Valentine’s Day Recipes: 40+ Ideas for Dinner, Dessert, and Drinks

From indulgent main meals to decadent desserts, here are over 40 of my favorite Valentine’s Day recipes!

When Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’m just as happy in my own kitchen as I’d ever be in a crowded restaurant. I like to cook something a little special, light a few candles, and let everybody eat in their stretchy pants.

Over the years we’ve had heart-shaped meatloaf, cinnamon love knots, and more pans of chocolate cobbler than I could ever count. Some years it is just me and my sweetheart, and some years the kids help decorate cookies and we call it a family date night.

This little collection pulls together Valentine’s Day recipes for just about every mood. There are cozy pasta dinners, slow cooker meals that simmer all day, homemade pizzas the kids can help top, and plenty of chocolate and strawberry desserts to finish things off right. You can mix and match to build your own menu, keep it simple, or go big and make a whole spread!

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Steak Kabobs and Rice Pilaf

I made steak kabobs in the oven and rice pilaf this Valentine’s Day and my family loved every bite. The beef kabobs are so easy to make with any veggies you have on hand and the marinade ensures the meat is tenderized to perfection. Rice pilaf is the perfect side dish.

Baked Feta and Tomato Pasta

Pasta is a lot of people’s love language (right there with ya), so why not try this baked feta and tomato pasta? It blew up on TikTok and there’s a reason why. It’s so easy to make with simple ingredients but the taste is out of this world.

Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

Slow cooker pasta fagioli is a hearty, Italian-inspired soup loaded with beans, pasta, and ground beef in a rich tomato broth. You throw everything in the slow cooker and let it simmer away until the flavors come together. Serve it with crusty bread and a salad and you have a cozy Valentine’s dinner that feels like a hug in a bowl!

Pesto Chicken Pasta

This pesto chicken pasta is a nice option when you want something a little lighter but still full of flavor. Tender chicken, pesto, and pasta come together for a simple skillet meal that feels special enough for Valentine’s Day.

Slow Cooker Angel Chicken

Slow cooker angel chicken has tender chicken breasts simmered in a creamy, flavorful sauce that you serve over angel hair pasta. It cooks while you go about your day, which makes it a good pick if Valentine’s falls on a busy weekday.

Crock Pot Beef Ribs (Tender and Delicious)

These are melt-in-your-mouth tender, cooked low and slow in a cozy, flavorful sauce while you go about your day. They’re perfect for Valentine’s Day when you want a laid-back, feel-good “date night in” dinner that still feels a little extra special!

Slow Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven

This slow roasted beef brisket bakes low and slow in the oven until it is fork-tender and full of flavor. It is a great centerpiece for a Valentine’s Day meal if your people love hearty, beefy dinners.

Cowboy Pizza

Cowboy pizza piles barbecue sauce, cheese, and hearty toppings onto a crust for a fun, filling pizza night. It has that smoky BBQ flavor kids and grown-ups both love. It is an easy way to make Valentine’s dinner feel a little like a party.

BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza

BBQ chicken French bread pizza starts with a loaf of French bread, so you skip making dough and go straight to the good part. Load it up with barbecue chicken, cheese, and your favorite toppings, then bake until it is melty and crisp on the edges. It is a great option when you want something fun and shareable for Valentine’s movie night.

Taco Pizza

Taco pizza brings together two family favorites in one pan. Seasoned meat, cheese, and your favorite taco toppings all baked on a crust make for a fun, kid-approved Valentine’s dinner.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

This barbecue chicken pizza gives you all the flavor of a BBQ chicken dinner on top of a crisp, cheesy crust. You start with cooked chicken, toss it in your favorite barbecue sauce, pile it onto dough with plenty of cheese, and bake until bubbly. It is a fun change from plain pepperoni and feels like a treat without making you work too hard.

Marry Me Chicken

If you want to drop a hint this Valentine’s Day, you need to make Marry Me Chicken. It got its name because it’s SO good and SO delicious that when you serve it to your partner, they’ll be so in love with the dish and you that they’ll propose! The tender chicken breasts are baked in an unbelievable sauce flavored with seasonings, sundried tomatoes, chicken broth, cream, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. 

French Onion Soup

The French know romance, so take a leaf out of their book with this French onion soup recipe. It’s a shortcut version that results in restaurant-style soup your significant other will adore.

Valentine’s Day Desserts

Valentine’s Day Brownies With Frosting

These are rich, fudgy, and made with simple pantry ingredients so you can whip them up anytime a chocolate craving hits. They bake up with that perfect crackly top and dense, gooey center, and are so fun to cut into hearts or squares for sharing on Valentine’s Day, date night, or anytime you want a little something sweet and cozy!

Coffee Brownies

Coffee brownies are rich, fudgy brownies with a little coffee in the batter to deepen the chocolate flavor. They are not “coffee flavored” so much as extra chocolatey, which makes them perfect for grown-up Valentine’s dessert plates. Cut them into little squares and serve with ice cream or a cup of coffee!

Three Layer Chocolate Fantasy Bars

These three layer chocolate fantasy bars are for the true chocolate fans at your table. They have a crust, a chocolate layer, and a creamy topping that all work together for one very indulgent bite. You can cut them small, because they are rich, and let folks go back for seconds if they dare!

Peanut Butter Brownies

These peanut butter brownies are the ultimate treat for anyone who can’t choose between a rich, fudgy brownie and a peanut butter bar. You get a dense chocolate base swirled or topped with creamy peanut butter goodness, making them perfect for Valentine’s dessert trays, date night, or anytime you want a cozy pan of something sweet to share!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Strawberries are kind of synonymous with Valentine’s Day, aren’t they? I have lots of strawberry dessert recipes, but let’s focus first on a strawberry pie. You only need 4 ingredients to make my fresh strawberry pie.

Strawberry Ice Cream Pie

Strawberry ice cream pie is cool, creamy, and rosy pink, which fits Valentine’s Day just right. You can make it ahead and keep it in the freezer until dessert, so there is no last-minute rush. Slice and serve with whipped cream and extra berries if you like.

Strawberry Jello Pie

Strawberry jello pie uses fresh strawberries and strawberry gelatin to set up into a pretty, glossy pie that slices beautifully. It is light, sweet, and refreshing, and it looks like you spent more time on it than you did.

Strawberry Cream Pie

Strawberry cream pie has a creamy filling tucked into a crust, topped with sweet strawberries. It is a nice choice when you want something that feels a little fancy but still has that old-fashioned comfort to it.

Chocolate Brownie Pie

Let’s combine brownies and pie to make a chocolate brownie pie! This recipe is made for the chocolate lover in your life. But don’t worry, there are more chocolate pie recipes where this one came from as well.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate chess pie is rich, smooth, and sweet, with a slightly crackly top and a custardy chocolate center. It is a Southern classic dessert that holds its own beside any Valentine’s chocolate cake.

German Chocolate Pie

This German chocolate pie takes everything you love about German chocolate cake and tucks it into a pie crust. You get chocolate filling and that coconut pecan topping in each slice, which is a pretty nice way to end Valentine’s dinner.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate pecan pie adds chocolate to the traditional gooey pecan filling for a dessert that is sweet, nutty, and extra rich. It looks beautiful on a dessert table and tastes even better.

Chocolate Fried Pies

Chocolate fried pies are little hand pies with chocolate filling, fried until the crust is golden and crisp. They remind me of old-style gas station pies, only better because they are homemade. Wrap them up individually and you have built-in Valentine’s treats to share.

Heart-Shaped Cookies With Royal Icing

These heart-shaped sugar cookies are soft, buttery sugar cookies topped with glossy, colorful royal icing that’s so fun to decorate. They’re the perfect Valentine’s Day baking project to cut, frost, and sprinkle for date night, classroom parties, or sweet little gifts!

Strawberry Frosted Cookies

While we’re on the topic of cookies, these strawberry frosted cookies are crunchy sugar cookies with a chewy center. And that icing? Yeah, it’s made from fresh strawberries!

Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts

Homemade strawberry pop tarts make a fun Valentine’s breakfast or dessert. Flaky pastry, sweet strawberry filling, and a little glaze on top turn a simple idea into something that feels special.

Homemade Toaster Strudel

Homemade toaster strudel is light, flaky, and drizzled with icing. It is a nice way to surprise your crew on Valentine’s morning without having to get up at the crack of dawn.

My Easy Cheesecake Recipe

My easy cheesecake recipe gives you a smooth, creamy cheesecake without any fussy steps. The filling comes together quickly, bakes up beautifully, and then you get to choose the toppings, from fresh berries and pie filling to chocolate or caramel. It is one of those desserts that always looks impressive in the center of the table!

Chocolate Cobbler

You’re going to love this deliciously decadent chocolate dessert! It’s just like a chocolate lava cake but so much easier to make and is also known as a chocolate pudding cake because it has the same scrumptious texture. It’s the perfect mouthwatering combination of moist chocolate cake with a hot chocolate fudge sauce layer.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

Cherry cream cheese pie is creamy, tangy, and topped with sweet cherry pie filling. It sets up in the fridge, so it is easy to make ahead, and it looks like a classic Valentine’s dessert with that bright red topping.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Chocolate chip cheesecake has chocolate chips scattered throughout the creamy filling, so you get a little bit of chocolate in every bite. It is a fun twist on plain cheesecake and perfect if your Valentine loves both cheesecake and chocolate.

Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

Cherry cheesecake cookies tuck cheesecake flavor into soft cookies with a little cherry on top. They are easy to share and look darling on a Valentine’s cookie tray.

Cream Cheese Strawberry Cobbler

Cream cheese strawberry cobbler gives you juicy strawberries, a creamy layer, and a tender cobbler topping all in one pan. It is lovely for Valentine’s when you want something fruity but still comforting.

Cinnamon Love Knots

Now I have two recipes for cinnamon love knots: this one and the original, which includes a shortcut. Whichever recipe you choose, just make sure you make a batch this Valentine’s Day. They’re similar to a cinnamon roll in a heart-shaped form.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

You can’t talk about Valentine’s Day recipes without mentioning red velvet, right? And let me tell you… there’s nothing better than my red velvet cupcake recipe made from scratch with cream cheese frosting. Every bite is moist, tender, and deliciously sweet.

Easiest Red Velvet Cookies

These red velvet cookies start with a cake mix and turn into soft, chewy cookies with that classic red velvet flavor. They are quick to make, pretty on the plate, and just right for Valentine’s treat bags.

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

Red velvet bundt cake gives you a big, beautiful cake that slices neatly and looks lovely with a glaze or frosting. It is a great one to set in the center of the table and let everyone cut themselves a slice.

Mini Red Velvet Cakes

Mini red velvet cakes are like personal little Valentine’s cakes for each guest. They have all the flavor of a full-size red velvet cake, just in a smaller, cuter package.

Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies

These old-fashioned M&M cookies are soft in the center with just the right bit of chew around the edges. They are full of colorful chocolate candies, which makes them especially fun for Valentine’s Day when you use red and pink. They are perfect for dunkin’ in milk, packing in lunchboxes, or piling on a plate for the dessert table!

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Hot chocolate cookies taste like a mug of cocoa in cookie form, complete with marshmallows. They go perfectly with actual hot chocolate if you want to double down on cozy.

Valentine’s Day Drinks

Old-Fashioned Stovetop Hot Chocolate

Old-fashioned stovetop hot chocolate is rich, creamy, and tastes like something Grandma would have stirred together on a cold night. You whisk cocoa, sugar, milk, and a little vanilla together on the stove until it turns silky and warm. Add marshmallows or whipped cream on top and you have the perfect way to end a cozy Valentine’s evening at home!

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

Red velvet hot chocolate takes your usual cocoa and dresses it up for Valentine’s Day. It has that familiar red velvet flavor and color, with all the warmth of a good mug of hot chocolate. Top it with whipped cream and you are set.

Valentine’s Day Tips

I wanted to share some fun Valentine’s Day recipes with you, but I also know a lot of us are looking for simple Valentine’s Day table ideas to make the night feel special at home. Now, let me be clear: I am not a decorator. I don’t have a single interior design bone in my body, but kids are easy to please and I lean hard on that. With that out of the way, here are a few easy Valentine’s Day decorating tips that work every year!

Invest In a Red Tablecloth

A red tablecloth is one of the most useful things you can keep in your house. It works for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, the 4th of July, and even Christmas, so you will use it over and over. Lay it out for your Valentine’s Day dinner at home and the whole table instantly looks more festive.

Keep Decorations Simple and Budget-Friendly

One year I went to Dollar Tree and spent a grand total of five dollars on Valentine’s Day decorations. I grabbed four balloons on sticks (one for each of us), trimmed the sticks to different heights, and tucked them into a vase for a centerpiece. For another dollar I picked up some glitter heart scatter to sprinkle on the table. It turned out pretty, fun, and very easy on the wallet.

Let the Kids Help with Homemade Decor

Some years we skip the store and just use construction paper. Using pink and white, we make placemats for each person and cut out little hearts to decorate them and the table. It is simple, but kids love seeing their artwork front and center for Valentine’s dinner.

Use Red Dishes If You Have Them

If you already own red dishes, pull them out. Even mixing a few red plates or bowls with your regular dishes ties everything together and makes your Valentine’s Day table look a little more pulled together with almost no effort.

More Valentine’s Day recipes:

15+ Recipes for Chocolate Lovers

Recipes For Strawberry Desserts