24 Delightful Recipes with White Wine

Pork Loin Roast with Caramelized Onions and White Wine-Dijon Sauce
Photo: Charissa Fay

Bright and buttery white wines are an ideal match for plenty of dishes, but cooking with white wine can be even better. Delicious pastas, seafood dishes, and plenty of chicken recipes are made even more flavorful when you add wine. Chicken breasts with white wine sauce, garlicky linguine with clams, or brothy mussels make for the perfect dish with Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. Read on for some of our favorite ways to cook with white wine.

01 of 24

Venetian Shrimp with Polenta

Venetian Shrimp Polenta Recipe
Victor Protasio

"All you need to do is make a batch of polenta, which isn't hard at all; it just requires some stirring," says food writer David McCann. "And while the polenta simmers away, all you'll need to do is cook some garlic and white wine and stock, add butter, and, literally two minutes (at most) before you want to serve, toss in the shrimp." 

02 of 24

Coq au Riesling

Coq au Riesling

© Con Poulos

In this creamy take on coq au vin, the chicken is braised in dry Riesling. Silky, rich crème fraîche is stirred in at the end, making it extra decadent.

03 of 24

One-Pot White Wine Pasta with Mushrooms and Leeks

One Pot White Wine Pasta Recipe
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland

This creamy, savory one-pot pasta dish comes together without the need to boil the pasta separately. Savory sautéed mushrooms and gently sweet leeks combine with cream, lemon juice, and white wine to create the rich sauce. Feel free to switch up the flavor by adding tarragon instead of dill.

04 of 24

Poached Salmon with Corn and White Wine-Butter Sauce

Poached Salmon with Corn and White Wine–Butter Sauce
© Frances Janisch

Poaching fish in wine is an easy way to infuse it with subtle flavor. Since some of the seasoning inevitably washes off, serve it with a sprinkling of coarse salt.

05 of 24

Sauvignon Blanc-Steamed Mussels with Garlic Toasts

2009 Château Haut Rian Bordeaux Sec

© Stephanie Foley

A crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc, such as Indaba, would be great in these mussels — and to drink with them.

06 of 24

Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone Ice Cream

Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone Ice Cream
© James Merrell

Chef Daniel Humm infuses roasted peaches with honey-rosemary syrup and displays a strong Italian influence by using mascarpone in this ice cream.

07 of 24

Chicken Breasts with White Wine Pan Sauce, Crème Fraîche, and Spring Herbs

Chicken Breasts with White Wine Pan Sauce with Crème Fraîche and Spring Herbs
Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

This simple white wine pan sauce enriched with créme fraîche and a generous handful of tender fresh herbs turns pan-roasted chicken breasts into a special meal.  The sauce's delicate flavors are also a good match for thick fillets of trout, salmon, or halibut, which may be substituted for the chicken.

08 of 24

Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce

Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce
© Quentin Bacon

Chef Hugh Acheson flavors shallots with butter and Pinot Gris to create a sauce for scallops: "Pinot Gris loves shellfish," he says.

09 of 24

Broccoli Rabe Risotto with Grilled Lemon

Broccoli Rabe Risotto with Grilled Lemon
© Con Poulos

This vegetarian risotto is enriched with a flavorful broccoli rabe that's stirred in before serving. The method is a little simpler than the one for traditional risotto: Instead of stirring in hot stock by the cupful, it's added in just two batches.

10 of 24

Pork Loin Roast with Caramelized Onions and White Wine–Dijon Sauce

Pork Loin Roast with Caramelized Onions and White Wine-Dijon Sauce
Charissa Fay

In this classic recipe from chef Alex Guarnaschelli, it's important to make sure the pork roast has enough air circulating around it (especially underneath) as it cooks; use a roasting pan fitted with a rack to elevate the meat.

11 of 24

Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Shallots and White Wine

Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Shallots and White Wine Recipe
Eva Kolenko

Pre-salting the lamb (the longer the better) will deepen its flavor and increase the moisture and tenderness. Afterward, a simple sear then braise renders fork-tender shreds of meat. A spoonful of garlicky gremolata heightens those long-cooked flavors.

12 of 24

Baked Clams with Bacon and Garlic

baked-clams-with-bacon-and-garlic-XL-RECIPE1017.jpg
Marcus Nilsson

This ultimate version of baked clams has chopped clams in the filling, doubling down on briny clam flavor. Bacon, parsley, lemon, and a touch of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese add a savory, herby kick.

13 of 24

Chicken with Roasted-Garlic Pan Sauce

Chicken with Roasted-Garlic Pan Sauce
Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

This dish is inspired by the rotisserie chicken and sauce from El Asador de Nati in Córdoba. The base for the rich, extremely flavorful pan sauce comes from the chicken pan drippings and a whole head of luscious roasted garlic.

14 of 24

Summer Squash Gratin

Summer Squash Gratin
John Kernick

Recipe developer Laura Rege puts abundant summer squash and zucchini to good use in this beautiful and very simple gratin, which gets fantastic flavor from white wine, leeks, and Gruyère cheese.

15 of 24

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners

Pasta tossed with plenty of chopped clams, garlic, and tomato sauce is an iconic Italian-American dish. Here, a few simple touches enhance that homestyle taste: A dose of anchovies boosts the savory flavor of the clams, herby vermouth stands in for dry white wine (although you could use either), and a touch of butter tossed in at the end unites the pasta and sauce in a truly magical way.

16 of 24

Choucroute Garnie

Choucroute Garnie
© Quentin Bacon

Families in Alsace generally eat choucroute garnie during the wintertime, because it's such a hearty, filling dish. Chef Jacques Pépin has adapted the recipe to make it quicker and easier — calling for store-bought sauerkraut instead of the homemade kind, for instance, and suggesting peanut oil as a substitute for duck or goose fat, which may be less accessible.

17 of 24

Sherried Mushrooms with Fried Eggs on Toast

Sherried Mushrooms with Fried Eggs on Toast
© Tina Rupp

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn sautés mushrooms and onions with the Spanish dry sherry oloroso to make a fabulous topping for a fried egg on toast.

18 of 24

Pappardelle with White Bolognese

Pappardelle with White Bolognese

© Chris Court

This cozy, meaty pasta is full of flavor from the blend of pork, beef, and veal, as well as the mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. Make sure you give yourself enough time to reduce the white wine and the stock; it's worth it for the super tender meat and depth of flavor that develops.

19 of 24

Lobster Thermidor

Lobster Thermidor
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

This classic lobster thermidor stuffs gently cooked lobster meat back in its shell with a wine-based sauce and a touch of cheese before it goes under the broiler. The natural sweetness of lobster still shines through the rich, but not heavy, cremini mushroom and dry sherry-laced cream sauce. A touch of cayenne adds warmth, not spice, that brightens the whole dish, while Parmesan cheese gets bubbly and brown under the broiler to finish each impressive stuffed lobster tail. 

20 of 24

Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Brûléed Blue Cheese

Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Bruleed Blue Cheese
Greg DuPree

In this vegetarian version of classic French onion soup, blue cheese and oloroso sherry bring new layers of flavor and depth. Notes of toasted nuts and fruit compote in the sherry pair well with caramelized onions, and its briny acidity cuts through the richness of the cheese.

21 of 24

Bouillabaisse

ludo-lefebvre-bouillabaisse-0319.jpg
Chloe Crespi Photography

Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s bouillabaisse starts with a quick-cooking, but deeply flavored, seafood broth. Layering a base of aromatics with fresh snapper, scallops, shrimp, and a mix of Pernod and dry white wine creates a long-simmered flavor in under an hour.

22 of 24

Classic Cheese Fondue

Classic Cheese Fondue
© Rob Howard

Chef Ryan Hardy makes his luxurious fondue with two kinds of Swiss cheese (Emmentaler and Gruyère) and two kinds of spirits (white wine and kirsch), all traditional ingredients. Some of the dipping items are also classic, like cubes of crusty bread and pickles, but some are unconventional, like slices of Hardy's salami and other hearty house-cured charcuterie, which are all wonderful with the winey fondue. 

23 of 24

Asparagus and Potato Salad with Riesling-Tarragon Vinaigrette

Asparagus and Potato Salad with Riesling-Tarragon Vinaigrette
© Quentin Bacon

In this recipe from chef David Bouley, simply cooked asparagus and Yukon Gold potatoes are made magnificent with a flavorful vinaigrette. To prepare it, chopped fresh herbs and ground coriander seeds are combined with Riesling, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil until perfectly emulsified.

24 of 24

Rustic Garlic Chicken

2012-r-xl-rustic-garlic-chicken

© Jennifer Causey

Yes, three heads of garlic. You don't have to peel the cloves first; they soften during cooking and take on a subtle sweetness. At the table, each person squeezes the garlic out of its skin onto the plate to eat with the chicken.

Updated by
Megan Soll
Megan Soll

Megan Soll is an Associate Editorial Director for Food & Wine Commerce. She joined Dotdash Meredith in 2015 and has over 11 years of experience writing and editing food, entertainment, and lifestyle content.

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