The Recipes Readers Couldn't Stop Making in October

brunswick stew in bowls — The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Your favorite recipes this October were all about comfort food, and I can't say I blame you. Transitional times call for old favorites and soul soothing suppers. Change is hard, even if we're doing this seasonal dance every year.

This month you loved soups and stews like taco soup, Brunswick stew, and Irish stew. But dishes with a sauce begging to be soaked up with bread, like our Instant Pot Tuscan chicken, also made October's top ten.

There's always room for sweet stuff, of course, and this time around magic cookie bars, spooky witch fingers, and classic French toast satisfied your sweet tooth.

Read on for more cozy comforting dishes to add to your meal plan.

01 of 10

Crock Pot Taco Soup

The Spruce / Olivia Mindelle

Craving taco flavors but want the soothing warmth of soup? This taco soup is one way to have it all. It's chockablock with three types of beans, ground beef, and corn and gets a robust, savory flavor from taco seasoning but also (wait for it) powdered ranch dressing mix. Maybe the best part of this soup is getting to dress up your bowl with all your favorite toppings, from avocado to sour cream to crushed up tortilla chips or even Fritos.

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02 of 10

Baked Maple and Brown Sugar Butternut Squash

The Spruce/Cara Cormack

In terms of simple fall side dishes, this baked butternut squash is one of the most versatile dishes I can think of. It goes well with everything from black beans and rice to roast chicken to spicy Italian sausages, its sweetness a welcome contrast to savory, spicy flavors. You can crank up the heat towards the end of the cooking time to glaze and caramelize the squash in the maple syrup and brown sugar.

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03 of 10

Easy Homemade French Toast

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Classic French toast is delightfully uncomplicated, as it should be! Known as pain perdu, or "lost bread," in French, this dish only exists to make good use of stale bread by cleverly rehydrating it in a lightly sweetened custard and pan-frying it in butter. The eggy (but not too eggy) results are the epitome of a humble dish made memorable by the sleight of hand that is butter and a hot pan.

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04 of 10

Magic Cookie Bars

The Spruce Eats / Abbey Littlejohn

The real magic of these moreish cookie bars is how quickly they tend to disappear. Made with a simple graham cracker crust topped with gooey condensed milk, chocolate and butterscotch chips, pecans, and coconut flakes, magic cookie bars have a deserved reputation for deliciousness (and are also just great for using up odds and ends in your baking bin).

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Continue to 5 of 10 below
05 of 10

Brunswick Stew With Pork and Chicken

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Humorist Roy Blount Jr. famously said that "Brunswick stew is what happens when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbeque pits," referring to the kitchen sink nature of this communal soup. At one time, wild game would have been a common addition, from venison to squirrel, but our version just requires a trip to the supermarket, not the woods.

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06 of 10

Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken

The Spruce Eats / Leah Maroney

Want to feel like you're dining at an Italian restaurant but don't care to change out of your stretchy pants? This weeknight chicken dinner will get you there. This dish is full of beautiful textures, flavors, and colors from sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms, and the creamy sauce is just begging to be tossed with pasta or soaked up with crusty Italian bread. Buon appetito!

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07 of 10

Witch Finger Pretzel Rods

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

These deliciously spooky Halloween sweets look uncannily like my seven-year-old self's idea of a witch's fingers, but they taste less like a trick and more like a treat. They're also surprisingly easy to make, so you can get kids in on the fun (or just channel your seven-year-old self).

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08 of 10

Meatloaf With Oatmeal

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Using rolled oats as the binder in this meatloaf recipe keeps the loaf super moist and makes it easier to cut clean, not crumbly, slices. Readers rave about this recipe, saying "This turned out to be the best tasting meatloaf ever" and "it's a keeper." The glaze is a simple ketchup and mustard affair, but you can tweak the flavor with barbeque sauce, sriracha, or hot sauce.

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Continue to 9 of 10 below
09 of 10

Traditional Irish Stew

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

This classic Irish stew is so thick a fork will stand up in it. It's exactly the sort of belly-filling fare you want as the weather turns blustery and gray. While adding vegetables other than potatoes is somewhat controversial, I think leeks and carrots are right at home here, adding much-needed color and flavor. If you can find mutton, use it as it brings much more flavor to the pot, but more accessible lamb is perfectly delicious as well.

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10 of 10

Bubble and Squeak

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

This dish might have the second most charming name of all time, after the related Scottish dish, rumbledethumps. It's really just a cake of leftover mashed potatoes and other leftover vegetables fried up in a skillet, but served with a fried egg on top this humble preparation is the only way I want to serve leftover mashers. While you're frying it up, listen closely to understand where this dish gets its name.

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