Looking for the best episodes of Friends to get you through self-quarantine? We’ve got you covered.

Suddenly, the world has a lot of time on its hands. Coronavirus social distancing has left millions (if not billions!) of people at home with plans canceled for the foreseeable future. Some people are using the opportunity to slow down, do self-care and prioritize well-being. Others are hustling even harder to use the time to achieve their goals. But no matter which camp you’re in, you could probably use some levity here and there.

And what better way to take a light-hearted break than with the world’s favorite sitcom. Friends is proving once again that it is “there for you” in this crazy time. Even if we can’t be with our real-life friends, we can hang with Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey and Ross for hours and feel connected.

And so, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best episodes of Friends to watch right now. Could that BE any more fun? And as a bonus, we’re providing food pairing suggestions, so you can sit down at the dinner table with The Gellers and share their spaghetti meal, or snack alongside Phoebe as Monica searches for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thanks to our book The One With All the Recipes, we’ve also got some easy recipes for you to follow (most of which should be doable with what you have in your quarantine stash).

So fire up the stove, queue up your favorite episode on the list, and tuck in!

Oh, one more thing. It’s important to check in on your friends at a time like this. So let us know: how you doin’?

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1. The One with the Sonogram at the End (S1, E2) + Critical Parents Spaghetti

If Friends was filming now, Monica wouldn’t have to worry about entertaining her critical parents for a dinner party. But we could all use a bit of an “easy” meal right now, so we recommend a delicious plate of spaghetti to go along with this cringeworthy episode.

2. The One With The Football (S 3, E 9) + Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Casserole

This southern staple casserole will deliver on gooey deliciousness even if you don’t arrange the marshmallows in concentric circles. It is a perfect dish for your first Friendsgiving, or providing some comfort-food coziness during a Friends marathon.

3. The One With Ross’s Sandwich (S 5, E9) + The Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich

Relive Thanksgiving anytime with this oh-so-good creation. This sandwich is made from leftover turkey (it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to roast a turkey) and an extra slice of gravy-soaked bread right in the middle, making the concoction marvelously moist. A sandwich this good is steal-worthy, though, so make sure you label it with your name or you might have to have a chat with your roommates.

If you don’t have access to a turkey right now, you can get a rotisserie chicken from most grocery stores, or substitute chicken breasts.

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4. The One With Phoebe’s Cookies (S 7, E3) + French Aunt Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a truly classic and delicious chocolate chip cookie. The recipe is from the back of a popular company’s chocolate chip bag and definitely not from anyone’s “French” aunt. You probably already have it on the bag of chocolate chips you bought for your snack stash You no longer need to experiment with tons of different recipes to find the perfect one!

5. The One Where Ross Is Fine (S 10, E 2) + Fa-HEAT-ahs

Even if you are drunk and distracted, please try to remember to wear oven mitts while carrying a sizzling-hot pan of fajitas to the table. You’ll thank me in the morning.

 

6. The One with the Ride-Along (S 5, E20) + Favorite Meatball Sub

If your favorite sandwich is a meatball sub, you have something in common with someone we all know. The tomato sauce spooned over the top of the meatballs has a slight sweetness to it, thanks to brown sugar. This is definitely a sub you’d take a bullet for, or at least, a pretend one. If you have frozen meatballs in your stash, those work perfectly, and will save you the work of hand making.

7. The One With All the Cheesecakes (S 7, E11) + Floor Cheesecake

This cheesecake is so good, you’ll be willing to eat it off the floor. Especially now that our floors are probably as clean as they’ve ever been. Ideas for cheesecake toppings are caramel, chocolate or berry sauce, and whipped cream.

8. The One Where Ross Is Fine (S 10, E 2) + A Not-S0-Fine Margarita

We are all fine! We are FINE! We are getting through. But many of us could probably use a margarita or two. This is a great recipe for a quarantin-arita to make while you laugh/cry watching Ross try to pretend like everything is normal and there’s definitely NO tension.

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9. The One with the Baby on the Bus (S 2, E6) + Memorable Kiwi Lime Pie

This probably isn’t one of the first episodes that come to your mind, but we love it, and this is a great pie to make to remind you of sunnier times. Just make sure none of your family or friends have a kiwi allergy, especially if they also have a slight phobia of needles.

10. The One Where Ross Got High (S 6, E9) + THAT Thanksgiving Trifle

Thanksgiving episodes are hands-down some of the best episodes of Friends. We know you know this one and have been waiting for this recipe. The shredded coconut in here is meant to represent the ground beef in a shepherd’s pie—should you accidentally combine two different Thanksgiving recipes into one! Don’t worry, you will love this dessert (that definitely won’t taste like feet) as much as you love this episode.

11. The Bonus One: The One Where Underdog Gets Away (S 1, E9) + Grilled Cheese And All That

Friendsgiving may be a distant memory for now, but we can still celebrate that infamous episode when Monica’s plans went awry and the gang was stuff eating grilled cheese. They had Funyons and a bottle of wine to go with, and made it a party. You might not have included Funyons in your pantry, but you probably have the rest of the ingredients for this homage meal.

 

What’s your favorite Friends episode? Show us on social media @ulyssespress. And be sure to check out our bestselling cookbook The One With All the Recipes: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of Friends for even more recipes (and Friends-themed jokes) and our upcoming Friends merch, The One With All the Stickers!