Are you looking for non-alcoholic drinks to pair with spicy and chilli dishes?
Now that we’re in the coldest months, you can bet that we'll be doing everything we can to ensure the heat is well and truly cranked up. Take some inspiration from our perfect non-alcoholic drink pairings for spicy food.
Settle in with your spicy dish of choice, whether it be chilli, Mexican or Indian, and enjoy a moment of sheer heaven. Because what better way to celebrate the cosy evenings than rustling up a sizzling supper accompanied by a glass of something special?
The best non-alcoholic drinks to pair with spicy foods are often acidic and refreshing, like non-alcoholic beer and wine. However alcohol-free cocktails are often the perfect pairing as their sweet flavours and ingredients are good at balancing the fiery flavours of spicy food.
Non-alcoholic drinks that go with chilli
Due to the various spices and flavours that are associated with chilli, the drinks you pair with it have to be flexible to ensure that each flavour combination is a delicious one. For this reason, the best non-alcoholic drinks for chilli are alcohol-free beers and alcohol-free white wines.
Here’s our favourite pairings:
Chilli and Days Lager or Insel-Brauerei Skippers Wet Hopped Pilsner 0.5%
Some of our favourite alcohol-free lager options due to their crisp, balanced, refreshing nature that means they go with almost any food, especially a spicy chilli. They allow the flavours of the chilli to shine but also offer a refreshing relief if your mouth is on fire.
Chilli and The Very Cautious One Riesling 0.0% De Bortoli or DC Sauvignon Blanc
The fresh acidity of these alcohol-free wines balance the spicy flavours of chilli perfectly. The easy drinking nature of these two ensures that you don’t have to worry about the beverage and can focus on the spices and flavours of your chilli.
Non-alcoholic drinks that go with Mexican food
Mexican food is iconic. They do it like no one else. Their unique ingredient combinations and flavours are known around the world and their spice levels are not to be messed with.
For these reasons, it’s important to choose the right drink to pair with your Mexican dish. The best non-alcoholic drink combinations for Mexican food are often refreshing cocktails or tasty beers, perfect for the sunny Mexican vibes.
Here’s our favourite pairings:
Tacos and Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager
Tacos and Cerveza, probably the perfect combination. Lucky Saint is a popular choice in the alcohol-free world due to its golden, refreshing nature, similar to many beers you associate with Mexican food.
Burritos and tequila mocktails
We’ve got the song in our heads now, too. Tequila is just as iconic to Mexico as their food, for this reason tequila mocktails go perfectly with one of their most iconic dishes, burritos. You can make tequila mocktails such as alcohol-free margaritas or a tequila sunrise using Xachoh Blend Number 5.
Non-alcoholic drinks that go with Chinese food
Though not necessarily known for their spicy food, some Chinese dishes have some surprises up their sleeve. The best non-alcoholic drinks that go with spicy Chinese food are sparkling wines or refreshing pale ales as they complement the common spices surrounding Chinese food such as ginger or chillies.
Here’s our favourite pairings:
Spicy Chinese chicken dishes and Walt Lo Riesling
If you’re digging into a spicy bang bang chicken, kung pao chicken or szechuan chicken then you’re going to want a nice sweet white wine to accompany it. The acidity of this alcohol-free wine cuts through the spices wonderfully and the fruity tones also complement the Chinese spices well too.
Spicy Chinese beef dishes and Thomson and Scott Noughty Rouge Syrah
If your go to Chinese dish is a spicy crispy chilli beef or a black pepper steak dish, then you’re going to want to pair it with a non-alcoholic red wine as red wine is famous for going with such meat dishes.
Our new favourite is the Thomson and Scott Noughty Rouge Syrah due to its bold, strong flavour and its hints of red fruits.
Other spicy Chinese dishes and alcohol-free pale ale
If the chicken or beef dishes don’t take your fancy, and you’re more of a spicy tofu, fish or vegetable person, we’d recommend pairing them with an alcohol-free pale ale as their bitter, hoppiness complements the spices and flavours associated with Chinese food perfectly.
Not to mention the refreshing iciness gives you a minute to prepare for the next mouthful. We’d recommend Days Pale Ale or Nirvana Hoppy Pale Ale as 2 of our most recent favourites
Non-alcoholic drinks that go with Indian Food
Indian food, the king of spice. The best non-alcoholic drinks for Indian foods are refreshing beers and ciders. Sometimes a sharp whiskey works very well too as their spicy notes seem to complement the flavours and spices in Indian dishes.
Here’s our favourite pairings:
Vindaloo and Nirvana Traditional Pale Ale
The king of kings. One of the most popular spicy Indian curries in the world. It’s spicy enough to leave anybody weeping, and if you say that isn’t true, we know you’re lying. For this reason, it's the perfect pairing with a traditional pale ale as its crisp, refreshing nature ensures you can hack at least one more bite.
Jalfrezi and Drynks Unlimited Smashed Cider
A spicy jalfrezi needs a refreshing alcohol-free cider to ensure that your mouth doesn’t give up before you do. The Drynks Unlimited Smashed Cider is our pick of the bunch with its aroma of fresh, English apples.
Other spicy Indian food and Gnista Barreled Oak
If you’re tucking into a different spicy Indian dish (we know there’s many!) then why not try an alcohol-free whiskey, over ice, as your drink of choice?
The smoky, smooth tones of Gnista Barreled Oak make it one of the best alternatives available, whether you have it on the rocks or mixed with some soda. The flavours mean it complements Indian foods perfectly, especially those containing cinnamon, like a masala.
Other non-alcoholic drinks for spicy foods
We’re aware that there are many other spicy dishes out there. Thai, Korean and Jamaican dishes, just to name a few. If we haven’t mentioned your favourite spicy dish here, then the safe bet with spicy food is to go for a refreshing, non alcoholic sparkling drink such as REAL Sparkling Tea Dry Dragon, LA Brewery Sparkling English Blush or Van Nahmen Fruit Secco.
If you want to stay away from the alcoholic taste altogether, the best thing you can do is go for something fruity and acidic like lemonade or just tonic water with lime, allowing the drink to really cut through the spicy flavours.
