Somebody had to think of pairing grilled cheese with tomato soup first, but no widely accepted story says who. The ingredients behind it have documented histories, though, and plenty of other classic comfort food pairings share the same lack of history. Meanwhile, cooks keep putting new twists on the classics, and several of the pairings are still changing.
Many comfort food pairings set one dish against the other in texture and temperature. A crisp, buttery grilled cheese soaks up hot tomato soup with every dunk, and fried chicken sits on a soft, warm waffle. A burger and fries follow the same formula, with a juicy patty beside hot, crunchy fries.
A 2026 industry forecast ranks comfort foods second among its top 10 trends and smashed burgers fourth, drawing on an October 2025 survey of hundreds of culinary professionals. The forecast says familiar dishes such as soups and burgers appeal to diners through nostalgia and emotional connection.
Canned or roasted, tomato soup goes with grilled cheese
The records show how companies and bakers processed the ingredients for tomato soup with grilled cheese, starting with the soup. John T. Dorrance of Campbell’s invented a process for condensing soup in 1897. James L. Kraft won a patent on June 6, 1916, for sterilizing cheddar-type cheese by heating and stirring it at about 175 degrees Fahrenheit and sealing it in cans or jars. A slicing machine began running at an Iowa bakery in late 1928, and by 1930, the Continental Baking Company was selling sliced bread under the Wonder Bread label.
Soft sliced white bread and American cheese make a standard grilled cheese, and many cooks now swap in other versions. Sourdough, brioche, challah or multigrain bread changes the crunch and flavor. Cheeses can also be swapped or layered. Gruyere adds a nutty flavor; Havarti or Fontina, a buttery one; Brie, a creamy one; and low-moisture mozzarella, a long, stretchy cheese pull. For a version without the can, cooks can make roasted tomato soup from fresh tomatoes and serve it with grilled cheese.
Chicken and waffles picks up a sweet, spicy side
Chicken and waffles has roots in the 1600s, when home cooks topped waffles with chicken and gravy. Harlem’s Wells Supper Club opened in 1938 and became a late-night spot for jazz musicians. Current versions include habanero honey and eggnog waffles. KFC brought the dish back nationwide in April 2025, while Chick-fil-A tested two chicken-and-waffle sandwiches this year. Hot honey has become the signature of the swicy trend, which pairs sweet and spicy flavors.
Smash burgers bring retro appeal to burgers and fries
White Castle’s story starts with a 5-cent hamburger in 1921, and the McDonald brothers opened a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. After a 1948 overhaul, the restaurant’s menu listed french fries beside the hamburgers.
No widely cited account names who first served a burger with fries, and the fries’ origin is uncertain, with one tradition pointing to France and more recent accounts citing Belgium. The forecast describes smashed burgers as a diner staple with retro appeal that has returned as a social media favorite and now comes in customizable, high-flavor versions.
Peanut butter and jelly goes from ration kits to flavored spreads
The peanut butter and jelly sandwich has no known inventor, but troops seem to have been pairing peanut butter and Concord grape jelly on ration bread by World War I and kept making the sandwiches during World War II from their B-ration kits.
A printed version from 1901 shows the idea predates both wars, since Julia Davis Chandler suggested thin bread fingers filled with peanut paste and currant or crab-apple jelly in the Boston Cooking-School Magazine. Spreads now go beyond plain peanut butter, with pistachio spreads and a savory chili-and-turmeric flaxseed butter on the market.
Cranberry sauce reached turkey plates long before cans
Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year, and pairing cranberry sauce with turkey dates back to an early American cookbook. Amelia Simmons appears to have been the first cookbook author to recommend the match, in her 1796 book “American Cookery,” which includes a recipe for cranberry tart and none for the sauce. Marcus Urann began canning cranberries in 1912, and his jellied sauce went nationwide in 1941. The cooperative Urann helped form was renamed Ocean Spray by 1957.
Coffee and donuts, cookies and milk fill the sweet side
The donut half of coffee and donuts ties back to the Salvation Army’s World War I work, when more than 250 volunteers went to France to support soldiers, some frying donuts for the troops. Coffee has changed since then: the National Coffee Association’s 2026 specialty coffee report found more U.S. adults had specialty coffee in the past day than traditional coffee, and it counts espresso-based lattes and cappuccinos, plus cold options such as cold brew and nitro, as specialty. A donut chain also launched mini donuts in strawberries and creme.
Cookies and milk are linked to Ruth Wakefield, whose cookbook’s 1938 edition included the first printed chocolate chip cookie recipe. The first person to pair that cookie with milk is unknown. A commercial baker’s 2026 outlook lists s’mores and cookie butter among trending bakery flavors, and a regional dairy introduced strawberry whole milk in May at select retailers.
Chefs are widening what counts as comfort food
The 2026 forecast’s top 10 list also includes global comfort foods at seventh, a separate entry in which chefs adapt homestyle dishes from other cuisines. A trend report describes new classics as familiar favorites in a new context, with ube waffles and lemon pepper on fries among its ideas. Home cooks can borrow that approach by reworking familiar recipes into a pairing of their own.
Mandy writes about food, home and the kind of everyday life that feels anything but ordinary. She has traveled extensively, and those experiences have shaped everything, from comforting meals to small lifestyle upgrades that make a big difference. You’ll find all her favorite recipes over at Hungry Cooks Kitchen.