5 Easy Prosecco Cocktails & What to Eat With Them

Hi, Friends of Cocktails! Have you ever been at home when your friends or family send you a text saying “we’re coming over soon”? Perfect! Today I’ll give you 5 super-simple bubbly cocktail recipes, and I’ll show you some food to pair them with with the help of my chef friend Alen. We’ll make it look like you planned this all week.

In all honesty, I love this challenge because sparkling cocktails are perfect for hosting. They’re easy to make, they look impressive, and they can match almost anything you put on the table. And I love creating food pairings with cocktails, so this was a really fun project. But first let’s start at the basics: if someone tells you they’re coming over in ten minutes and you don’t have time to run to the store. That’s why I like to keep a cold bottle of prosecco in the fridge just in case. 

But whether your guests drink or not, another thing that’s a must is some finger food in the cupboard or the freezer. With that all you need to create pairings that feel intentional is a bit of confidence that you can put flavors together fast. Also, don’t think of these five examples as a full course menu that you should recreate exactly, instead get some inspiration to make last-minute guests happy.

So as a first step, when I’m coming up with cocktail recipes for food pairings, I always start with the food–and even though I love to cook I decided to ask a local chef for help. Alen runs Mandl Food & Bar here in Maribor with his girlfriend. They’re friends of the channel and their place is one of our favorite spots in town. It’s known for great brunch, amazing burgers, and a really chill vibe.

Alen loves taking simple food and making it special with small touches, so I asked him to show us a few easy tricks that anyone can do at home… even when guests arrive unannounced. Here’s our first pairing: chips & spritz. So let’s start with our drink, and then we’ll talk more about the food pairing. It’s Cocktail Time!

Limoncello Spritz

● 75mL · 2.5oz FIOL Prosecco

● 45mL · 1.5oz Limoncello

● 15mL · 0.5oz Soda Water

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

Mint Bouquet Garnish

Food Pairing: Smoked-paprika & bacon-seasoned potato chips

Start by filling a large wine glass with ice, and into it add FIOL, limoncello, and a splash of soda water. Finish with two drops of 20% saline to boost the flavors, then give it a quick, gentle stir then garnish with a mint bouquet.It’s fast, it looks great, and it’s ready before your guests even sit down. But let’s see how it pairs with Alen’s chips.

Alen's Smoky Seasoning

● 1 TBS Smoked paprika

● 1 TBS Bacon powder

● 1 TSP Salt (skip if your chips are pre-salted)

Mix and sprinkle over chips.

To make DIY potato chips he starts with peeled, sliced potato, soaked in ice water, dried with a towel and fried in oil. If you want to skip this step it’s always great to have a bag of chips ready for situations like this. For Alen’s twist, he’ll season the chips with a mix of smoked paprika and bacon powder. When seasoning he also adds salt, but you can skip that if your chips are pre-salted.

We’re off to a great start, and next up we have an Italian combo: pinsa & Fig Fiol Sparkler. For this I’ll make a quick Fig Liqueur using dried figs, cognac, water, and sugar. 

Fig Liqueur

● 70g Dried Figs

● 200mL · 6.66oz Cognac

● 100mL · 3.3oz Fig Cooking Water

● 45g Sugar (adjusted to 20g per 100mL strained liquid — approx. 225mL total)

Cook dried figs in water for about 5 minutes to fully rehydrate them, then add the figs to a blender together with cognac for the base, and some of the fig water from cooking the dried figs. Blend everything nicely, then strain it through a cloth filter, and at the end you can put the pulp into a potato ricer to get maximum yield.

All that’s left is to add the right amount of sugar, give it a stir… and that’s it. With this, we’re now ready for our next pairing!

Fig & FIOL Sparkler

● 30mL · 1oz Fig Liqueur

● 1 dash White Balsamic Vinegar

● 1 dash Orange Bitters

● 75mL · 2.5oz FIOL Prosecco

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

Carbonated Grapes Garnish

Food pairing: Pinsa with gorgonzola, sour cream, plums, pancetta & spicy honey

We’ll first make a garnish with a popping secret, by putting some grapes into an iSi siphon, charging it with a CO₂ cartridge and leaving it to sit for 5 minutes. This gives us time to build the cocktail by adding the ingredients to a chilled coupe. Since we won’t add any ice, it’s important to make sure your prosecco is as cold as possible. 

Now stir everything gently with a barspoon, and to get the grapes to garnish ready, just release the pressure, open the siphon and you’ll have grapes that are popping with freshness. If you don’t have an iSi siphon you can also use a soda stream or just grab some fresh grapes and use those, but with this small mixology trick, you’ll have an elegant sparkling cocktail that will impress any guest.

Basil Oil

● 20 basil leaves

● 7 TBS Olive oil

● 50g grated Parmesan cheese

● 1 tsp salt

Blend until smooth. 

Now for our pairing, Alen is taking the iconic Italian combo of prosecco and pizza, and giving it an upgrade by making a pinsa. He starts with a pre-made pinsa base, adding some seasoned sour cream and mozzarella, then heating it up in the oven. Then you make it special with your choice of toppings. Alen is going with pancetta, gorgonzola, and sliced pears, finishing the pinsa off with a drizzle of basil oil and spicy honey.

You can of course go with your own favorite toppings, just make sure you have that in mind when making the cocktail–thankfully with FIOL’s tasting notes including pear, that’s not going to be hard.

Our second pairing is a match made in heaven, but we’ll see if crispy fried chicken and prosecco make for a combo that’s just as good. Fortunately, Mandl is known for their crispy chicken tenders, so of course these made the list. As for the cocktail, this time we’re going with the BHF–bourbon, honey, and FIOL. 

BHF Highball

● 45mL · 1.5oz Bourbon

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lemon Juice

● 15mL · 0.5oz Honey Syrup

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

● 45mL · 1.5oz FIOL Prosecco

● Garnish – Lemon Peel

Food pairing: Crispy chicken tenders with ranch and honey-sriracha dipping sauces on the side

Into a chilled shaker add in the bourbon, lemon juice, honey syrup, and saline solution. We’ll shake this with plenty of ice, then double strain it into a rock glass over a clear ice sphere. All that’s left is to add the F for FIOL, so top the cocktail and give it a quick, gentle stir. If you want you can garnish with a small lemon peel before enjoying a bubbly bourbon cocktail with honey and citrus, but I feel like it will be the perfect pairing for the fried chicken tenders.

They were soaked in salted buttermilk, then they went into flour, a mixture of eggs & buttermilk, and back into flour–this time mixed with Alen’s blend of seasoning made up of black pepper, garlic, onion, coriander, a bit of sugar and salt. Now fry your chicken until you get that perfect golden crispy coating, and in the meantime you can make this feel special by adding two homemade sauces.

Ranch Dressing

● 2 TBS Mayonnaise

● 2 TBS Sour Cream

● 1 TBS / 15 ml Lemon juice

● 1 TBS Chopped dried chives and parsley

● 1 TSP seasoning - salt, garlic & onion powders

Mix together and serve.

Honey-Sriracha Sauce

● 2 TBS Unsalted butter

● 2 TBS Honey

● 1 TBS Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce

● 0.5 TSP Salt

Melt the butter, mix in honey, Sriracha and salt until completely mixed. 

First, a creamy ranch, made with mayo, sour cream, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, a bit of chopped chives and some chopped parsley. And for something with a bit of heat, a mix of melted butter, honey, and sriracha hot sauce. Mix until smooth and that’s it. A combination of rich, creamy, spicy and sweet that makes even simple chicken tenders feel special.

Next up we have a Piedina & Margarita combo, with the latter being a good way to compliment the basil and pistachios Alen will add to our fourth food pairing of the day.

Passion Prosecco Margarita

● 45mL · 1.5oz Tequila Blanco

● 15mL · 0.5oz Passion Fruit Liqueur

● 7.5mL · 0.25oz Triple Sec

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lime Juice

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

● 60mL · 2oz FIOL Prosecco

Basil Leaf Garnish

Food pairing: Warm piadina with pesto, mortadella, burrata, arugula & pistachios

Into a shaker add blanco tequila as the base, followed by passion fruit liqueur, lime juice, triple sec, and lastly some salt, as saline solution. Give it a good shake, then double strain into a highball glass rimmed with salt and filled with ice. Finally top it up with FIOL and that’s the Passion Prosecco Margarita. Final touch is a small basil leaf, as another connection to the basil oil that will bring our piadina to life. 

To make it, Alen started with a soft Italian flatbread, but feel free to use a tortilla. He first added creamy burrata, followed by arugula, and slices of mortadella. To finish off this one he added pistachio dressing for some light crunch and some basil oil. If you just have pesto you can use that too, before folding the piadina to warm it up on a grill, so everything comes together and the bread gets a soft crust. You can of course do this in a pan too, then cut it into smaller bites. 

We have a really good fourth plate, but what about guests who have more of a sweet tooth? That’s why we’ll close things off with chocolate brownies and a Strawberry Fizz… a pairing that almost feels like I’m cheating. We’ll serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and a strawberry dressing that will also add fruity notes to our fizz. 

Strawberry Dressing

● 300g Strawberries (Fresh or Frozen)

● 100mL · 3.3oz FIOL Rosé

● 50g Sugar

Heat the strawberries in a saucepan together with some FIOL Rosé and sugar. Stir and cook until it’s fully softened and all the flavors have married together, and feel free to blend it if you want it smoother. With that we have a strawberry dressing that you can use for more than just a brownie topping.

Cheat-Code Strawberry Fizz

● 30mL · 1oz Gin

● 15mL · 0.5oz Strawberry Dressing

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lemon Juice

● 15mL · 0.5oz Simple Syrup

● 5 Basil Leaves

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

● 45mL · 1.5oz FIOL Rosé

Small Basil Leaf Garnish

Food pairing: Warm brownies with vanilla ice cream & strawberry dressing

This one starts off as a shaken cocktail too, so into the shaker I’m adding all ingredients except prosecco, then add ice and give it a really good shake to release the aroma from the basil. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass, top it up with FIOL Rosé to give it that light floral addition, then give everything a gentle stir. All that’s left is to add a small basil leaf for garnish before enjoying the cocktail alongside our brownies. 

And there you have it. If somebody shows up almost unannounced, there are ways to make your life easier, but know that you can still make something that makes them go  wow!If you try any of these, or come up with your own combinations, let me know in the comments. Finally a big thank you to Alen and Tanja for hosting us, we brought the biggest bottle of FIOL we could find. Thank you and enjoy the bubbles. Until next time, cheers, Friends of cocktails!