What to Serve with Red Wine? 10 BEST Side Dishes

Red wine is a popular beverage frequently served at dinner and on many other occasions.

It’s delicious and pairs well with several foods.

Hence, when you think of serving this delightful drink, you don’t have to worry much.

If you’re looking for ideas on what to serve with red wine, some lovely pairings include slow roast lamb, sausage, stuffed mushrooms, buffalo wings and marinated cheese.

There are also several other items that match red wine besides the ones mentioned above.

So, you can continue reading to grab more ideas for future use.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Red Wine?

Though red wine is delightful, it isn’t a good idea to consume it on its own.

It can make you dizzy and even drunk quickly.

Besides, how can you serve only wine when inviting many guests? You will require various foods to enjoy with your favorite red wine.

Having extra dishes makes a dinner or an event more enjoyable.

You not only get to enjoy the wine but various items which you may not have tasted before.

What to Serve with Red Wine? 10 BEST Side Dishes

Here are some items that make a great pairing with red wine.

1 – Pigs In a Blanket

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Appetizers pair perfectly with red wine so let’s begin the list with a delicious item.

Pigs in a blanket is a small hot dog or other sausage wrapped in pastry often served on many occasions.

It’s a delightful snack that you can enjoy with red wine and other foods.

Some variants may contain cheese instead of meat.

It’s also a dish that may be confused with “pigs in blankets,” which is sausage wrapped in bacon, but they’re different dishes.

You can make the pastry dough at home, but the ready-made version is also available.

Hence, you can get the dough from the store if time isn’t on your side.

2 – Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

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Mushrooms also taste wonderful with red wine.

Though they aren’t meat, they have a meaty texture with an earthy flavor.

Hence, you get the taste of meat and veggies simultaneously.

Mushrooms are versatile, so you can create a more complex dish instead of serving them plain.

Mushrooms stuffed with a sausage mixture are yummy and a dish you don’t want to stop eating.

Big white mushrooms are suitable for the dish, but they’re most common and mildest-tasting variety.

Hence, if you want a heartier and more intense flavor, make the dish with cremini, also called baby bella mushrooms.

3 – Sweet and Sour Meatballs

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Red wine pairs amazingly well with appetizers, so adding at least a few of them would be nice.

Meatballs are flavorful, versatile, and popular.

Hence, they would make a great partner for red wine.

The meatballs will be tastier when you balance the sweet and sour flavors.

The meatballs look wonderful and elegant but cooking them is easy.

You’ll also need fewer ingredients than most dishes.

The sauce plays an important role, so cook it according to instructions.

Cider vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, and water make up the items for the sauce.

4 – Marinated Cheese

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Cheese is also a food that complements red wine.

While you can enjoy the cheese as they are, you can transform it into something even more delightful by making marinated cheese.

We promise that cheese enthusiasts will flock to the food table.

It’s also easy to come up with because there’s no cooking involved.

But it does take about eight hours and twenty minutes for the dish to be perfect.

Don’t panic because you need twenty minutes to prep and eight hours to marinate and refrigerate the cheese.

Sharp cheddar is the typical variety of cheese used for the dish.

Cheddar cheese goes from mild to tangier as it ages, so the older the cheese is, the sharper it gets.

So, you can select the flavor and texture according to your preference.

5 – Buffalo Wings

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If you want to munch on something when holding a wine glass in one hand, buffalo wings are the perfect food.

The chicken wings are juicy, delicious, and popular, so they will make a nice combo.

Making buffalo wings is also simple, and you can make a large batch at one time.

The chicken wings must be cooked perfectly with oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

For the sauce, you’ll need hot sauce, honey and butter.

You can make a breaded version of buffalo wings if you want a variant.

They’re equally delicious but with a slightly different texture.

6 – Slow Roast Lamb

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Red wine pairs well with red meat, so we’ll add a few meat dishes, including slow-roast lamb.

It’s a flavorful item you can enjoy with red wine, veggies and other foods.

Making slow roast lamb is easy as you need a few ingredients and follow simple steps.

But it takes time, as you can see from the name.

While prep time is only about fifteen minutes, cooking can take about five hours and fifteen minutes.

But be assured that you’ll be happy with the results when you see the lamb falling off the bone.

Be sure to include a gravy made of flour, water, salt and pepper.

7 – Grilled Steak

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Simple grilled steak is another dish that goes with red wine.

It’s juicy and tasty and pairs with several items, so you’ll have a lovely meal.

You can add a sauce and a veggie dish for a complete meal.

You don’t have to use many ingredients to make grilled steak.

Olive oil, salt and pepper are enough to make your steak delightful and perfect.

You can use boneless rib-eye steak for the dish.

It comes from the rib section and is tender, juicy and very flavorful.

It also has the right quantity of fat so it makes the ideal choice for most occasions.

8 – Butternut Squash Ravioli

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The dish is different from all the items on the list because it doesn’t contain meat.

But butternut squash ravioli is delicious, and they complement red wine.

Since they’re bite-size, ravioli are also convenient to serve alongside wine.

Ravioli look stunning on a plate, and it’s easy to think that the dish is challenging.

But if you’re familiar with making dumplings and similar items, you’ll find it quite simple.

Include Parmesan cheese in the filling mixture before serving for extra flavor.

9 – Baked Sweet Potatoes

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A yummy veggie dish like baked sweet potatoes also makes a lovely combination with red wine.

Since you have several meat dishes on the list adding one more veggie dish will be nice.

Sweet potatoes are naturally flavorful so you don’t need to add many ingredients to make a dish.

When baking them, you’ll need only salt, pepper, olive oil and a dried herb like oregano.

Though there are many types of sweet potatoes, you may like to go with Beauregard as it’s a great all-purpose sweet potato.

It’s also readily available and great for baking and mashing.

10 – Fruit Salad

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We’re at the end of the list and with a dish that’s different from all the others.

It’s a simple fruit salad but it pairs nicely with red wine.

The dish will keep your palate fresh, and you can enjoy other items without feeling overloaded.

You can use a variety of fruits for the salad.

Blackberries, strawberries, figs, grapes and bananas are perfect.

Cherries, raspberries and currants are also suitable to make a salad.

All these go with some type of red wine so you’re safe.

A simple honey dressing is enough to make the salad delicious, fresh and light.

It will balance the combination, and you won’t feel bored with the flavors.

Conclusion

Red wine comes in different flavors, textures and consistency.

So you have many choices. But all the dishes pair well with most items mentioned above.

Hence you can serve the dishes according to the type of wine you’re serving.

Some other items like tacos, pizza, and burritos are good with red wine.

Sausage wontons, mini quiche, and goat cheese crostini also complement red wine.

So whenever you serve red wine, you’ll have more items to serve alongside.