(Written by someone currently sick, wrapped in two blankets, and drinking spiced tea like it’s a prescription.)
Every winter, there comes a moment when the real cold finally settles in. Not the cute, crisp kind of cold that makes you want to wear a nice scarf and take aesthetically pleasing walks, but the kind that turns your car into an ice cube and your face into something the wind slaps for sport.
And this year, winter greeted me with a cough, a sore throat, and a general sense that my immune system packed its bags and went on vacation without me. So naturally, all I’ve been able to think about are warm drinks, hot soups, and the foods that make winter feel less like a personal attack.
Thus, with great deliberation (and even greater congestion), I present The Official Ranking of Winter Comfort Foods. Scientific? No. Accurate? Absolutely. Especially if you’re sick and in need of something warm to hold onto.
1. Spiced Tea
Spiced tea takes the top spot, and I will not be entertaining arguments.
When you’re sick and cold, spiced tea becomes more than a beverage, it becomes a lifeline. It warms your throat, your hands, your mood, and possibly your entire outlook on life. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, oranges, whatever your preferred combination is, it gives off the kind of comforting aroma that makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, you’re not dying of a common head cold after all.
My mom makes the BEST spiced tea. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweetened not with honey or sugar… but with the always affordable and delectable, impossibly-orange, Tang.
It’s gentle enough for a sore throat, soothing enough for a headache, and dignified enough to drink while wrapped like a burrito on your couch. Spiced tea doesn’t just warm you up, it reassures you that you’re going to get through this winter thing one mug at a time.
2. Chili (With or Without Beans— Let the Discourse Begin)
Chili takes second place, though it certainly brings the most controversy.
There is no food in the winter canon that sparks more debate. Chili with beans? Chili without beans? People have ruined friendships over this. People have delivered long, passionate monologues about the purity of bean-less chili. Others defend bean chili like it’s a constitutional right.
I will not pick a side. Not because I lack courage, but because I’m sick and do not have the stamina to referee an argument that’s been raging since the beginning of time.
All I know is this:… chili, beans or no beans, is a winter essential. It’s hearty, filling, and warms you from the inside out. It’s flexible enough to accommodate spice preferences, meat preferences, and even the occasional rogue vegetable.
My dad’s chili is always heavy on the beans and extra spicy, perfect for clearing out the sinuses. My sister makes this amazing white chicken chili that is a million times better than it sounds. But nothing beats a good venison chili with lots of chunks of tomatoes.
And when you’re sick? The steam alone is worth the price of admission.
3. Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is the comfort food equivalent of a warm hug from someone who’s good at hugs.
It’s the first thing people recommend when you’re sick, even if your specific illness could not possibly be improved by chicken or broth. Stubbed your toe? Chicken soup. Feeling existential dread? Chicken soup. Cold outside? Definitely chicken soup.
I am a chicken soup snob. I was spoiled my entire childhood with homemade chicken soup with lots of chunky veggies and even homemade egg noodles. The stuff in the can could never measure up to my high expectations.
There’s something deeply reassuring about a bowl of it. It tastes like the past, like every time someone tried to take care of you, like all the moments in life when warmth mattered more than spice or sophistication. It doesn’t demand anything from you. It doesn’t overwhelm you. It simply arrives, warm and gentle, asking nothing more than that you eat it slowly.
During this particular week of being sick, chicken soup has become less of a food and more of a moral support system.
4. Hot Apple Cider
Hot apple cider is the beverage that reminds you winter has some charm.
The aroma alone could be considered therapy. Apple, cinnamon, cloves; each sip feels like a cozy blanket you drink. When you’re sick, the steam works as a built-in humidifier, and the warmth softens the sharp edges of the day.
Apple cider is also the official drink of slowing down. You don’t chug it. You don’t gulp it. You’re forced to sip it gently, which is probably the only time in your entire day that you’re not multitasking. Cider requires presence, or at least enough presence not to burn your tongue.
Every cup of apple cider takes me back to being in awe seeing the dancing light at Rhema Bible College for the first time while feeding the ducks while sipping a cup of apple cider.
Apple cider is the physical embodiment of the magic of winter.
5. Potato Soup
Potato soup is winter’s most underrated hero. It begins with something humble and transforms into something rich, creamy, and surprisingly uplifting. It’s incredibly filling and can be upgraded in an infinite number of ways: cheese, bacon, onions, herbs, pepper, sour cream. It can be thick enough to hold a spoon upright or thin enough to sip from a mug. It adapts to the day.
My husband almost burned our house down the first time we made potato soup together. Forgot to put water in the pot before putting the potatoes on high to boil. Even then, it is one of my favorites.
It ranks fifth only because it usually requires more effort than I’m willing to exert while sick. But on a day when you have the energy to peel potatoes and watch a simmering pot, it becomes exactly the kind of meal that makes you want to curl up next to the fire with a good book.
Honorable mention: Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate doesn’t quite make the cut for this list. Not because it’s inferior, but because it plays a different role.
Hot chocolate is comfort food for the spirit. It’s nostalgic, sweet, and reminds you of the kind of winter days you used to look forward to. The marshmallows melt unevenly, the steam fogs your glasses, and for a moment you’re transported back to your childhood riding a sled down the mountain before flying off face first into a tree.
It’s not medicinal. It won’t cure your cold. But it will make you smile, which is its own kind of healing.
Winter is long. Winter is cold. Winter often arrives at the exact moment you’re least prepared for it. But comfort foods, especially warm, simple, soothing ones, make it better.
If you need me, I’ll be over here with my spiced tea, dreaming about potato soup, and wondering why I didn’t stock up on more apple cider before the weather turned.
Be kind to your neighbors Be kind to your pets It’s sick season so DON’T KISS BABIES