Welcome to The Storied Recipe! Below are links to recipes for 47side dish ideas that are perfect accompaniments to the French classic Coq au Vin.
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Coq au Vin is a flavorful, elegant dish of tender chicken simmered in a rich red wine sauce flavored with root vegetables and cooked bacon..
This is the perfect meal for a special occasion. The dish is elevated and elegant.At the same time, the timing of the dish is not precise, so you can focus on your dinner guests - rather than the cooking - when they arrive. In fact, you can even make this famous French chicken stew ahead and serve it the next day!
While it’s most often served with mashed potatoes, there are plenty of alternative accompaniments that will work best for your tastes.
In this post, you’ll find the best side dishes in every category: Potatoes/starches, Green vegetables, Salads, and Desserts.
Whether you’re looking for something light and refreshing or hearty, rich flavors, I’ve provided links to every single side dish recipe. Now you can easily plan and execute a mouthwatering menu for your next French feast!
How To Use This List
- To make the list more readable, I separated it into 5 sections: Starches, Vegetables, Salads, Breads, and Desserts
- Make sure you read through the whole list. You'll want to plan a balanced menu that doesn't reuse too many ingredients. Light dishes should balance out rich sides.
- Use this list as inspiration. Combine ideas, flavors, ingredients, and techniques from the recipes you like.
- Let me know how it all turns out! I'd love to hear!
12 Starches to Serve with Coq au Vin
MASHED POTATOES
Mashed Potatoes are the indisputable champion of Coq au Vin sides. And for good reason - creamy and hearty, they hold up to the meaty textures and absorb the delicious, rich wine and herb-infused sauce. Here are my 3 favorite mashed potato recipes:
Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Cooks in 30 minutes
Everyone's going to ask to please pass the potatoes over and over again over these buttery, garlicky, creamy, smooth, deeeelicious garlic mashed potatoes!
290 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Cooks in 30 minutes
These easy mashed sweet potatoes are savory, but you can add a few extra ingredients for a sweeter version. See our notes in the tips section below.
8 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Cooks in 40 minutes
These creamy mashed potatoes are shockingly good! Velvety and holiday worthy mashed potatoes.
703 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
BEYOND MASHED POTATOES
If you want something smooth and creamy that's NOT mashed potatoes, you still have lots of options. Explore these recipes for big visual impact and unique flavors.
Blue Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe
Cooks in 75 minutes
Blue Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes are a delicious and easy to prepare side dish for any meal when you want to wow your family and friends.
5 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American, Southern
Creamy Polenta: Three Ways to Serve it
Cooks in 1 hour 50 minutes
This polenta recipe has a creamy texture and serves as a blank canvas to build upon. From there, it can be customized to suit your own tastes. As is, this version is delicious as a hot and filling side dish or it can be chilled and then grilled or fried for a tasty treat later.
27 votes 4.5 Cuisine: Italian
Make sure to also check out Mashed Rutabagas with Sour Cream and Dill by Simply Recipes!
MORE TEXTURE
From crispy, roasted potatoes to chewy, thick egg noodles, each of these ideas adds its own unique texture for an elegant French dinner party.
Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
Cooks in 105 minutes
Scalloped Potatoes are the perfect potato casserole! Tender potatoes in a creamy onion sauce baked to golden perfection.
3537 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Wild Rice Pilaf Recipe
Cooks in 65 minutes
Learn how to prepare this hearty, gluten-free, and vegan wild rice pilaf recipe packed with veggies and tons of flavor, making it the perfect side dish for any meal.
11 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Perfect Boiled Potatoes
Cooks in 30 minutes
These boiled potatoes are buttery and delicious! Here's how to boil potatoes with the best creamy texture and salty, herby flavor.
2 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Cooks in 45 minutes
These roasted sweet potatoes have a crispy caramelized exterior and a soft irresistible interior. The seasoning blend adds a perfect accent to these potatoes without masking their natural sweetness or flavor.
224 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Homestyle Egg Noodles
Cooks in 40 minutes
This homestyle egg noodle recipe is incredibly easy to make by hand in just 15 minutes with 4 basic ingredients.
3 votes 5.0
Crispy Baked Potato Wedges Recipe
Cooks in 70 minutes
These oven-baked potato wedges are easy and delicious every time. They are crispy on the outside and tender in the center. Don't skip the parmesan topping - it takes these over the top.
189 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
8 Vegetables to Pair with Coq au Vin
Choosing the right vegetables to pair with Coq au Vin can be a little tricky, because the dish already contains pearl onions and mushrooms. So choose vegetables that bring a totally different flavor profile compared to the main ingredients in the dish. I tend to prefer green vegetables that are simple yet flavorful, tasty and nutritious.
The Best Brussels Sprouts of Your Life
Cooks in 25 minutes
Jazz up your Brussels Sprouts with a kick of garlic and freshly grated cheese - making this simple side dish one that the whole family will love!
631 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Perfect Roasted Fennel
Cooks in 30 minutes
Welcome to the surprise that is roasted fennel! Baking it in a hot oven makes it sweet and caramelized: nothing like its raw flavor.
3 votes 5.0 Cuisine: Italian
Simple Roasted Onions (Whole, Halved, Quartered)
Cooks in 50 minutes
These simple oven-roasted onions are tender, mellow, caramelized, and require no peeling! Baked as halves, whole, or quartered to serve as a versatile side and on your holiday table!
28 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Haricots Verts (French Green Beans)
Cooks in 20 minutes
Perfectly cooked French Green beans (Haricots Verts) with shallot and a hint of lemon. They make the best side dish to any meal!
106 votes 5.0 Cuisine: French
Crispy Kale Chips
Cooks in 30 minutes
Quick and easy Crispy Kale Chips are one of the tastiest ways to eat more greens. You need just two ingredients and 20 minutes to make these healthy vegetable chips.
19 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Creamed Spinach with Water Chestnuts
Cooks in 25 minutes
Creamed spinach was a favorite side dish of mine back when I worked at Boston Market. Now I make it homemade and add water chestnut for crunch. Perfect holiday side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinner.
15 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Braised Fennel
Cooks in 75 minutes
Fennel is an underrated vegetable that is delicious when braised. It takes on a sweet and rich flavor when cooked with aromatics, and makes a great side dish for almost any meal.
10 votes 4.8 Cuisine: American
Make sure to also check out another delicious recipe form Eat Well 101 Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash!
9 Salad Ideas
A salad presents you with an opportunity to bring cool, light, fresh, sweet and acidic flavors to balance the Coq au Vin. Go crazy!
Big Italian Salad
This Italian salad pairs nicely with Italian comfort food. You’ll love the homemade dressing!
267 votes 5.0 Cuisine: Italian
Beet Salad
Cooks in 60 minutes
Beet Salad- this beautiful beet salad is made with fresh arugula, roasted beets, orange slices, goat cheese, pistachios, red onion, and a simple citrus dressing. Serve along side any meal or enjoy for a light lunch.
57 votes 4.6 Cuisine: American
How to Make THE BEST Panzanella
Cooks in 25 minutes
This simple, healthy Tuscan bread salad recipe is made with the sweetest ripe tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, slivered onion, and capers with a zesty vinaigrette and fresh basil, perfect for summertime eats.
23 votes 5.0 Cuisine: Italian
Simple Kale Salad
Cooks in 15 minutes
Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. Its often overlooked. Heres one way to prep kale quickly, easily, and in a delicious way with this Simple Kale Salad recipe. The ginger dressing is to die for!
6 votes 5.0 Cuisine: International
Harvest Fall Salad
Cooks in 18 minutes
This Harvest Apple and Pear Fall Salad tossed in Apple Cider Vinaigrette is made with fresh greens, crisp Autumn fruit, smoky bacon, tangy feta and sweet-sticky cider dressing.
27 votes 4.6 Cuisine: American
Greek Salad Recipe
Cooks in 10 minutes
This traditional Greek Salad Recipe is super easy to make and healthy! Learn how to make the best greek salad with only a few ingredients!
7 votes 5.0 Cuisine: Greek
Classic French Bistro Salad
Cooks in 20 minutes
This simple Classic French Bistro Salad, served at cafs, brasseries and bistros all over France, is beyond easy and yet one of those recipes you'll be turning to again and again (especially when you want to feel a little "fancy" with minimal effort on your part.
6 votes 5.0 Cuisine: French
Make sure to check out these other salad recipes Easy Fruit Salad by The Spruce Eats and Celery, Fennel, and Apple Salad by Food and Wine
6 Breads
It's hard to imagine this classic French dish without that most classic of all French culinary triumphs - BREAD!!!! Crusty, round, tender, skinny - it doesn't matter. Just don't forget the BUTTER!
Sourdough Bread: A Beginner's Guide
Cooks in 14 hours
This beginner sourdough recipe is perfect for bakers looking to jump right in! It's is a low-hydration dough, meaning it will yield a 'tight' crumb (small holes). It is great for sandwiches and toast.
963 votes 4.9 Cuisine: American
No Knead Bread-Baguette
Cooks in 65 minutes
Homemade baguette is a true treat! Better yet, this recipe requires only four simple ingredients and absolutely no kneading.
15602 votes 4.8 Cuisine: American
Soft Fluffy French Bread
Cooks in 120 minutes
This recipe for Fluffy French Bread is my go-to bread recipe. It makes one loafand is easily doubled to make for a crowd.
67 votes 4.9 Cuisine: American
The Best Garlic Bread You'll Ever Eat
Cooks in 20 minutes
This is the BEST homemade garlic bread you'll ever make. It has fresh herbs, tons of flavorful roasted garlic, and is perfectly toasted. This easy garlic bread recipe is delicious served with your fav pasta dishes & comfort foods, and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
34 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
Mini Bread Rolls (With Yeast and Potatoes)
Cooks in 3 hours 10 minutes
4 votes 4.5
Parker House Rolls
Parker House Rolls are soft, fluffy, buttery and incredibly delicious! Theyre the perfect roll to complement any dinner or holiday gathering. Plus, they make great options for sandwiches after cooking up those Thanksgiving turkeys or Christmas hams! Light and fluffy, these rolls are sure to be the best thing on your plate.
9 votes 5.0 Cuisine: American
A DOZEN DESSERTS
For me, I'm not a dessert person. I put my effort into the meal. For dessert - buy a carton of ice cream, and call it a day.
However, not everyone is like me! And if you're creating an elegant French feast for guests - then dessert may be your pièce de résistance!
In choosing dessert ideas for Coq au Vin, I did lean heavily towards French favorites. Some are simple, some are gloriously complicated. You choose!
CHOCOLATE
Chocolate Gateau (Chocolate Cake)
Cooks in 80 minutes
Moist and rich Chocolate Gateau recipe is a classic dessert found in cafes and pastry shops across Japan. Topped with strawberries and fresh whipped cream, this decadent cake is a beautiful and elegant sweet treat to make at home for any festive occasion.
61 votes 4.9 Cuisine: French
Silkiest Chocolate Tart Recipe by Tasty
This silky chocolate tart is a luxurious dessert that's sure to impress. The velvety smooth chocolate filling and flaky, buttery crust make each bite a decadent treat for chocolate lovers.
1376 votes 4.7
Kalter Hund – German No Bake Rich Chocolate and Biscuit Cake
Cooks in 4 hours 45 minutes
This layered, no-bake cake delivers chocolate as it’s meant to be: completely and utterly decadent, rich, creamy, and solid but soft.
5 votes 4.4
FRUITY
Easy Baked Pears
Cooks in 30 minutes
Easy baked pears made in one dish with simple ingredients. Serve with vanilla yogurt or ice cream for the ultimate elegant dessert perfect for the holidays and beyond. Just 30 minutes and 1 pan required.
18 votes 4.7 Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegan
Pear and Pistachio Pie
Cooks in 4 hours
This Pear u0026amp; Pistachio Pie boasts a flaky crust, substantial layer of sweetened pistachios, melt-in-your mouth pears, and fragrant spices.
3 votes 5.0
CLASSIC FRENCH DESSERTS
The Perfect French Meringue Recipe
Cooks in 130 minutes
Use this perfect French meringue recipe to create crisp on the outside chewy in the middle mini pavlovas and meringue cookies.
3 votes 5.0 Cuisine: French
Classic French Crme Caramel
Cooks in 65 minutes
An easy recipe for the classic French Crme Caramel. No cream but made with whole milk and egg yolks for a light, silky dessert found in many Parisian brasseries. Either served directly in their ramekins or upturned on a serving plate to show off the shiny caramel.
33 votes 4.9 Cuisine: French
Easy Crme Brle
Cooks in 4 hours 50 minutes
This is the BEST and creamiest crme brle recipe! Flecked with espresso and vanilla, you only need 6 simple ingredients and they're ready to bake in only 15 minutes.
110 votes 4.8 Cuisine: French
Simple and Easy Cream Puffs
Don't be afraid to make Cream Puffs! These little treats are so easy to make and taste as good, if not better than store bought ones.
62 votes 4.8
BONUS!
Wine Pairing Ideas
- Experts recommend pairing with a deep, full-bodied red wine, similar (or identical) to what you used in the sauce.
- Ideas include Merlot, Pinot Noir or Beaujolais.
- Get more ideas and insight fromthis article from Drink and Pair.
How To Make Classic Coq au Vin
Coq au Vin is a traditional French dish made famous by Julia Child in her seminal book with co-authors Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". It translates to “rooster in wine” but is most often cooked with chicken.
- To make this dish, you will need chicken (traditionally rooster). Choose dark meat like chicken thighs and drumsticks with the skin on. You will also need bacon fat (or lardon), mushrooms, pearl onions, garlic, fresh thyme and/or bay leaf, red wine (Pinot noir is a great choice), chicken broth, flour, and butter.
- Start by cooking the bacon in a large skillet or large dutch oven over medium heat until it’s crispy, then remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Brown the chicken pieces in the same pan. Take care not to overcrowd - You may need to do these in batches. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the mushrooms and onions until they’re softened, then add the garlic and thyme. Remove both with a slotted spoon.
- Use wine or cognac to deglaze the pan. Scrape all the delicious caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan and whisk them into the sauce. This step is integral to creating a delicious sauce.
- Sprinkle some flour over the mixture and whisk until it’s combined.
- Add the wine and chicken broth, then return the chicken and bacon to the pan. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Simmer the mixture for about an hour, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
Try Julia Child's Coq au Vin original recipe from The Endless Meal.
Serve the Coq au Vin with any of the 47 sides in this article!
How To Make Vegan Coq au Vin
This magical Vegan Lentil Stew recipe from my podcast guests, Beth and Lexi at Crowded Kitchen, has all the rich, fresh layers of flavor and texture that you love in traditional Coq au Vin – except with plant-based proteins.
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