Dinner for two: 22 recipes for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is about spending time with the person who holds your heart, and few foods are as heart-healthy as salmon. This oven-baked herb-crusted salmon recipe from Tasty includes a helpful video, as well as bonus recipes for garlic smashed potatoes and a chocolate peanut butter skillet brownie.

No one is certain if the Duke of Wellington was the inventor of Beef Wellington or just the namesake, which is unfortunate, because we wish we knew who to credit for the idea of putting steak inside a puff pastry. However, we do know who we can credit for making a fantastic Beef Wellington recipe for two, and that’s Joanie Simon.

If you and your love are sharing a bottle of wine on Valentine’s Day, why not share a meal with some wine in it, too? Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American classic that features chicken that’s coated in flour and sauteed with Marsala wine, mushroom, onion, garlic, and a few other items that Mr. Food can tell you all about.

Another Italian dish? Yep, but this one is classic comfort food, too. Melty cheese atop hearty tomato sauce atop oven-baked, breaded chicken is hard for anyone to resist. This version from Fox and Briar serves four, but can easily be halved for date night.

This popular Indian dish features chunks of chicken covered in a creamy curry sauce. If you’ve never made it before (or even if you have), try this four-serving recipe from This Healthy Table, which can be made in a single pot. Serve it with a side of white rice, and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Crab cakes are sort of fun to make, so this recipe from Insanely Good Recipes could be an entertaining couples activity. (Don’t worry, it’s only seven ingredients and super easy!) It serves four, so feel free to make it your main course.

If you’re a couple that eschews fancy things and just like to kick back, try this fish tacos for two recipes from Taste.com.au. It features corn, avocado, and fried whitefish, and is the perfect meal if you’re spending the winter somewhere cold and want to feel some warm-weather vibes.

Gruyere and fontina cheeses are melted together with white wine into the perfect meal and activity for Valentine’s Day. Martha Stewart can show you how to make it, and she suggests sourdough, potatoes, fennel, apple, breadsticks, and dry salami for dipping. 

French onion soup is a favorite pastime when the weather is frigid, and so is cozying close to a loved one. You can do both with this French onion soup recipe for two, courtesy of From a Chef’s Kitchen.

Salads don’t have to be mostly lettuce. A simple Greek salad includes romaine lettuce, but also tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, red onion, and feta cheese. This recipe from Food.com also features a homemade dressing.

If breakfast-for-dinner is more your style—or maybe you had your first date at a diner—try this diner-style ham and cheese omelet from Serious Eats. It calls for eggs, ham, cheddar, chives, butter, and pepper, but feel free to throw in some of your favorite ingredients.

One of the advantages of twice-baked potatoes is that each person can customize the toppings—cheese, bacon, sour cream, green onion, and more—to their liking. One of the advantages of this recipe from A Flavor Journal is that it’s made just for two.

The flavors of pine nuts and mushrooms bring extra life to cheese-filled ravioli—or whatever type you prefer—in this recipe from Zona Cooks. Covered in a creamy parmesan and basil sauce, this dinner can be ready to serve in just 35 minutes.

A super simple side dish that packs a ton of flavor, this parmesan asparagus recipe from 101 Cooking for Two can be baked in your oven in just 15 minutes. Be sure to toggle down the serving size from four to two, and check out the additional helpful hints.

If you like making pizza, you probably like sharing it with someone you love. If you’ve never made pizza before, try doing it with someone you love! This version from Tasty uses only two ingredients for the dough, and you’ll have enough left over for a midnight snack.

If a hot bowl of ramen and some spontaneity is the definition of a hot date for you and yours, try this pork belly ramen recipe from Sprinkles and Sea Salt. Not only is it hot and steamy, but it can be whipped up in a hurry using your instant pot.

We only include one dessert here, and it’s an entire red velvet cake from scratch? That’s right because we know you’ll do anything for your valentine. This recipe from Live Well Bake Often will give you everything you need to bake this cake and make the cream cheese frosting, with the latter being especially easy to whip up!

Shrimp scampi is served in a garlic butter white wine sauce, and we like all those words. Hopefully, your date does, too, so you can serve this shrimp scampi recipe from Fork in the Kitchen—over a bed of linguini—on Valentine’s Day.

A fun spin on a romantic dinner (“Lady & the Tramp” moment optional), skillet spaghetti is also a simple dish because you can make it all in a single cast iron pan. Food Wine & Love has the recipe.

Our go-to romantic meal is a classic surf and turf with filet mignon and grilled shrimp. It’s sure to impress both your date and your stomach, and AllRecipes can show you how to pull it off.

If you don’t already have one, a sushi-making kit makes a great gift for your significant other. Then you can prepare the sushi together as a date-night activity! This recipe from Peas and Crayons is full of tips, tricks, and creative suggestions to get you on a roll when rolling homemade rolls.

Okay fine, one more dessert, and it’s a fancy one: tiramisu. This Italian dessert sounds, looks, and can be complicated, but Tastes Better From Scratch managed to make a manageable no-bake version that’s highly rated and only takes about 10 minutes.