Winter is the time for comfort. Much like your favorite pair of sweats, wooly socks, or a roaring log fire, eating hearty meals that stick to your ribs and make you feel warm and cozy, is a great way to get through the winter time.
Yet winter is also a great time to explore new recipes or combine your faves with sides that innovate and bring new elements to your dinner table. Below, our collection of spicy winter warmers contain a variety of delicious ways to add warmth to your taste buds and belly during the coldest part of the year!
1. Chorizo Pappardelle
Spicy Chorizo Pappardelle is a quick-cooking but hugely impactful pasta dish that’s perfect for busy weeknights in winter. The deliciously smoky and spicy meat sauce is made from scratch in just 20 minutes, with Mexican chorizo providing the ideal flavor base to bring all the elements together quickly – it’s a meaty, tangy tomato sauce tossed with fresh herbs and citrus. Salty, briny, and flavor-packed feta cheese helps bring out the beautiful pasta flavors with supporting saltiness that goes perfectly with a glass of red wine!
2. Sriracha Green Beans
No butter, no blandness, just great tasting snaps of fresh veggies and spice! If you are looking for a daring way to dress up your green bean side dish, then look no further than this tremendously simple Spicy Sriracha Green Beans recipe. The popular hot sauce teams up with garlic, sweet chili sauce, and toasted sesame seeds to give your fresh green beans a pop of amazing flavor that nestles in nicely with many different main meals.
3. Chipotle Ranch Chicken Skillet
Chicken that’s lightly breaded in ranch dry mix then fried perfectly to a golden-brown hue, then served along with a chipotle black bean ranch gravy. Spicy Chipotle Ranch Chicken Skillet makes for a fantastic alternative skillet meal – creamy and saucy but with the unmistakable warmth of chopped up chipotle chillies in the gravy. It will take the chill out of your bones quickly, coming together in just 45 minutes from start to finish!
4. Southern Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes are one of life’s great – and most cheesy – pleasures, however these Southern Scalloped Potatoes are next level flavorsome for old school lovers of spice. The cheese sauce uses a delicious combination of gruyere and spicy pepper jack cheese, while creole seasoning makes a great flavor base enlivened by the citrus spice of jalapenos. If you want to cut down on the heat just a bit, take out the seeds to tamp it down slightly. This is the type of side dish that I just can’t stop eating!
5. Dan Dan Pork Noodles
Dan Dan Pork Noodles are an iconic part of Sichuan (or Szechuan) cuisine, which is famous for strong, spicy flavors. They look fiery – thanks to the bright red chili sauce and the dish’s powerful aroma – yet there’s more depth of warm flavor than tongue burning heat to Dan Dan noodles. The soup, simple egg noodles, and fried minced pork can be enjoyed by novice spice tasters or the expert, and the recipe provides a great introduction to Sichuan food that you’ll be excited to learn more about making!
6. Piri Piri Chicken
Piri Piri is a traditional African taste sensation made famous worldwide by the Portuguese (and restaurant chain Nandos). Our Piri Piri Chicken recipe combines the flavors of chili peppers with the acidic tang of lemon and vinegar to create a wonderful balance that bursts with contrasting flavors. Best of all, a good Piri Piri sauce can be adapted to suit your taste buds, from subtle citrus and garlic through to the expert level fiery hot chili. You can even make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge to use the sauce as you like!
7. Spicy Fish Tacos With Mango Salsa
Taco dinners are a weekly proposition in our family, so the opportunity to get funky with alternative ingredients and spice things up a bit, helps give taco Tuesday a periodic (and very necessary) glow-up. Creating these Spicy Fish Tacos With Mango Salsa is simple – it’s the perfect way to take tacos in a totally different direction, taste and presentation wise, yet keep prep and cooking time quick and stress free!
Conclusion
There’s a wide array of spicy meals and side dishes that you can incorporate into your winter routine to pep up mealtime and make it more vibrant. The recipes above are perfect for when the weather is cool and your bones need warming, while still allowing for different attitudes to using spice – these are all great change-ups to your regular kitchen routine!