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Dinner Ideas for When You're Sick
Dinners for a sick day, plus meals you can drop off for someone who's under the weather.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
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About half of these ideas are soups, from ramen and chicken noodle to congee and pastina. The rest are casseroles, a pot pie, ham, a couple of cold salads and takeout. Some are for feeding a sick household: meals that reheat as they are, plus takeout for when nobody can cook. Ask what the person you're feeding won't eat before you shop. It's not medical advice, so check with your doctor about what to eat for a specific illness.
Why these items are on the list
- Ramen noodles. Warm and hydrating, and quick to make when your appetite is low.
- Homemade chicken noodle soup. Cook the noodles separately and add them just before serving.
- Chicken congee. Rice porridge that's gentle on the stomach; Lemon8's recipe simmers it about 30 minutes in total.
- Pastina in chicken broth. Tiny pasta finished with butter and Parmesan; it's quick when you're wiped out.
- Zuppa Toscana. Hearty and creamy; both Lemon8 recipes stir in the kale and cream last, then simmer a few minutes.
- Hamburger vegetable soup. Easy to make in a big batch that covers several meals.
- Caldo de pollo. Lemon8's recipe simmers a whole chicken about 30 minutes before adding potatoes and vegetables.
- Spicy chicken noodle soup. Lemon8's version uses five sliced Fresno chiles, red chili flakes and spicy broth for its heat.
- Chicken pot pie. A DISboards poster's regular pick when bringing dinner to someone who's sick.
- Beef and noodle casserole. Ground beef, tomato and egg noodles baked with cheese; easy to drop off.
- Roasting-bag chicken with vegetables. Add salad and buns for a full meal the recipient can reheat as is.
- Baked spaghetti. Someone cooking for a sick neighbor listed it among mains they'd already made.
- Italian pasta salad with chicken. Works in hot weather, when soup doesn't suit.
- Cold couscous salad with vegetables. One DISboards poster makes it as a side for meals you drop off, since it keeps well.
- Frittata or quiche with fruit. One poster paired a frittata with fruit and said quiche would work instead.
- Ham, potatoes and green beans. A DISboards poster suggested ham might work well, since there'd be leftovers, alongside potatoes and green beans.
- Takeout, rotated. Variety helps when someone tires of the same food; ask what they dislike first.
Tick off what sounds okay as you shop, or hand the list to whoever's cooking for you so they can see your picks.
When to use it
Use it the day someone at home comes down with something, or when you're planning a meal for a sick friend or neighbor.