19 Underrated Recipes That Use A Cheap Bottle Of Wine

Wine, as a category, is exhaustingly expansive. There are bottles that cost a small fortune and are difficult to track, and then there are the budget-friendly accessible bottles you can find at a gas station or a grocery store. Everyone's wine palate is different, but even novice home cooks know that wine is used for much more than drinking. It's a pivotal ingredient in the kitchen for sauces, braises, marinades, desserts, and the list goes on. 

Cooking wine is sometimes sold as a separate ingredient from the stuff we drink, but a cheap bottle of wine will yield the same results and, depending on the bottle you're using, it can majorly affect the flavor of your finished product. 

Whether it's a leftover box or red wine or a pinot grigio you just don't like, there are so many ways to use the grape-derived spirit in recipes fit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. If you need some inspiration, we've rounded up 19 underrated recipes that will help you repurpose it into your everyday meals.

Chocolate and red wine is a natural pairing, so why not combine the two in a cupcake recipe? These pink cupcakes are slightly savory thanks to the wine, but the sugary chocolate helps balance out the flavor. Aside from the wine, the recipe is standard as far as cupcakes go; it isn't a difficult ingredient to throw in and see how it alters the end result. A cabernet sauvignon is a safe bet, but the recipe also works with merlot or pinot noir if that's what you have. 

Recipe: Red Wine Cupcakes

Soup is all about melding flavors together to make a deeply flavorful broth, and a splash of white wine in a classic French onion soup. It's a small addition that makes a world of difference, making it taste like a cohesive soup rather than just caramelized onions covered in cheese and croutons. The white wine helps to deglaze the pan after you cook down all of those onions to retain the brown bits from the bottom of the pan that will add flavor to the soup. 

Recipe: French Onion Soup 

Beef sirloin tips are a great budget cut that just need a little love and patience to taste great, which is why a rich red wine sauce is the perfect complement. It's another instance of using wine to deglaze the pan after browning, mixed with a similar combination of beef broth, butter, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. The sauce thickens up enough to make a great gravy to serve the beef over mashed potatoes or egg noodles for a simple yet complete meal. 

Recipe: Easy Beef Tips

One quintessential comfort food is a smothered pork chop, and this recipe ups the ante with by featuring plenty of garlic and a delicious wine-based pan sauce. It all comes together in one pan, featuring white wine, half and half, fresh thyme, and plenty of butter. Oh, and a whopping 18 garlic cloves for four pork chops. That's our kind of ideal garlic ratio. 

Recipe: The Pioneer Woman's Pork Chops with Wine and Garlic Recipe with a Twist

Pot roast is another weeknight recipe to keep steady in the dinner rotation, mostly because the hearty meal takes minimal effort, thanks to a Crock-Pot. Red wine is the base of the braising liquid that is flavored with Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, and tomatoes. Use a full-bodied red such as a pinot noir or a cabernet sauvignon to add richness to the meat without too much added sugar. 

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Beef bourguignon is the classic and beloved French stew that warms you up from the inside out. It's typically labor-intensive, but there are a few short-cuts to make it an accessible weeknight menu. Burgundy wine helps the beef develop the flavor and also helps make the dish truly French throughout. The recipe also includes vegetables such as button mushrooms, pear onions, and carrots flavored with aromatics such as thyme, bay leaves, and bacon. Is your mouth watering yet? 

Recipe: Simple Beef Bourguignon

Rump roast is one of the most affordable cuts of beef you can buy, which means it needs a little extra patience to make it anywhere as near as tender as a filet. Dry red wine is used to deglaze the pan and keep the meat moist while it's roasting in the oven. The other ingredients in the recipe are fairly simple, so it's a good recipe to teach yourself how wine can truly transform the most simple dishes. 

Recipe: Tender Rump Roast

On the opposite end of the spectrum, wine slushies are a must on summer days when you want to drink wine but can't fathom the idea of stomaching dry, lukewarm wine when it's hot out. You can use a sweeter wine for this recipe, as the wine and berries serve as a sort of syrup when blended with ice. You can mix up the fruits you add in, but dark red and black berries add to the dramatic color of this drink. 

Recipe: Easy Wine Slushie

Another classic French dish that relies heavily on wine is coq au vin. In fact, the name translates to "rooster in wine," that's how pivotal of an ingredient it is. The red wine helps tenderize the chicken in this dish and form the base of the sauce. As if beef and wine weren't rich enough, salt pork adds even more of a savory element to the plate. 

Recipe: Easy Coq Au Vin