet Pan Chicken includes many great dishes, including this recipe for spicy Sichuan Bang Bang Chicken.

Delivery strategy: I love bringing the whole pan covered with foil, but for easy transport, I’ll simply transfer the dinner to a jumbo-sized Cambro container from a restaurant supply store.

4) Pot pies and casseroles

These one-pan bakes are easy to make ahead and transport. And who doesn’t love a pot pie? Here is a great recipe by Corky White for Chicken Pot Pie. For a wonderful one-pan vegan dish, this Fluffy Green Rice by Bryant Terry is both nourishing and beautiful.

Delivery strategy: Cook up the pies in a re-useable tin . For casseroles, a basic casserole dish is relatively inexpensive and easy for cooking and drop-off.

5) Pasta and pasta sauce

We love to deliver jars of this Bolognese sauce by Joyce Goldstein, or this Jammy Anchovy Tomato Sauce by Phyllis Grant. If I’m looking to make a whole dish, I love to make lasagna, or, alternately, this recipe for Stuffed Shells Filled with Spinach and Ricotta, which is equally delicious, but much less labor-intensive.

Delivery strategy: Bring a jar of sauce, along with a package of pasta. Or, you can cook up a one-pan dish of lasagna or stuffed shells and deliver it in a re-usable container.

6) Salads and vegetables

For some people, salad is comfort food. Salads that incorporate grains and sturdy greens—like kale or shredded Brussels sprouts—will last and transport well. This kale salad by Melissa Clark actually gets better as it sits. Or try this wonderful recipe for Brussels Sprout and Farro Salad by Susan Spungen.

Delivery strategy: Bring hardy green and grain salads in containers, or deliver a farmer’s market salad box of washed greens, with a jar of dressing on the side.

7) Sweets

When it comes to cheer, bring sweet treats FTW! Cookies and hand-held pies are easy to eat (no dishes!). Try these cardamom cookies by Jodi Liano, or these dark chocolate brownies by Katie Workman. For breakfast, I love to drop-off loaves of this One Bowl Banana Bread by Heidi Swanson.

Delivery strategy: Bring cookies and brownies in tins or jars; simply wrap quick breads and deliver them in a sturdy bag.

For more great dishes to make and take to your friends and loved ones, check out Feed Your People.