
Vegetable-loving chefs everywhere are embracing and updating the “entrée salad.” These aren’t grain bowls, pasta salads or dull standbys with a slab of protein slapped on top. These are wild, hearty, complex dishes that revel in their saladhood, often with the added bonus of being carb- or gluten-free.
With all that complexity, including notoriously wine-averse ingredients like beets and chiles, finding the right wine for a salad can be a daunting task. But not to worry: We’ve got three big, beautiful salad recipes and wine options on to match.
Jump Straight to a recipe
Marinated Peas with Roast Chicken Salad
Kale Salad with Tahini-Yogurt Dressing
Quinoa Salad with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette and Crab
Tips on pairing wine with salads
• To make your vinaigrettes more wine-friendly, tone down the tartness: Add a little mayonnaise, heavy cream or honey, or swap fresh orange or grapefruit juice for lemon and lime.
• Make sure the wine is more acidic than the dressing. Vinegar and citrus can make a lower-acid wine taste flat or sweet, but will bring out the fruit character of a higher-acid pour.
• Don’t count out red wine: Higher-acid reds with herbal and floral notes, like those made from Barbera, Sangiovese, Gamay and cool-climate Pinot Noir, go well with balsamic vinaigrettes as well as salads with meat, cheese, nuts and dried fruit.
• When in doubt, grab Grüner Veltliner or Sauvignon Blanc. Both have high acidity with herbaceous notes that complement most salads perfectly.
1Marinated Peas with Roasted Chicken Salad
2Kale Salad with Tahini-Yogurt Dressing
3Quinoa Salad with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette and Crab