50 Enjoyable Valentine’s Day Dinner Concepts – A Couple Cooks

One among our prime Valentine’s Day dinner concepts to impress: this creamy Tuscan salmon! It’d end in a couple of marriage proposals, which is why we additionally prefer to name it “Marry Me Salmon.” The tender fish is bathed in a luscious cream sauce with garlic, solar dried tomatoes, spinach, and capers, making every chunk brilliant, salty, and splendid.

Right here’s a traditional dish that impresses each time: hen piccata! Tender, golden-brown hen cutlets are bathed in a vibrant lemon-butter sauce with pops of briny capers. This traditional Italian American dish has captured hearts and stomachs around the globe, and it’s an enormous favourite over right here. Don’t be intimidated by its fancy title; it is surprisingly easy to make at residence! 

Do this romantic creamy pasta recipe, starring chewy al dente pasta and an irresistible Parmesan garlic cream sauce! The best way the creamy sauce and garlic intensify the leafy greens makes it considered one of our prime vegetarian pasta recipes thus far. Cozy as much as a bowl and it’s positively life-giving. You’ll by no means love spinach extra!

Shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon, and white wine: what could possibly be higher? Sure, it’s the Italian American shrimp scampi, a traditional that’s been stealing hearts and minds for many years. This model is fairly stellar: juicy, garlicky shrimp swimming in a wealthy, tangy butter sauce. Sop it up with crusty bread, or pour it over pasta: both manner, it’s divine.

Right here’s a recipe that couldn’t be extra delectable. Strive these spinach artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms! Sure, that’s proper. It combines the deliciousness of spinach artichoke dip with the meaty, savory goodness of a baked portobello mushroom. Prime it off with crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, and also you’ll amaze everybody on the desk! It’s vegetarian however will please each sort of eater: we promise.

This cozy, flavor-packed recipe satisfies each time: Penne Pomodoro! The traditional pairing of pomodoro sauce and short-cut pasta exemplifies the simplicity of Italian delicacies: juicy tomatoes, garlic, greens and herbs simmered till they meld right into a pure, wealthy sauce.

This superb crab cake recipe makes patties which can be golden and seasoned, crispy on the surface and tender on the within. Outdated Bay, Dijon mustard and tarragon intensify the juicy lump crabmeat completely, and served with creamy tartar sauce, they’re a bit of little bit of heaven in every chunk! 

An ideal vegan dinner thought? Strive Vegan Crab Desserts (that are simply pretty much as good, in our opinion!).

Subsequent up in our listing of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: Cacio e Pepe: cheese and pepper pasta! Pasta is mega romantic, proper? This Italian cheese and pepper spaghetti couldn’t be easier; the recipe is from our pal Ashley Rodriguez’s e-book Date Evening In. Alex and I ate a killer cacio e pepe final time we had been in Rome, and we had among the best one’s of our life in NYC. It’s a very easy recipe that’s elegant in its simplicity.

Additionally attempt: Straightforward Pasta Puttanesca

If we might eat only one dinner for the remainder of our lives, this may be it: a skillet of creamy Tuscan hen! Should you’ve by no means had Tuscan hen, allow us to be the primary to let you know: this meal delivers. What’s it that makes it so outrageously good? Possibly it’s the dreamy sauce of solar dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and Parmesan. Or possibly it’s the savory taste explosion from the superbly seasoned and pan seared hen breast. 

Subsequent up in our listing of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: Pistachio Crusted Salmon! This technique for cooking fish looks like one thing you’d get at a restaurant, but it surely’s so easy to make. The aroma wafting from the oven could have you salivating earlier than the meals even reaches your plate! Every chunk of tender fish and the crunchy, Parmesan pistachio topping makes you instantly wish to take one other. 

Additionally attempt: Fast Broiled Salmon or Lemon Dill Salmon

Here is a creamy pasta excellent for Valentine’s Day dinner: Creamy Solar Dried Tomato Pasta! There’s main wow-factor to this pasta, which comes collectively in simply half-hour. Earthy, fruity sundried tomatoes lend a meaty high quality to this simple vegetarian dish, which is bathed in a Parmesan cream sauce.

If there’s one recipe that’s a positive hit in our home, it’s creamy hen skillets. And this one is an absolute household favourite: do this creamy lemon garlic hen! The hen is coated in spices and pan fried till tender and juicy, then topped with a fast pan sauce made with lemon, garlic and a bit of cream.

One among our extra elegant Valentine’s Day dinner concepts is that this Parmesan black truffle risotto! A seemingly connoisseur dish, this Parmesan truffle risotto recipe is fairly easy to place collectively, and the black truffle taste sends it out of this world. There’s a splash of white wine within the risotto, and you may drink the remainder of the bottle as you prepare dinner!

Additionally attempt: Mushroom Risotto or Butternut Squash Risotto

Scallops have a phenomenal, delicate candy taste that’s simple to like: and there’s nothing higher than that excellent seared crispy outdoors. Strive them bathed on this superb Lemon Herb Sauce. It takes a bit of know the right way to get that golden brown crust with out underneath cooking or overcooking them. However as soon as you recognize a couple of secrets and techniques…it’s very simple and takes solely 5 minutes to prepare dinner!

Additionally attempt: Scallop Pasta with Lemon & Herbs

On the lookout for a pasta recipe to impress for Valentine’s Day dinner? Strive the signature Italian dish Pasta alla Norma! This spectacular recipe hails from Sicily and like every traditional Italian dish, it’s all about elegant simplicity. Sauteed eggplant tastes savory and meaty towards a tangy tomato sauce, al dente pasta and salty ricotta salata cheese. The mix of flavors and textures is a real masterpiece!

Name us loopy, however isn’t a chic pot pie is the coziest, most romantic sounding of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts? This pot pie has turn out to be considered one of our prime fan favourite recipes, and for good purpose. The flaky crust is scented with sage, and the within is pure creamy, savory goodness with candy potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and white beans. Should you’re searching for romantic dinner, that is it.

Additionally attempt: Finest Vegan Pot Pie

This creamy vodka sauce is simmered with garlic and basil, served over rigatoni with plenty of Parmesan. The key? Simmer the sauce for 1 hour! This vodka sauce pasta is so significantly filled with taste, it’s value each second of that simmer. And what says “I like you” greater than a 1 hour simmered pasta?

Serve with: Favourite Chopped Salad or Good Italian Salad

It’s acquired bubbly cheese, garlicky tomato sauce, and savory, meaty breaded eggplant: it’s Eggplant Parmesan! This Italian traditional dish is hearty, filling, and pleases nearly everybody. Most eating places use fried eggplant, however for a do-it-yourself model it’s a lot easier to bake. This finest baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe is quicker and simpler to make at residence than most recipes and filled with unbelievable taste. 

Chilean sea bass is among the most costly fish dishes on a restaurant menu, and one chunk tells you why! The tender fillet has a succulent, buttery texture that tastes positively glamorous. Should you’re fortunate sufficient to attain your self a fillet or two, right here’s the recipe for them. Evenly season and pan fry the fillets till the outside is golden and crisp, then season with garlic, butter, lemon, and herbs. Pair it with a couple of sides and it’s a restaurant-quality Valentine’s Day dinner recipe with little effort.

There’s simply one thing about silky caramelized onions topped golden, crusty cheese that takes your breath away each time. That is traditional French cooking at its best…it’s kind of of a challenge, however value each minute of it for a chic Valentine’s Day dinner. This recipe is stuffed with wealthy, nuanced taste and all the comfortable, date evening in vibes.

Need a Valentine’s Day dinner to impress…with a bit of kick? Strive Shrimp Fra Diavolo! This Italian-style dish stars tender shrimp that swim in a garlicky, spicy tomato sauce. “Fra diavolo” interprets to “brother satan” in Italian, alluding to the extraordinary warmth of this dish. However make it do-it-yourself and you may customise the spiciness to your style! 

We love utilizing Valentine’s Day as an excuse to make a flowery paella! This gorgeous one pan dinner is made for celebrations! This conventional Spanish rice dish has 1000’s of variations. but it surely’s all the time rice with an explosion of colourful toppings. This one stars saffron-scented rice, combined colourful greens and shrimp, and it’s filled with conventional taste. Pair with crimson sangria or apple sangria.

You’ll wish to bookmark this recipe for making after Valentine’s Day too…this Creamy Shrimp Pasta! It’s extremely traditional: juicy, savory shrimp and al dente pasta swimming in a creamy sauce. As a result of we love choices, we’ve acquired two sauce concepts for you: a white wine sauce, bursting with tangy taste. Or attempt our simple cream sauce, a creamy Parmesan sauce that’s really made with no cream in any respect. Combine the parts collectively and wow! 

Ever tried making meatballs…with eggplant? We’d been listening to for years that eggplant makes nice vegetarian meatballs, we simply didn’t actually imagine it…till now. Do this superb Eggplant Meatballs recipe! Garlic, herbs, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese make one insanely juicy and savory meatball.

What’s extra Valentine’s Day applicable than scorching pink hummus? That is the right appetizer to a comfy dinner. Including a roasted beet to hummus makes it gorgeous to take a look at—and it’s tasty too. You don’t have to chop your veggies to be coronary heart formed in fact…however why not?

Cherries are excellent for Valentine’s Day dinner, and this is an important appetizer thought: cherry and goat cheese crostini! Saute tart cherries with a little bit of sage and balsamic vinegar, then spoon them over a goat cheese crostini. They seem to be a easy and scrumptious starter to pair with the primary dishes above!

Here is an ideal salad for Valentine’s Day dinner: shaved Brussels sprout salad!  This one is a examine in texture contrasts: the feathery shaved Brussels, the pop of the Pomegranate seeds, and the intense crunch of the apple. It’s vibrant and colourful, coated in a flippantly candy French dressing.

Here is a straightforward salad to make any Valentine’s Day dinner recipe right into a meal. It’s fairly presumably the best salad you’ll make. You don’t even need to make a salad dressing! In 5 to 10 minutes, you’ve acquired a chic salad that goes with actually every part.

One other nice Valentine’s Day dinner facet dish: pomegranate salad! Crunchy pomegranate seeds make a phenomenal confetti excessive of leafy greens. Add tart inexperienced apple slices, toasted pecans, and goat cheese or feta crumbles, and it’s a real symphony of taste! Decide from a couple of totally different dressing decisions: our favorites are apple cider vinegar dressing or pomegranate French dressing. 

Beets are excellent for Valentine’s Day dinner with their brilliant pink colour. Strive them on this Beet Salad recipe! Make it with roasted beets and even pre-cooked from the shop: and man is it good. It has all the proper parts: child greens, creamy goat cheese and a tangy balsamic beet dressing. 

Right here’s a phenomenal facet dish for Valentine’s Day dinner: this gorgeous apple salad! If we might eat one salad for the remainder of time, this one is it. Crisp tart apple slices pair with pops of pomegranate seeds, creamy goat cheese, and crunchy, cinnamon spiced pecans. Toss them throughout recent greens with a zingy maple and apple cider vinegar dressing, and it’s really salad perfection.

Right here’s a brilliant, stunning salad recipe that works in virtually any season: this refreshing Grapefruit Salad! It pairs the juicy citrus fruit with nutty toasted almonds, salty feta cheese and a zingy poppy seed dressing. Give it a style and the fragile, zingy, nut and creamy textures and flavors complement one another completely!

Here is a chic salad for Valentine’s Day dinner: do this Endive Salad: equal components refreshing, tangy, bitter, crunchy, and tangy! Bitter endive pairs completely with juicy orange and a candy tart crimson wine French dressing. Prime it off with savory Parmesan shavings and crunchy almonds, and the contrasts are divine. Every chunk is crunchy, candy, savory and citrusy.

In terms of fast and stylish facet dishes, this one may be tops: sauteed broccolini! The elegantly lengthy stems of this inexperienced veggie make it look fancy, however right here’s a secret. You’ll be able to prepare dinner it up in simply 5 minutes in a scorching skillet. Add a little bit of garlic and lemon, and also you received’t be capable of cease consuming these irresistibly massive spears.

Additionally attempt: Easy Roasted Broccolini

Right here’s a easy solution to costume up recent inexperienced beans as a connoisseur facet: Inexperienced Beans Almondine! Make it at residence, and this dish is sensible! The beans are brilliant inexperienced and completely tender, sautéed in butter with garlic and toasted almonds and completed with a bit of lemon zest. After one chunk, you will be singing its praises.

These Brussels sprouts are a implausible Valentine’s Day facet dish…they usually actually are subsequent stage! They’re impossibly crispy, baked till they’re caramelized and the surface layers flake off into darkened crunchy chips. Then they’re draped in a tangy maple balsamic glaze that heightens the flavors to their peak. One chunk of those, and everybody across the desk shall be asking how you probably did it.

After all, we have to have some romantic Valentine’s Day cocktails to go along with the dinner concepts, proper? Do this candy tart crimson cocktail: the Raspberry Martini! This drink is gorgeous and filled with brilliant berry taste: from first sip, you’ll be offered! The candy tart, flippantly floral taste of raspberry is superbly pure, because of do-it-yourself raspberry syrup. 

Additionally attempt: Pomegranate Martini, French Martini or different Purple Cocktails

Here is a superbly brilliant sensible pink Valentine’s Day drink: sure, it’s a Cosmo! A Cosmopolitan cocktail, to be precise. This traditional cocktail is prepared to boost your subsequent gathering, be it a cocktail party or drinks on the patio with pals. It was at its top within the 1990’s (hi there, Intercourse and the Metropolis), however the Cosmo is a legit bitter cocktail that’s value ingesting.

Additionally attempt: 10 Good Pink Cocktails

The chocolate martini is wealthy and creamy, mainly a dessert in a glass! It’s acquired Irish cream and creme de cacao for max taste, just like the liquid model of your favourite chocolate bar. Combine this up for particular events like Valentine’s Day or a romantic dinner…or simply anytime you want a candy deal with in cocktail type.

Additionally attempt: Traditional Mudslide

Right here’s some of the refined and refreshing cocktails on the market…and it is excellent for Valentine’s Day dinner. Strive the French 75! It’s acquired a mysterious title, but it surely’s made with a couple of easy components. It’s tangy, bubbly, and a bit botanical, and it makes each dinner extra festive!

One other enjoyable Valentine’s Day dinner drink: the Pomegranate Gin Fizz! The Gin Fizz is considered one of our favourite traditional cocktails: candy tart and refreshing, with a festive egg white foam. Take it excessive with this pomegranate spin: it elevates the candy tart taste and offers the drink an excellent jewel-toned colour! 

On the lookout for a decadent Valentine’s Day dinner deal with? Do this chocolate mousse recipe: wealthy, easy, and surprisingly simple to whip up at residence! Here is the right way to make a killer easy, creamy, wealthy chocolate mousse.

Right here’s an iconic Valentine’s Day dessert that’s the pure definition of decadence: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake! It will get its title from its liquid “lava” middle, which flows like a volcano if you dig into it with a fork. Are you a chocolate lover licks the batter off spatulas when baking? (Responsible.) You then’ll be head over heels for this one. Seems, it’s not as tough as you assume!

The most effective dessert for in our Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: mug cake! This genius technique for going from 0 to cake in only a few minutes is totally value a attempt. This chocolate mug cake recipe comes out insanely fudgy and 100% scrumptious! It’s acquired a secret ingredient that makes a delightfully wealthy taste. The toughest half? Ready for it to chill till you possibly can dig in.

How about pulling some heat chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven for Valentine’s Day dinner? Outrageously good is the one solution to describe these cookies! They’re chewy with crispy edges, candy with simply the proper nutty intrigue within the taste, and studded with darkish chocolate chips and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. (They could be vegan, however they’re our favourite cookies and we promise you possibly can’t inform the distinction!)

What’s higher than ending a Valentine’s Day dinner with flourless chocolate cake? Wealthy and fudgy, dense and darkish chocolaty, it’s a chocolate lover’s dream. Prime it with this simple raspberry compote for a candy tart pairing that cuts the sweetness of the cake completely.

Everybody loves a great chocolate cookie. However right here’s one thing we predict is even higher: these tender, gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! They’ve acquired an irresistibly chewy texture, that includes an expensive dough with a great deal of darkish chocolate chips. A little bit of oatmeal offers it a nostalgic heartiness, and the perimeters get completely golden.

Cherries seem to be Valentine’s Day meals to us, most likely due to the colour. So do this cherry crisp with candy tart, juicy crimson fruit coated in cinnamon-spiced butter crumbles. We additionally like so as to add a touch of floor cardamom for some intrigue!

Final up: considered one of our very favourite methods to finish a Valentine’s Day dinner bananas foster! Should you like enjoying with fireplace, this one’s for you. Our recipe is simple with directions on the right way to flambé and get that dramatic flame! It tastes really unbelievable. Seize two spoons on your skillet and dig in!