Valentine's Day

Our 76 Most Romantic Dinner Recipes for Date Night

Kristin Appenbrink

updated Feb 9, 2024

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Credit: Joe Lingeman

During Valentine’s Day, there’s no better way to show appreciation for your loved one – whether that’s your spouse, significant other, best friend, or even (especially) yourself – than to spend quality time with them over a special at-home dinner. You don’t have to spend all day to cook a romantic dinner. It’s possible to keep it simple and uncomplicated, but still opt for something outside your regular meal rotation that feels a bit more indulgent and luxurious.

Steak is a classic, but you also can’t go wrong with a bowl of heartwarming pasta, roast chicken, and a crisp salad. Whatever you choose, just don’t forget dessert. Here are 76 romantic dinner ideas to inspire your Valentine’s Day menu.

In This Article

Romantic Appetizer Recipes
Romantic Steak Dinner Recipes
Romantic Seafood Dinner Recipes
Romantic Chicken Dinner Recipes
Romantic Vegetarian Dinner Recipes
Romantic Dessert Recipes

Romantic Appetizer Recipes

1 / 10

Classic Cheese Fondue

Making the ultimate cheese fondue from scratch is easier than you might think. Serve this perfect cold weather meal with bread cubes, apple slices, cornichon pickles, and pickled onions.

2 / 10

Shrimp Cocktail

Make a classic shrimp cocktail with perfectly poached shrimp and zingy cocktail sauce.

3 / 10

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

An irresistible combination of salty, crispy bacon with sugar-sweet dates and creamy cheese.

4 / 10

Charcuterie Board

A step-by-step guide to shopping and putting together the ultimate charcuterie board.

5 / 10

Extra-Crispy Eggplant Crostini

This crispy fried eggplant recipe rethinks the concept of crostini. Slices of panko-crusted eggplant are fried in a cast iron skillet and showered with tasty toppings.

6 / 10

Argentinean-Inspired Provoleta

Soft, melty grilled cheese topped with herbaceous chimicurri sauce is a staple appetizer in Argentinean cuisine.

7 / 10

Butternut Squash Fritters with Garlicky Yogurt

These fritters make the case that there are few things that the mighty butternut squash can’t do.

8 / 10

Togarashi Deviled Eggs

Thanks to extra-rich Kewpie mayonnaise and togarashi, a Japanese chili pepper-based spice blend, these deviled eggs are a cut above your average garden variety.

9 / 10

Oysters Rockefeller

If you love shellfish, try this no-fuss oysters Rockefeller recipe.

10 / 10

Mozzarella-Stuffed Peppadew Peppers

A 3-ingredient fast and fancy appetizer with colorful peppers and milky mozzarella cheese.

Romantic Steak Dinner Recipes

1 / 10

Steak au Poivre

Peppercorn-crusted steak served with Cognac-cream sauce is the ultimate fancy French meal to make at home.

2 / 10

Garlic Butter Steak and Potatoes

Crispy potatoes and tender steak are seared in a cast-iron skillet and finished with a garlic-herb butter.

3 / 10

Steak in Red Wine Sauce

Rosy slices of tender steak served with a drizzle of buttery, herby red wine sauce.

4 / 10

This steak dish is prepared by marinating and then broiling flank or top round.

5 / 10

Coffee-Rubbed Steak

Ground coffee, brown sugar, and coriander combine to make a robust steak seasoning blend.

6 / 10

Individual Beef Wellingtons

Single servings of the traditional English meat dish starring tender filet mignon perched on prosciutto and mushrooms, all bundled up in buttery, golden brown puff pastry.

7 / 10

20-Minute Steak Salad with Chile, Garlic, and Herbs

This easy steak salad gets an umami hit from fish sauce, sherry vinegar, and lime juice tossed through a mix of crunchy veg, and is finished with fresh herbs.

8 / 10

Sheet Pan Steak Frites

Steak frites, the French version of meat and potatoes found often on the menu at brasseries throughout Europe. In this home-friendly rendition, we’re making steak frites in under 40 minutes, in one sheet pan.

9 / 10

Easy Balsamic Glazed Steak Tips and Mushrooms

Beefy steak tips are marinated, seared, and served with mushrooms sautéed in balsamic vinegar.

10 / 10

Warm Fajita Steak Salad

This fajita salad features cumin-rubbed flank steak along with charred peppers and onions over a bed of crunchy, chopped romaine and red cabbage.

Romantic Seafood Dinner Recipes

You definitely can’t go wrong with a special seafood spread on the table.

1 / 16

Lobster Ravioli

Forget the dinner reservations and make this restaurant-quality lobster ravioli at home instead.

2 / 16

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

This is a dish for easy, fancy shrimp at its very best — over pasta!

3 / 16

Baked Lobster Tail

Baking lobster tails in the oven is a smart and easy way to cook them without any fuss or mess.

4 / 16

Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

A seafood stew of briny abundance, Cioppino is a large bowl filled with a wide assortment of seafood swimming in hot broth, ideally shared among a crowd of people who love seafood.

5 / 16

Garlicky White Wine Spaghetti with Mussels and Clams

This dish boasts garlicky, buttery spaghetti and easy-to-cook clams and mussels. It looks intimidating and tastes luxurious, but absolutely anyone can pull it off.

6 / 16

Lobster Risotto

A classic stovetop method for a creamy, rich, and decadent lobster risotto.

7 / 16

Crab-Stuffed Salmon

This restaurant-worthy dish takes under 40 minutes to put together.

8 / 16

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Three cheeses and tender lobster make this the most decadent mac and cheese recipe.

9 / 16

Classic crab cakes are the absolute best for Valentine's day dinner.

10 / 16

Clams with ‘Nduja, Corn and Fennel

Fennel pieces add a fresh crunch to balance all the deep savory flavors in this marvelously lovely clam dish.

11 / 16

Parmesan Risotto with Roasted Shrimp

Stirred meditatively, cooked slowly, with a glass of wine in one hand and the music turned up, this risotto is as enjoyable to make as it is to eat.

12 / 16

This creamy seafood chowder is full of tender lumps of crab.

13 / 16

Nobu's Miso-Marinated Black Cod

This cod recipe makes a very light yet filling meal that is elegant and looks like it took a lot of work, but it really doesn’t. The miso marinade adds a sweetness to the silky and buttery black cod.

14 / 16

Classic Steamed Mussels

Whether we're talking about a dinner party or a quick weeknight meal, it doesn't get much better than a giant bowl of steamed mussels.

15 / 16

Artichoke Risotto with Seared Scallops

This recipe is the perfect blueprint for switching up the ingredients. Try swapping the artichokes with peas or the scallops with seared shrimp.

16 / 16

Grilled Lobster Tail with Garlic Butter

Tender, sweet lobster tail is grilled to perfection and finished with a herby garlic butter.

Romantic Chicken Dinner Recipes

Sure chicken is a weeknight staple, but there’s also quick a few ways to jazz it up for a special dinner.

1 / 12

Marry Me Chicken

This one-pan dinner has it all: tender chicken, a sun-dried tomato cream sauce, and a 30-minute cook time.

2 / 12

Weeknight Coq au Vin

This version of Coq au Vin takes a whole lot of the legwork out of the equation and transforms it into a weeknight dinner that couldn’t be easier to pull off

3 / 12

Lemon Garlic Chicken

An easy weeknight-friendly recipe for chicken breasts cooked in a creamy lemon garlic sauce.

4 / 12

One-Skillet Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Crispy chicken thighs and tender potatoes join forces in this lemony, oregano-rich skillet dinner.

5 / 12

The creamy sauce makes this chicken totally irresistible.

6 / 12

Skillet Creamy French Mustard Chicken

A mix of shallots, white wine, and two kinds of mustard turn basic chicken thighs into a French-inspired dinner that's easy enough to pull off any night of the week and feels fancy.

7 / 12

Chicken Piccata

Thanks to a short ingredient list and 20-minute total cook time, it's easy to make this Italian-American classic at home.

8 / 12

30-Minute Chicken Francese

Dredged in flour and egg, then seared and swimming in a savory-tart lemon butter sauce, this chicken francese comes together in 30 minutes.

9 / 12

Zuni Roast Chicken

There may be a million ways to roast a chicken, but there is one in particular that truly stands head and shoulders above the rest: the Zuni chicken.

10 / 12

Chicken Vesuvio

Braised chicken and bursting-with-flavor potatoes are the stars of this impossibly easy and delicious recipe.

11 / 12

One-Pan Miso Butter Chicken and Cabbage

What it lacks in dirty dishes, this chicken and cabbage dinner makes up for with its overload of umami.

12 / 12

Crispy Lemon Chicken with Potatoes, Oregano, and Capers

In this trouble-free sheet pan dinner, potatoes get a head start in the oven while chicken drumsticks and thighs marinate, absorbing the flavors of lemon zest, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes.

Romantic Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

These are some of the most impressive plant-based meals we know.

1 / 14

Butternut Squash Risotto

This easy, weeknight-friendly risotto is filled with tender butternut squash and flavored with fresh sage.

2 / 14

Creamy Calabrian Chili Pasta

A big spoonful of Calabrian chili paste gives quick and creamy pantry pasta a spicy kick.

3 / 14

Mushroom Parmesan

Stuffed mushrooms meet vegetable Parm in this comforting dinner.

4 / 14

Creamy Miso Butter Pasta

A mix of butter, miso paste, pasta water, and Parm makes this pasta super flavorful.

5 / 14

Skillet Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter Mushrooms

Skip the boiling and pan-fry gnocchi instead for an even more streamlined, and arguably more tasty, dinner.

6 / 14

Ravioli with Artichokes and Garlic Breadcrumbs

Break apart stuffed artichokes into their primary elements — garlic breadcrumbs, artichokes, herbs, and lemon — toss them with ravioli, and you get the perfect weeknight dinner.

7 / 14

Caramelized Tomato Paste Pasta

The big flavor of this delectable dinner comes from just a whole can of tomato paste.

8 / 14

Stuffed Eggplant Parm

Everything you love about classic eggplant Parm, stuffed into a hollowed-out eggplant shell and topped with melted mozzarella.

9 / 14

Salt and Vinegar Potato Soup

This vegan and budget-friendly dinner soup pulls inspiration from a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. If you and your partner love crunchy bits on top of soup, don't worry this recipe comes garnished with a crispy potato skin topping.

10 / 14

French Onion Galette

This rustic savory pie features an easy homemade crust and is filled to the brim with deeply caramelized onions and melty Gruyère cheese.

11 / 14

Harissa Olive Oil-Braised Chickpeas and Fennel

This simple recipe transforms a couple of cans of chickpeas into a warm, saucy, and flavor-packed dinner.

12 / 14

Garlicky Mushroom Bolognese

It’s everything you love about a classic, slow-cooked Bolognese — without the meat (and in a little less time, too).

13 / 14

Tuscan Bread & Tomato Soup (Ribollita Soup)

If cozy comfort food is the way to your heart, consider this hearty meal a must.

14 / 14

One-Pot Eggplant Caponata Pasta

All the tangy, sweet, and savory elements of the classic Sicilian eggplant dish of tomatoes, olives, capers, and more come together in this flavor-packed one-pot pasta.

Romantic Dessert Recipes

1 / 14

Chocolate Fondue

A step-by-step guide to making smooth chocolate fondue with all your favorite dippers.

2 / 14

Easy Chocolate Mousse

This two-ingredient version of this classic dessert might be the only dessert recipe you need for the rest of your life.

3 / 14

Impossibly Creamy Lemon Mousse

This easy, no-bake dessert comes together in just 20 minutes.

4 / 14

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

A bowl of chocolate mousse is a decadent treat, but a double-layered chocolate mousse cake with a cookie crust is next level.

5 / 14

Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

Whether you eat this deep dish skillet cookie when it's warm and straight from the oven or let it cool and eat it by the slice, there's no wrong approach.

6 / 14

Raspberry Cheesecake

With a simple 3-ingredient topping, this dreamy raspberry cheesecake is the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

7 / 14

Chocolate Cream Pie

A silky-smooth chocolate cream pie made with an Oreo crust and topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

8 / 14

Biscoff Cookie Tiramisu

This twist on the classic pairs the iconic spiced cookies with an orange-laced mascarpone cream.

9 / 14

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

This decadent chocolate cheesecake is a showstopper and surprisingly straightforward.

10 / 14

Strawberry Cheesecake

This classic springtime dessert is sure to win over hearts at the dessert table.

11 / 14

Brown Butter Skillet Brownie

Add brown butter to the batter, bake in a skillet, and all of a sudden, you've got a swoon-worthy dessert fit for a celebration.

12 / 14

Classic Tiramisu

Learn how to make classic zabaglione without marsala wine for the best tiramisu at home.

13 / 14

Skillet Texas Sheet Cake

Make Texas sheet cake in a skillet with a rich, chocolatey cake, roasted pecans, and fudgy frosting.

14 / 14

With its rich molten center, this incredibly decadent cake is for all the chocolate-lovers out there.

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