The Best Things to Eat When You're Sick

It’s happening. Your throat is scratchy. Your sinuses are trickling. You’re coming down with … something. The best things to eat when you’re sick are here for you.

Sickness has been a hot topic the last three years (sigh). People across the internet have a lot to say about the various viruses plaguing humanity: how best to avoid getting sick, how to get better, which shows you should binge while you’re convalescing. We’re not doctors (duh) and we’re not here to tell you what to do with your life (that’s your job…and your Great Aunt Carol’s, for some reason), but we know food. Should you ever find yourself with the dreaded snifflies, take this list of nine things to eat when you’re ailing as ~food inspo~ for extremely low-effort, comforting, and soothing things to eat when you’re sick.

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Rao’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Oop! What have we here? It’s the mother of all sickness foods, chicken noodle soup. And this isn’t just any chicken noodle soup; it’s Rao’s. The brand may be known for its unmatched tomato sauce game, but just wait until you try this soup, which former Sporked staff writer Danny Palumbo describes as “basically homemade chicken noodle soup in a jar.” Why does it taste this way? Because Rao’s “nails the seasoning and flavor, and the quality ingredients are all top notch.” So get your sick butt over to the store (in a mask and with very washed hands) and grab yourself some of this almost homemade soup. Or, you know, politely ask a healthy friend to do it for you.

Amy’s Organic Southwestern Fire Roasted Vegetable Soup

Believe it or not, vegetarians get sick too! But that doesn’t mean they want bland, flavorless veggie broth with limp salty veggies floating in it. No, they need the good stuff. Well, lucky for vegetarians, Sporked staff writer Jordan Myrick described this soup from Amy’s as what would happen if “the best vegetable soup you ever tasted had a baby with a perfectly spiced tortilla soup.” Ugh, sounds divine. Don’t worry, vegetarians—we gotchu!

Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Tomato Soup

Sometimes all you want is a creamy tomato soup. You realize clear broths might go down easier and you know full well that cream might make you more phlegmy, but the heart wants what the heart wants and the heart wants tomato bisque. Well, look no further than Pacific Foods’ creamy tomato soup. Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling described this soup as “decadent as plain tomato soup can get.” It has lots of tomato flavor, but also contains garlic and onion to give it a depth uncommon in canned or boxed tomato soups. Thanks, Pacific Foods, for giving our hearts what they want.

Bare Bones Lentil Curry Plant-Based Soup

Sometimes when you are sick, you want to eat flavor-filled food just to feel something. Your senses are dulled, and the only thing that can cut through is a supremely well-executed lentil curry. What do I mean by well executed? Well in the words of Bill Hader’s Stefon, this soup “has everything.” According to Danny, it has “vegetable broth, green lentils, carrots, onions, diced tomatoes, pea protein, kale, lemongrass, and garlic. It’s also got some ground red pepper and black pepper.” I want this delivered to my apartment right the heck now and I’m not even sick. Get this option for a more solid (in terms of states of matter) option.

Epic Bone Broth Tuscan Chicken

We all have that family member. The one who claims bone broth cures everything and walks around with a pouch of it, slurping it like it’s the last Capri Sun on earth. No? Just me? Well, whether that person is you or whether you’ve literally never met someone who does that and the thought weirds you out a little, the fact is that bone broth is broth. And good broth at that. This particular bone broth is a “meaty, collagenous broth” that is “deliciously savory, with some herbs added in that really make it sing,” according to Danny. Which herbs, you ask? Why, “thyme, basil, rosemary, marjoram, fennel, and oregano,” of course. This one is a protein-packed delicious choice, whether you are slurping it to feel better or slurping it to keep feeling good.

MAMA Instant Noodles (Artificial Chicken Flavor)

We had to have an instant noodle option on this list. We’ve been sick before, trust us. We know how it usually goes down. You sit in your nest of dirty tissues wondering if you have the energy to go to the store and buy Rao’s chicken noodle but ultimately end up pulling your last packet of ramen from the cabinet and calling it a day. Shopping is Tomorrow Sick Jessica’s problem. But if you must eat instant ramen, this one is a flavor-packed doozy. According to Jordan, these noodles are “a little peppery, delightfully oily, and so, so savory.” Plus, they are vegetarian (woot woot!)! And with not one, not two, but three sauce/flavor packets to add, you’ll feel like you actually accomplished something that day. Go you!

Chicken in a Biskit

Want chicken soup in cracker form? It’s Chicken in a Biskit! For the uninitiated, Chicken in a Biskit is basically a soft-ish, Ritz-esque cracker covered in a “powdery flavor dust that permeates every inch of the cracker” that Danny could only guess is made up of onion powder and MSG. But, according to the brand, there is actually poultry in these puppies; they’re apparently “made with cooked chicken for natural flavor.” So, interpret that as you will. Bottom line these are a good savory snack for your sniffly li’l soul.

Related: Best Crackers: The 7 Saltiest, Tastiest, Best Crackers

365 Organic Unsweetened Applesauce

Now you may be thinking, what? Applesauce? What am I, eight? But think again, my friend, because what is applesauce if not a smoothie, cooked? In addition, when you are feeling under the weather, you often don’t have much of an appetite. Applesauce is a great way to eat something that will just slide on down. There’s a reason baby food is the texture it is. But this applesauce is no chore to eat. In fact, it’s delicious! It’s not too sweet, plus Danny says it’s “coarsely blended so that it resembles something homemade.” Throw some cinnamon on there and you’ve got yourself a litlle sicky-time dessert.

Open Nature Lemon Sorbet

Speaking of sicky-time dessert, what better way to soothe your aching throat than something that is lemony, sugary, and cold? It’s like a soothing lemon cough drop but it tastes good going down! This particular lemon sorbet was described by Jordan as “unbelievably creamy,” especially for something with no cream to be seen. As for the flavor, “the lemon flavor is bright and tart. It has just the right amount of sweetness.” Well, I’ve heard enough, I’m getting this the next time I’m sick. I mean, if you are going to be at least somewhat miserable for a few days, may as well treat yourself as much as possible during that ordeal.