If you're looking for red food ideas, I got you covered with this list of 75 red foods! Below you'll find red fruits and veggies, red foods to eat for dinner, as well as red drinks, candy, seasonings, and condiments.
I hope you get some creative ideas from this list. Whether you're trying to "eat the rainbow," cook a romantic Valentine's day meal, make red food to celebrate your team's colors, or make a fun color-themed dinner for your kids, you're bound to find something new here that you haven't thought to make before!
If you're interested in my other colorful food lists, be sure to check out yellow foods and orange foods!
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Red vegetables
- Tomatoes
- Red-skinned potatoes
- Red bell peppers
- Chili peppers
- Cherry peppers (pimiento)
- Radicchio
- Beets
- Radishes (kind of pink? But kind of reddish, depending on the type)
- Rhubarb (the stems)
Other vegetables that are not red in color, but have the name "red" in them:
- Red kale
- Red onion (also called purple onion by some people)
- Red cabbage (also called purple cabbage)
Red fruits and berries
- Strawberries
- Red delicious apples
- Honeycrisp apples
- Watermelon (on the inside)
- Cherries (try my homemade cherry syrup)
- Pomegranates
- Cranberries, including dried cranberries (try these cranberry date muffins!)
- Red grapes
- Ruby red grapefruit
- Rambutan
- Red plums
- Red dragon fruit
- Currant
- Lingonberry
- Red gooseberries
- Red-skinned bananas
Red dinner foods
- Kidney beans
- Red meat — though technically not red in color when the meat is cooked, beef, veal, mutton, venison, pork, and lamb are all considered "red meats"
- Chili, especially if you make it with red kidney beans, or use lots of tomato paste in Instant Pot chili
- Pasta with marinara sauce or any tomato sauce
- Salmon roe (try these red caviar toasts!)
Red seasonings, condiments, sauces, and spices
- Marinara sauce or pizza sauce
- Red pepper flakes
- Paprika (sweet or spicy)
- Fajita seasoning
- Tajin (a Mexican spice blend that is traditionally sprinkled on mango, watermelon, as well as many other foods)
- Togarashi (a Japanese seasoning blend)
- Berbere (a spicy Ethiopian seasoning—see my berbere chicken stew recipe!)
- Cayenne pepper
- Saffron (when it's not dissolved in water)
- Ketchup
- Gochujang
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Chili crisp (a spicy blend of red pepper-infused oil)
- Cranberry sauce
- Tomato salsa
- Red jams, such as red currant, strawberry, or raspberry
Red drinks
- Hawaiian punch
- Koolaid
- Big Red
- Rooibos tea (a type of non-caffeinated tea from Africa made from reddish leaves)
- Hibiscus tea
- Bay breeze
- Watermelon martini
- Raspberry mojito
- Cranberry juice (or any blend with cranberry juice cocktails, such or cranberry-pomegranate)
- Cherry lemonade
- Tomato juice
- Bloody Mary
- Red Gatorade
- Red Vitamin Water
- Tart cherry juice
- Cosmopolitan
- Cranberry Prosecco mimosa
Red candy, desserts, and treats
- M&m's
- Red sprinkles
- Red macarons with raspberry or strawberry filling — ask a bakery to make a custom order for you!
- Red Jello
- Red velvet cake (or try these red velvet pancakes or these red velvet mug cakes!)
- Red sorbet from any red fruit
Red dinner ideas
If you're looking to create a whole meal centered around the color red, here are a few ideas:
Starters:
- Beet baba ghanoush as an appetizer, dip radish slices and red carrots
- Tomato confit on sliced baguettes
- Tomato soup
- Beet chips and blender tomato salsa
Main dishes:
- Red beans and rice with steak (red meat!)
- Spaghetti with marinara sauce and meatballs (red meat!)
- Stuffed red peppers
- Shrimp in tomato sauce
- Lamb or pork chops with cherry glaze
Drinks and desserts:
- Red sorbet
- Red velvet cupcakes
- Strawberry rhubarb crisp
- Fresh fruit, such as strawberries or watermelon fries
- Rooibos iced tea or hibiscus lemonade
I hope you enjoyed this list of red foods. Be sure to SAVE it for later on Pinterest!
