Greekify Your Comfort Food 🍝: Classic Faves with a Mediterranean Makeover - FoodByMaria

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Greekify Your Comfort Food 🍝: Classic Faves with a Mediterranean Makeover

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A white pan filled with browned chicken thighs, cherry tomatoes, white beans, spinach, and fresh mint leaves in a light, creamy sauce.

Giving your favorite comfort foods a Mediterranean makeover is a great way to infuse your classic dishes with flavors, veggies, and a little twist that spices up your go-to comforting dishes. When I talk about adding a Mediterranean twist, think of adding things like sauteed spinach, and feta into your mac and cheese, creating a Greek turkey burger instead of your regular cheeseburger, or topping your pizza with Greek staples like olives, oregano, and peppers. There are so many easy ways to Greekify your dishes and we’re going to dive into all my easy tips.

Why Greekify Your Comfort Food

Adding oregano and garlic to a simple dish can add a pop of flavor, crumbling creamy feta adds a brine-flavor and saltiness to a dish, rich olive oil creates a richness, and overall, by Greekifying your dishes you are turning a cozy meal into a sun-soaked hug. Bonus points for the Blue Zone benefits that come with making your comfort classics Mediterranean. Blue Zone diets focus in on adding more veggies, seafood, and heart-healthy fats so by putting a little Greek in your comfort classics, you’re upping the nutritional benefits.

A close-up of a slice of pastitsio, a Greek casserole with layers of tubular pasta, seasoned ground meat, and creamy bΓ©chamel sauce, served on a ceramic plate.

Pasta Paradise 🍲

Greek Lasagna

This dish takes the concept of a classic lasagna and spins it to make it Greek. It uses some classic ingredients that you love in a lasagna like ground beef, and tomato sauce, but also adds in a creamy and flavorful bechamel and uses a Greek pasta noodle called Pastitsio.

Greek Shrimp and Orzo Bake

I love a bake when making pasta because you can toss everything into the dish and put it in the oven and before you know it you have a full, delicious meal ready in no time with minimal dishes. This dish uses Greek spices like oregano, combined with feta and olives for that Mediterranean flavor.

Mac & Cheese

This one-pot Mac & Cheese recipe is so easy to make and it’s a great base to make a Greek version. To jazz it up, Mediterranean style, add in some sauteed veggies like zucchini, red onion and/or spinach. Sprinkle feta on top with breadcrumbs for the last few minutes of cooking, and voila, you have the ultimate comfort dish.

Soup & Stew Snuggle-Fest πŸ₯£

Greek Okra Stew

If there is one thing we love in Greece it’s okra. It makes a delicious stew that just warms you up from the inside out called Bamies. This is the perfect comfort dish for winter.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup is also known traditionally as Avgolemono Soup. It is a creamy, citrusy soup that is hearty and warms you right up. I grew up with this soup and it’s seriously the ultimate comfort food.

Chickpea Soup

This creamy Chickpea Soup is a great comforting dish that is hearty, loaded with plant-based protein, and so so creamy. The best part is that it’s incredibly budget friendly so serves as a nutritious meal to serve your whole family or group.

Cheesy, Gooey, Golden πŸ§€

Greek Flatbread

This Greek Flatbread is inspired by Spanakopita with the fresh herbs like dill, parsley and mint, fresh spinach and crumbled feta. It is the perfect easy lunch of appetizer, and who doesn’t love pizza?

Homemade Pizza Pocket Bites

Make these delicious Pizza Pocket Bites Mediterranean inspired by filling them with your fav Greek toppings. Think olives, green peppers, red onions, and feta cheese. Roll them up and enjoy as an after school snack or appy.

Mediterranean Grilled Cheese

Spice up your classic Grilled Cheese with Greek staples like cut up or sauteed red onion, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and a sprinkle of oregano. Grilled cheese sandwiches are so versatile and you can really tailor the ingredients to make it your own.

Handheld Happiness πŸ”

Greek Burger

This delicious Greek-inspired burger takes classic Greek toppings like tomatoes and tzatziki, then tops the burger patty with flaming saganaki cheese to really take it to the next level. It makes for an impressive spin on a classic BBQ staple.

Smash Burger Tacos

These Smash Burger Tacos take a viral recipe and make them Greek by using ground chicken, fresh lemon and herbs, and topping them with a tasty Greek slaw.

Easy Falafel Recipe

I LOVE falafel and it’s such a good snack to eat on their own or to add into a wrap. Falafel are little chickpea bites made with a variety of spices that make them healthy and so flavorful. They are the perfect comfort snack.

Side-Kick Upgrades 🍟

Gyro Fries

French fries are such a comfort. Potatoes in general are so good and these loaded Gyro Fries take the classic fries we love and load them with jackfruit, spices, tomatoes, red onion, and so much more. They are so tasty!

Greek Potatoes

I LOVE Greek Potatoes and they are truly a staple at dinner time because they’re so easy and delicious. I load them up with lemon and oregano so they are bursting with flavor.

Homemade Potato Chips

Potato Chips are my guilty pleasure and they’re actually so easy to make yourself. I like to load them up with seasoning, lemon zest, and crumbled feta to give them a Greek spin.

Bowl of loukoumades

Sweet, Sweet Nostalgia 🍯

Greek Donuts

These delicious donuts are the perfect bite-size treat that are covered in cinnamon and honey. They are sweet, and SO good. I bet you can’t just eat one.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Chocolate cake is the ultimate comfort food and this chocolate cake has a Mediterranean spin with the olive oil that adds a richness and moistness to the cake. This recipe can also be used to make cupcakes.

FAQs

Can I Greekify comfort food without feta?

Yes! Try vegan feta, kalamata olives, or lemon-herb breadcrumbs for the salty punch.

Best Greek herbs for everyday dishes?

Oregano, dill, parsley, and mint are the staples, but you can really add any herbs for a freshness in any dish.

How do I lighten rich classics?

Swap cream for Greek yogurt, butter for extra virgin olive oil, and load dishes with roasted veggies.

Gluten-free Greek comfort options?

Use gluten-free pasta in pastitsio, rice flour in bΓ©chamel, and corn tortillas for gyro tacos. There are so many easy swaps you can make to make dishes gluten-free.

Make-ahead tips for busy weeks?

Prep sauces on Sunday, assemble casseroles day-of and bake fresh, or cut up ingredients so you just need to throw them together when you’re ready to cook/eat.

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