What to Serve With Chili at Party: Salads, Bread, Desserts &More
As spring and temperatures increase, maybe it is time for a party. And what better than a chili can be the theme of your table. So many versions of chili suitable for meat lovers, vegetarians, or vegans can be part of your savory menu. But today, we will talk about different foods to serve with chili.
You can serve chili with side dishes like vegetable salads, which can be quickly prepared or complex, to different types of bread like baguette or cornbread, and a wide variety of sweet or spicy desserts like spicy brownies or cookies or yogurt desserts.
We have thought about all elements needed in your table for a party with chili; you need to host it and make it look amazing. For everything else, read this article carefully and find everything here. Enjoy!
What Dessert to Serve With Chili at a Party?
When talking about spicy lovers, people are divided into two categories: the one who loves spicy but until some point and those who prefer to consume spiciness to the fullest.
So above, you will find a list divided into two categories. The first one belongs to those who love to have a spicy dessert after eating a spicy meal, and the second one is for those who want something fresh and lighter.
Spicy Ones
Spicy Cinnamon Chile Brownies
One dessert that accepts spicy tastes is, for sure, brownie. So if you love chocolate and want a tangy dessert, this will be perfect for you. Guajillo pepper, used in some recipes, will bring some magic to the brownie as it tastes sweet in the first second, and then you feel the tanginess and the spiciness stronger.
You can accompany the brownie with vanilla ice cream, the secret ingredient to send brownies to another level.
Chocolate Chili Cookies
Another idea for chili dessert recipes is to prepare chocolate chili cookies. You don’t need to use fresh chili, you can opt for something like chocolate with chili flavor. The chili in the chocolate will work perfectly, as it won’t make the cookies very spicy.
Instead, it will balance the taste between sugary and spicy. The time needed for those cookies is around 15 minutes, and they can be kept and served cold.
Spiced Ginger Ice Cream
Nowadays, you can find ice cream out of the most bizarre flavors, from matcha late to bubble gum or peanut butter. So at this point, you can dare with this spiced ginger ice cream. This type of ice cream is made out of essential ice cream ingredients, adding ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. So it will refresh and spice you up at the same time.
Mint and Green Chile Granita
Granita is usually used as a substitute for ice cream. You can create a spicy version of gratin with mind and green chile, even in this case. The process is the same as in any other type of gratin, only that this time you need to be more careful with the quantities of mint and green chile you add as if you add more than required, you risk destroying the recipe.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Pie
If you are up for something more whole, then a Mexican hot chocolate pie is the right choice. The primary herb for this pie is cayenne pepper, and you will have a lot of it here in each layer of the cake.
Not only that but also tequila is part of the dessert. After a significant portion of chile, some spicy chocolate pie with tequila. If this is not a Mexican vibe, I don’t know what is.
Chocolate Cupcakes with Chili Cream Cheese Frosting
If you are still not satisfied with the spiciness in all mentioned recipes, I have a bomb for you with five spices: cayenne pepper, ground ancho, chile pepper, and ground cinnamon. Include the spices into homemade or boxed cupcake mix and make a sweet but also very Picante dessert.
The frosting will contain more spices, so here again, you will have a mixing between the freshness of the cheese and herbs.
Mexican Mocha Chia Seed Pudding
For vegan people, you can easily prepare a spicy chia seed pudding. Cayenne pepper and cinnamon are again used to improve the taste and make your mouth burn. In less than 15 minutes, you will have this easy pudding ready to be chilled and consumed.
Refreshing ones
Cheesecake
All types of cheesecakes will be just perfect to be consumed after a chili. The lactose in the cheese will help you clean the palette and refresh your mouth with two bites. Use your imagination to create your favorite cheesecake, from berries to mango or dragon fruit.
At big parties, you can prepare the cheesecake base, and for the cream, you can create some variety and serve it in the form of mini-squares of cheesecake.
Key Lime Avocado Pie
Do you want to have guacamole but in a dessert? If yes, then you must try a key lime avocado pie. Mix avocado, cream cheese, key lime juice, whipping cream, and sugar for the perfect filling for your pie. The most atypic dessert containing avocado cream can be one of the freshest ideas, especially for chili. The avocado in this recipe is amazingly tasteful, especially for people who don’t want lovely desserts.
For key lime avocado pie, you can find more than just one way of cooking. You can also prepare this pie in a vegan way with condensed milk and coconut oil. If you are hosting a party, you can equip both recipes, and your guests can choose their favorite.
Greek Yogurt Pudding
A cold pudding prepared with your favorite biscuits, greek yogurt, and conceded milk is also a good option and very fast to prepare. You can serve this quick pudding with some lime zest or chocolate flakes on top of it.
I love all recipes with greek yogurt, as this product can be very thick, and with it, you can create a perfect cream for both pudding or cakes. I suggest you be creative with it.
Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
Some consider it as ice cream and some not, but overall, mixing greek yogurt with frozen blackberry, some sugar, and vanilla extract can never be bad. Freeze it for a couple of hours and serve it after the chili meal. You can also use other fruits from the berries family, like raspberry or strawberry, or just a mix between them.
Carrot Cake
For me, the carrot cake is just amazing after every meal. A soft cake full of flavors of carrot and mixed nuts and cinnamon is all you need now and then. But, of course, it’s never fully served if it does not have some mascarpone cream, so don’t skip this step. I usually add some lemon juice to add acidity to the mascarpone cream.
I am sure your guests will ask for more, as it’s very light. Usually, all recipes for carrot cake are vegan, so that you can offer it for vegan or lactose-intolerant people, without the cream, or with another vegan cream, and for everyone else with mascarpone.
Sweet Potato Frozen Yogurt Pops
Sweet potatoes are one of the vegetables more suitable for chili. So why not serve it as a dessert then? With just four ingredients – greek yogurt, sweet potato, fat-free milk, and ground cinnamon, and 10 minutes to be prepared, sweet potato frozen yogurt pops will make everyone curious to try this dessert. You don’t find desserts with sweet potatoes a lot, so why not be the first to offer it.
Pumpkin Pie
Another atypic dessert can be pumpkin pie. With an extensive layer of pumpkin cream placed in a cracker crust, this pie will be something different on your table. For all pumpkin lovers, the pie will taste like heaven.
Crepe with Lemon Cream Cheese
What about a simple crepe with lemon cream cheese? It is convenient to be served at a party, and you can cook small and thin crepes and fill them with cream cheese mixed with lemon juice and zest. Very low in costs and time of cooking, those simple crepes will taste a little acidic and sweet at the same time. You can serve them with other fruits like strawberries or berries to add more mixed flavors.
Tropical Fruit Salad
Prepare a fruit salad with mango, pineapple, and other fruits you may prefer, like banana or orange. Cut everything aesthetically and mix with some fruit dressing. If you have a party barbeque style, you can prepare the fruits in shish kebab sticks, and everyone can have one or two in their hands to consume quickly.
Mango Sorbet
I always consider sorbet a perfect way to freshen up my guests from one course to another. This trick will make your menu look more sophisticated and detailed. Sorbet can be out of everything, starting with lemon, the most classic variety, and all types of fruits.
I choose mango as I prefer the sweet taste of mango, but you can also prepare it with watermelon, raspberry, or peach. Even cucumber can work for a sorbet, so it is totally up to you.
What Bread Goes With Chili?
Gluten-Free Bread
Chili is a perfect recipe to fit different food restrictions like vegetarian, lactose, gluten-free, or even vegan. So, in any case, you can put or remove elements to have it according to your needs. For example, if you are intolerant to gluten, you can choose a gluten-free type of bread and enjoy this meal to the maximum.
Baguette
The beauty of culinary is that you can take this Mexican recipe and make it better and better by mixing it with other gastronomies, like French Baguette. A fresh baguette, warm and crispy from the outside but soft and smooth inside, can make chilly taste wonderful.
Piadina
I love to eat with chili, instead of bread, Italian piadina, an Italian specialty used to substitute for bread. You can fill a piadina with chili and wrap it. With two piadina, you will feel like you had a full meal.
Another way is to cut the Piadina into small triangles and enjoy it bite by bite with chili. Piadina has fewer calories than most bread and is not a heavy carbohydrate for our bodies. Overall it brings something different to your plate.
Taco Shell
Another product to interchange the bread is taco shell. Who said you need to fill taco shells only with the authentic recipe of tacos? As long as you like the taste of tacos and are in the Mexican family gastronomy, you can fill the taco shells with chili and eat like that.
Taco shells have a high content of carbohydrates, so that they can substitute the bread perfectly, you will take almost the same nutrition values, and the taste will be the same as delicious. [1]
Pretzel
Pretzel is usually used as a snack, and you eat and enjoy the pretzel taste and shape that is atypic, but you can also consume Pretzel with chili. It’s a good combination, as the Pretzel is salty and has a metallic taste, and the chili is all spicy and piquant.
Cornbread
A very suitable type of bread to be consumed with chili would be Cornbread. Cornbread is a classic variety of bread, usually liked by all generations, which can fit very well with chili. Cornbread has a sour and corny taste which balances chili spiciness.
Cornbread is a bread you can easily prepare in your home and enjoy warm and freshly made. After your meal with chili, you can use the leftovers for more meals as it fits with all kinds of dairy like yogurt or goat cheese.
Breadsticks
What about some garlic breadsticks? Soft and crispy with a divine smell of garlic and butter. You can buy this type of bread fresh in a bakery or buy it frozen in the supermarket and bake it in your oven.
In both cases, you will like the result a lot. You can choose another type of breadstick besides garlic and butter; you can go for a sesame selection or a mix of seeds.
What Salad Goes With Chili?
Fresh Salad
If you ask for a fresh salad in different countries, I can assure you that you will get a diverse mix of vegetables with another type of dressing. For example, tomato, cucumber, onion, green leaves, or feta cheese are just some of the ingredients that may be part of a fresh salad.
Feel free to add other ingredients like olives, carrots, or green pepper if you want more or different. Marinate the salad with lime or Aceto balsamico, and the salad is ready.
Coleslaw
Coleslaw salad can also work nicely as it has an exceptional taste that is something between salty and sugary. Depending on the dressing you will apply, it will develop one of those tastes more.
Cut them finely and decide what you will do with the marinade. It can also be a simple mayonnaise mixing. Otherwise, just some salt, lemon, and aceto will work.
Rice salad
A chili goes perfectly with some hot rice, but if you feel tired from the classic rice recipe and want to do some modifications, then a rice salad with work just the same perfectly. Some vegetables suit nicely with rice to make an excellent cold salad.
You should start with dried and fresh tomato, cucumber, orange, red onion, corn, and black olive. Don’t stress too much if you miss any of those ingredients; you can find another similar substitute according to your tastes.
Quinoa
You can apply the same principles to quinoa salad. A cold salad can make the meal fresher and more likable. You can use additional chickpeas, red pepper, broccoli, nuts, or dried fruits. Quinoa can accept almost all kinds of vegetables into a good mix.
Apple salad
What if I say that you can prepare a delicious and fresh salad with apples and carrots that is not a fruit salad? With one red and one green apple, one carrot, some mayonnaise and plain yogurt, a small quantity of honey, and feta cheese.
This salad will have a complex taste as it mixes many different flavors like the sweetness of honey, the bitterness of green apple, and the freshness of yogurt. If you like complicated preferences, then this salad is for you.
Caesar salad
Caesar salad is a classic salad, pretty loved by all generations. The dressing of caesar may contain greek yogurt or mayonnaise, which help it refreshing. I prefer to prepare a Cesar sauce that may sound not very common but is heavenly delicious.
I mix a boiled egg, a spoon of mayonnaise, a little lemon juice, Aceto balsamico, and olive oil in a blender. You blend until the mixture is a homogeneous creme. Try this recipe of caesar dressing which fits with almost everything.
Avocado and corn salad
I am closing this list with a Mexican-style salad of avocado and corn. Choose to cook this recipe with fresh corn.
The canned version can also work, but nothing is better than fresh homemade cooked corn. Corn and avocado mixed with other vegetables like parsley, tomato, onion, and cilantro offer a colorful, tasteful salad.
What Vegetable Goes With Chili?
Depending on the purpose, you are going to use the vegetables. There is a considerable debate about whether chili has or has no beans. If you are going for a vegetarian selection, the chili will probably have some beans. However, avoid any side dish with beans, as it may be too much.
Onions are perfect to put in the chili and fresh salads. Either cooked or fresh, onion is an added value in this case. Another vegetable that fits the chili menu is sweet potato. Prepare some filled sweet potatoes or just sweet potato chips and serve them as a side dish.
All vegetables like tomato, cucumber, red pepper, or kale can also go well with chili in salads or appetizers.
What Fruit Goes With Chili?
Suitable combinations of fruits that can go with chili are tropical fruits. Watermelon, pineapple, and mango are a very delicious combination that will freshen your palate and equilibrate the spicy taste that you may have from chili.
You can still add more colors to your fruit salad by adding some berries like blackberries or strawberries. But, overall, choose soft fruits with a high water content to help you stay hydrated. Drinking water to cool our mouths immediately after eating chili is not the best solution, so that those fruits can help.
Although there are some intense lovers of spiciness, for whom eating more and more spices is not a problem. My Mexican friend, on the contrary, cannot eat fruits without putting some chili powder on them.
You can always prepare a fast chili dressing with chili powdered sugar and some lime juice. All the fruits need to be mixed, combined with the sauce, and left to rest for 15 minutes.
