Sherry is one of the most underused cooking wines in British kitchens, yet in Spanish cuisine it is as fundamental as olive oil. Its range of styles, from bone dry fino to intensely sweet Pedro Ximenez, gives it extraordinary versatility across both savoury and sweet cooking. A splash of fino in a seafood broth, a glug of oloroso in a slow-cooked stew, a drizzle of PX over ice cream, sherry transforms dishes in a way that few other ingredients can match. This guide covers everything you need to know about cooking with sherry, broken down by style. For a full guide to the styles themselves see our complete guide to sherry.
The same rule applies as with any cooking wine, use something you would enjoy drinking. Cheap cooking sherry with added salt is not a substitute for a decent bottle and will give inferior results. The good news is that you do not need to use your best bottle, a basic fino or a simple oloroso works perfectly well in cooking. For a full overview of all styles of sherry wine see our dedicated guide.
Fino is the most versatile cooking sherry for savoury dishes. Its dry, clean character with subtle almond and briny notes works beautifully with seafood, chicken, soups and light sauces without adding sweetness or overwhelming the dish.
Manzanilla is interchangeable with fino in cooking. Its slightly more saline, oceanic character makes it particularly good with fish and seafood dishes.
Amontillado is the best all-round cooking sherry for medium-bodied dishes. Its nutty, complex character, halfway between the freshness of fino and the richness of oloroso, adds depth without being overpowering. Excellent in soups, risottos, chicken and mushroom dishes.
Oloroso is the best choice for rich, slow-cooked dishes. Its full-bodied, nutty and dried fruit character adds depth and complexity to braises, stews and red meat dishes in a way that is immediately noticeable.
Pedro Ximenez is the cooking sherry for sweet applications. Its extraordinary concentration of raisins, molasses and dark fruit makes it a natural addition to desserts, chocolate work, glazes and sauces where sweetness and depth are both required.
Seafood: Fino and manzanilla are the classic companions to Spanish seafood cooking. Add a generous splash to a pan of prawns or clams just before they finish cooking and let it bubble up and reduce for 30 seconds, creating a sauce that is bright, saline and intensely flavoured. The same technique works beautifully with mussels, scallops and squid. For more on manzanilla with seafood see our manzanilla with fish pairing guide.
Gazpacho and cold soups: A tablespoon of fino sherry added to a gazpacho just before serving adds a depth and complexity that the dish rarely achieves without it. It is a classic Spanish technique that works with any chilled vegetable soup.
Soups and broths: Amontillado sherry added to a chicken or mushroom soup in the final stages of cooking adds a layered, nutty complexity. Add two to three tablespoons, allow to simmer for five minutes and taste. The result is a soup that tastes as though it has been cooking considerably longer than it has.
Chicken with sherry: One of the great simple Spanish dishes. Fry chicken pieces until golden, remove from the pan and soften onions and garlic in the same fat. Return the chicken, pour over a generous glass of fino or amontillado sherry, cover and cook slowly for 45 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sherry has reduced to a rich sauce. Season, finish with fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread.
Mushroom dishes: Amontillado and palo cortado sherry have a natural affinity with mushrooms. Deglaze a pan of sauteed mushrooms with a splash of amontillado and a little cream for an immediate and deeply flavoured sauce. Excellent with pasta, toast, chicken or as a side dish. For more inspiration see our palo cortado with mushrooms pairing guide.
Slow-cooked meat and stews: Oloroso sherry is one of the great stewing wines. Add half a glass at the beginning of a beef, oxtail or lamb braise alongside the stock and allow it to cook slowly for two to three hours. The oloroso integrates completely, adding a rich, savoury backbone with subtle dried fruit notes. It is particularly good in Spanish-inspired dishes with chickpeas, chorizo and paprika. For more on oloroso with red meat see our oloroso with steak pairing guide.
Dressings and vinaigrettes: A teaspoon of fino sherry in a vinaigrette adds a distinctive Spanish character. Combine with sherry vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and a little honey for a dressing that works beautifully on bitter leaves, roasted vegetables or grilled fish. For more on fino with food see our fino with artichokes pairing guide.
Deglazing: Any style of sherry can be used to deglaze a pan after searing meat or vegetables. The alcohol lifts the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan and reduces quickly to create a concentrated flavour base for a sauce. Use fino or manzanilla for lighter dishes and oloroso for red meat.
Pedro Ximenez is the sherry style most naturally suited to sweet cooking, but oloroso and cream sherry also have their place in desserts and baking.
Pedro Ximenez over ice cream: The simplest and most impressive sherry dessert. Pour a generous measure of cold PX directly over good vanilla ice cream. The contrast between the cold, creamy ice cream and the thick, warm, intensely sweet sherry is one of the great simple desserts. For more on this pairing see our PX with chocolate pairing guide.
Trifle: Sherry trifle is a British classic for good reason. Soak the sponge base in a generous amount of fino or medium dry amontillado rather than sweet sherry for a more complex, less cloying result. The dry sherry cuts through the sweetness of the custard and cream beautifully.
Chocolate: PX sherry in a chocolate ganache adds extraordinary depth and a raisin-like sweetness. Add two tablespoons per 200g of dark chocolate and cream. The result is a ganache with complex dried fruit notes that elevates it well beyond the standard version.
Glazes: Reduce Pedro Ximenez in a saucepan until syrupy and use as a glaze for duck, pork belly or desserts. Its intense sweetness caramelises beautifully and adds a distinctive dark fruit character.
Cake and baking: A splash of oloroso or cream sherry in a fruit cake, Christmas pudding or sticky toffee pudding adds a depth of flavour that alcohol alone cannot achieve. The nutty, dried fruit character of oloroso is particularly complementary to spiced baked goods.
For more detailed pairing ideas across every sherry style, explore our dedicated food pairing guides:
Explore our full sherry range for cooking and drinking, from dry fino and manzanilla through to rich oloroso and intensely sweet Pedro Ximenez. For a full guide to every sherry style, producer and how to choose see our complete guide to sherry. All available with free UK delivery on orders over £100.
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Sherry is one of the great cooking wines, used across Spanish cuisine from seafood with fino to rich stews with oloroso. Here is everything you need to know about cooking with every sherry style.
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