Create an easy and romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner at home! From what to serve to a charming table setting. We’re sharing all the details!
My husband and I love going out for a romantic dinner. There is nothing we love more than a quiet evening at a hip restaurant, chatting over delicious cocktails and food. BUT we never go out on Valentine’s Day!
Personally I think it’s the worst day to go out to dinner as it’s normally overpriced fixed menus and crowded. Valentine’s Day is actually a great day to make a delicious, romantic Valentine’s Day dinner at home!
Below I’m sharing some easy Valentine’s Day dinner recipes and a very charming table setting for a charming Valentine’s Day dinner!
What Should I Make for Valentine’s Day Dinner?
For a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, you want it to be different than the casual dinners you make during the weekday, but nothing too complicated and hard.
Making a creamy parmesan risotto, scallops and our very easy arugula salad is the perfect easy Valentine’s Day dinner. It’s elegant, but also very achievable to make, even if you’re new to cooking.
Making scallops seems intimidating but they are simple! We followed this recipe from Bon Appetit on cooking brown butter sea scallops.
They’re cooked over a cast iron pan with some butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and go very well plated with the risotto. If you don’t have a cast-iron pan, I suggest buying one.
Not only will you have it for the rest of your life, but they’re also very affordable and we use ours all the time. Even for cakes!
The risotto is one pot and the easiest risotto you’ll ever make! Serve it with a bottle of rose and you have a very easy Valentine’s Day meal! Also, see our tips for serving wine!
More Valentine’s Day Dinner Ideas
Sausage and Pepper Sheet Pan Meal
The Most Delicious Turkey Meatball Recipe
One Pan Basil and Tomato Pasta
Simple Green Salad that Goes with Everything!
Classic Wedge Salad with THE BEST DRESSING EVER!!
The yummiest carbonara recipe!
Valentine’s Day Table Setting
For the table setting, we purchased some pink glasses from World Market and brought out our gold flatware! The paper heart plates add charm and are perfect for serving dessert.
If you need help setting the table, here’s a guide to setting a charming table!
I couldn’t resist adding these charming Valentine’s Day tokens to the table setting. They’re such a fun Valentine’s Day gift idea! We also have some silly ones you can download and print for free!
Valentine’s Day Flowers
I had my friend Erin make a pretty Valentine’s Day floral arrangement in this very affordable pink vase. Flowers always add instant decor! Make your own arrangements or order them from a local florist. Every Valentine’s Day table must have flowers!
Here are some tips for arranging your own flowers.
Valentine’s Day Dessert
My favorite part of the meal is dessert! Try our decadent chocolate soufflé for two! Here more delicious Valentine’s Day dessert options:
- Mini Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies
- The Most Delicious Peach Castiron Cake
- Coconut Cream Pie with Shortbread Cookie Crust
- The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
- Classic Brownies with Bourbon
- Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
Valentine’s Day Cocktails
If you also want to serve a cocktail, try this beautiful rose water and gin cocktail! It’s very romantic with a homemade rose simple syrup!
Here are 14 of the most romantic and beautiful cocktails for Valentine’s Day!
You can also make special pink ice cubes to garnish your cocktail with!
Here are more romantic suggestions too:
- Homemade Limoncello
- Refreshing Fig Sidecar
- Pretty Pink Gin Cranberry Martini
- Lavender Apple Vodka Cocktail
- Strawberry Frozé!
- Paloma Cocktail
- Easy Hibiscus Gin Sour
- Sicilian Kiss Cocktail
I hope this inspired you all to cook a lovely meal for you, your partner or your friends! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Eden – you are a gem! I will try this on the weekend.
The only question I have is that I have heard that flaxoil is not stable at high temperatures – so not sure if this will impact the safely of a cast iron pan??? Have you heard of this before? There is discussion now around vegetable (and seed) oils not being good for you when heated to high temps – but I assume that not much of this would actually come off the pan, right??? Any info you have would be great. And THANK YOU! I love your blog. 🙂
Hi Eden,
I noticed you used a cast iron pan for this dish – can you please do a post on what you do regarding seasoning and taking care of your cast iron pan? I have one but haven’t used it yet as as I have had some conflicting info on how to do this… and I am too scared to try!
Hi! I totally hear you, the seasoning part is a little daunting! But once you do it once, you really only need to like once a year… to be honest I actually think it’s been two years since I seasoned it! We wrote a post about it. You only need to give it a once through. The biggest thing is to use flaxoil (not vegetable oil) when you season it. To maintain it after use, I just scrub it with a little water, pat it dry and add a dash of oil. I use it ALL the time!! https://sugarandcharm.com/how-to-season-a-cast-iron-skillet.html