Easy Date Night Recipes

posted by Carla on Jan 30, 2017 (updated Feb 7, 2024) 5 comments »

Looking for date night dinner recipes? This menu for Easy Date Night Recipes is filled with romantic dinner ideas for two at home including dinner and dessert. Serve it for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, and days off together.

One feedback I hear often is how much you enjoy my small batch recipes. Dinners for two, 6 inch cake recipes, a pint of ice cream.

Not everyone, including myself, cooks for a huge family.

That brings us to that one special day in February where everyone thinks about a romantic dinner for two. Couples around the U.S. will be thinking about flowers, chocolate, and dinner reservations.

However, restaurants take advantage of this by offering an exclusive (read – expensive) romantic dinner menu or reservations are full.

Plus who really wants to spend a date together in a crowded room of strangers?

The point of going on a date is to connect, whether you’re getting to know each other or whether you’ve been so busy you haven’t had a chance to catch up.

The best way to do that is at home in your own kitchen where not only can you hear each other and share secrets, but you can cook the menu together to make memories.

If you’re asking yourself, “What should I cook for a dinner date?”, you’ve come to the correct place!

Today I’m posting a progressive dinner series called Easy Date Night Recipes where I’m providing you with a menu for a romantic meal at home.

It starts with an appetizer, moves into the main course, then ends with dessert.

Although I’m providing a specific menu shown in the photos, I’m also listing my other recipes for two so you can mix and match your menu. It’s like one of those create your own adventure books!

Even though this post is intended for Valentine’s Day, really it’s for any date night throughout the year. Anniversary? Check. Birthday? Check. Both have the evening off together? Check.

And for my single readers out there, you can easily make this menu for yourself.

Treat yourself with a dozen clams, pizza makes great leftovers, and you can easily freeze the second mini tart. Your future self will thank you.

Easy Date Night Recipes for Valentine's Day

The menu for easy date night recipes you see pictured above is made up of 5 categories:

Drinks

Above I served white wine poured straight from the bottle.

Did you know wine companies now make 4-packs of wine in tiny bottles? Each little bottle serves about 1-2 glasses.

I love it because I hate opening a regular bottle if I don’t plan on finishing it, especially if a recipe calls for a small amount for cooking.

Not a wine drinker? Serve a sparkling non-alcoholic drink, such as grape or apple juice.

Appetizer

Start the meal off with a simple appetizer of Steamed Clams with Pan-Roasted Tomatoes.

Seafood always makes a meal feel more special, and steamed clams is one of the easiest appetizers you can make. Throw everything in a pan and cook.

Not a seafood fan? You can make General Tso’s Chicken Baked Wontons or Pimento Goat Cheese Spread served on crostini.

You can also set up a Charcuterie Board For Two for snacking while dinner cooks.

Looking for a filling side salad? Make this Really Good Freekeh Salad with arugula, tomatoes, goat cheese, and pickled red onion. Serve it warm or cold for a hearty grain salad.

Side Dishes

I made a simple side salad to get some vegetables into the meal.

Choose a mild-tasting green such as spinach, stir in some more vegetables, and toss it with a simple vinaigrette, which is 1 part vinegar mixed with 3 parts oil.

The easy dressing I made was 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and sea salt to taste. It should be a little on the salty side because it will also be seasoning the salad.

If you don’t have balsamic, you use most other vinegars such as red wine or apple cider (except white distilled. Don’t use that).

Looking for other ways to eat your vegetables? Make some Green Beans with Almonds and Olives or Really Good Freekeh Salad.

Turn pizza night at home into a special date night dinner with Shrimp Scampi Skillet Pizza For Two with a white wine garlic butter sauce and homemade pizza dough. Ideal for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, and days off together.

Main Dish

To keep with the seafood theme, I elevated pizza night at home with Shrimp Scampi Skillet Pizza For Two.

You don’t need to get all gourmet with things like steak tartare or shrimp ceviche during date night. A pizza dressed up in flavor does the trick!

Plus the cast iron skillet (affiliate link) bumps up the presentation.

But if you don’t eat seafood or pizza isn’t romantic enough, you can make Caprese Steak Dinner For Two or Cornish Hen With Homemade Classic Stuffing.

You can also go Lady and the Tramp style with Carbonara For Two or Prosciutto Pasta.

End your date night dinner for two on a sweet note with No Bake Mini Peanut Butter Mousse Tarts made with a chocolate cookie crust, eggless peanut butter mousse, and chocolate drizzle on top.

Dessert

The best part of the meal in my opinion! These Mini Peanut Butter Mousse Tarts For Two take the best part of Valentine’s Day (chocolate) and makes it even better by pairing it with peanut butter.

I love dessert so much, I wrote a post about Romantic Desserts For Two.

Some of my favorite recipes to end date night are Brownies For Two, Mini Lava Cakes, and Cheesecake For Two.

You can also check out my other ramekin dessert recipes.

In the mood for cake? Make my small 6 inch cake recipes for two.