Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and almost everyone I know is scrambling for ideas. While lots of people are still going the dinner out route, lots of friends are also asking, what are some easy Valentine’s day dinner ideas? If you’re in the same boat, read on below for all the recipes, all in one place.
Why you need an easy Valentine’s Day dinner
Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be hard. After all, how romantic is it really to run around cooking up a storm? It’s far better to set and forget some of these easy recipes, then relax and unwind with your person and a nice glass of your drink of choice.
Red Wine Spaghetti
If there is ever a time to make a pasta dish with a whole bottle of red wine, Valentine’s is it! Rich, creamy, yet somehow light, this classic Italian spaghetti, aka drunken spaghetti, is the perfect date night to show your person you have the chops to make fancy restaurant style pasta, right at home.
Red Wine Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus extra to finish
- 6 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or more as desired
- 4 tbsp butter
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 1.5 cups red wine
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese finely grated
Instructions
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Add the olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, and 1 tbsp butter to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the garlic is soft, but not brown, about 3 minutes.
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Add the wine and increase the heat to medium high and bring to a rolling simmer until it starts to reduce.
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While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta 3 minutes shy of al dente. Pull the spaghetti straight from the cooking water using tongs and place it into the reduced wine sauce.
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Add the remaining butter and and soy sauce bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the pasta is glossy and well coated.
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Remove the pasta from the heat and add the cheese, tossing to melt evenly. If needed, add pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to help melt the cheese evenly.
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Serve topped with freshly cracked pepper and a drizzle of finishing olive oil. Enjoy!
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 370
Kimbap and Tteokbokki
Are you and your partner K-drama fans? You know how they’re always eating tteokbokki and kimbab after getting caught in the rain? Skip the being drenched in rain part and make a cute lil Korean dinner together then and cue up your favorite show.
Kimbap
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked rice short grain preferred
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 4 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 lb steak of choice thinly sliced
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 8 oz spinach baby spinach preferred
- 1 large carrot cut into small matchsticks
- 4-8 strips danmuji see notes
- 4 sheets seaweed
Instructions
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Place warm rice in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil. Fluff the rice, mixing the salt and and oil into the rice evenly. Let cool while you prep the other ingredients.
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Marinate the thin slices of steak with 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp toasted sesame oil. Set aside.
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Quickly blanch the spinach in boiling hot water and cool immediately in ice water. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and mix with a sprinkle of salt and a 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil. Set aside.
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Massage the carrots with a sprinkle of salt and let soften for 2-3 minutes then squeeze any excess water out of the carrots. Sauté the carrots in a non-stick frying pan over medium low heat with a 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil until slightly soft, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool.
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If needed, prep the danmuji by making sure it’s trimmed to fit the length of the seaweed sheets.
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Fry the beef in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat stirring as needed until cooked through. Remove from the pan and let cool.
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Place a sheet of seaweed, shiny side down, on a rolling mat. Evenly spread 1 cup of the prepared rice onto the seaweed, leaving 2 inches uncovered on the top portion of the seaweed. Place 1/4 of the beef, carrots, daikon, and spinach evenly in a neat row in the middle of the rice.
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Use both hands and the mat to roll up the rice and seaweed tightly over the fillings until you reach the top of the seaweed where there is no rice. Let the kimbap sit, seam side down, while you repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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Lightly brush the rolls with toasted sesame oil then slice into 1/2 inch bite size pieces and enjoy!
Notes
makes 1 lb picked daikon
prep 10 minutes
pickle 24 hours
8 inch length daikon
1 cup water
1 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
Peel and cut the daikon into 4 inch long strips that are about 1/4 inch thick.
Combine the water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and turmeric in a small pot and bring to a simmer of medium heat, stirring, until the sugar and salt dissolves. Remove from the heat.
Place the daikon strips into an airtight container and carefully pour the pickling water over the daikon. Let cool, then cover, submerging the daikon in the pickling juice. Pickle for 24 hours minimum before enjoying!
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 65
Tteokbokki
Ingredients
- 1 lb tteokbokki tteok
- 3 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp gochugaru
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups anchovy stock sub dashi or other stock if needed
To Finish
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
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Soak the tteokbokki tteok in warm tap water while you prepare the sauce.
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In a small bowl, mix together the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, and minced garlic. (See notes for a mild version of the sauce.)
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Add the anchovy stock to a pot and stir in the sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
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Drain the tteokbokki and add to the pot. Stir occasionally and bring to a simmer for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce bubble and reduce, stirring so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, about 10-15 minutes depending on how thick you want the sauce.
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Before serving drizzle with toasted sesame oil and finish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions. Enjoy warm!
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 36
Brown Buttered Noodles
The nutty addictiveness of brown butter is on display with these simple to make, even easier to slurp grown up brown butter noodles. For the noodle lover in your life.
Grown Up Buttered Noodles: Garlicky Brown Butter Parmesan Noodles Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces pasta of choice I used bucatini
- 5 tbsp butter divided
- 4 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve 3/4 cups pasta water and drain.
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While the pasta is cooking, melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, swirling, until the butter foams, smells nutty and toasted, there are golden brown solids, and the garlic is lightly golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the last tablespoon of butter.
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Carefully add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the melted butter – and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking or swirling often to emulsify the pasta water and butter, about 1 minute.
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Add the pasta to the pan and cook, turning the heat up, tossing occasionally, until pasta is al dente and the sauce reduces and becomes thick and glossy, adding pasta water as needed, about 2-3 minutes.
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Stir in the cheese and toss well to melt and combine, thinning with extra pasta water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy immediately.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 322
Garlic Lobster Pasta
When you want to be fancy but not too fancy (ie, you don’t want to go out and spend your hard earned paycheck on an overpriced Valentine’s Day set menu), make this garlic lobster pasta. It looks like it’s from a fancy restaurant, but it’s from your kitchen and it’s super impressive. The best part is, you don’t have to cook the lobster yourself, just grab some of those precooked lobster tails from the seafood counter. Seriously so good!
Garlic Lobster Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs coarse, see note
- 2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- 1 head garlic sliced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 lobster cooked, shelled and roughly chopped, about 1-1.5lbs
Instructions
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Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and toast the breadcrumbs until golden and crunchy. Remove from the heat and stir in a pinch of parsley. Set aside.
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In a pot of salted water, cook the spaghetti one minute shy of al dente.
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While the pasta is cooking, heat up the remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly soft, but not brown, 20 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the red pepper flakes, flat leaf parsley, and oyster sauce. Add 1/3 cup pasta water to the pan and bring to a simmer to emulsify into a sauce, stirring occasionally.
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When the pasta is ready, use a pair of tongs to move the cooked pasta over to the pan with the sauce. Leave the heat on medium, add the lobster and toss to combine, until the sauce is glossy and clings to the noodles. Add extra pasta water if the pasta gets too dry.
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Finish with toasted bread crumbs and enjoy!
Notes
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 280
Super Creamy Cacio e Pepe
Speaking of Italy, the Italian grandmas out there won’t like this one because it’s not a classic cacio e pepe, but that’s because it’s better! Super easy to make and the best dish for the partner who only loves mac and cheese. You know what I mean, your palate is a bit more adventurous but they’re stuck in their chicken nugget era. This is the dish that will make you both happy!
Super Creamy Cacio e Pepe Style Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 oz finely grated pecorino about 1.5 cups
- 1/4 cup pasta water more if needed
- 6 oz pasta I used homemade garganelli
Instructions
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In a skillet, melt the butter and add the pepper, letting the pepper infuse the butter as it melts. Stir in the flour and cook for about three minutes, until completely smooth and incorporated.
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Pour in the milk in a thin stream while whisking. It might start out lumpy, but keep whisking and it will smooth out into a thick paste. Stir in the pecorino in batches, and remove from the heat. The sauce will be very thick.
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Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according the packaging or until it is al dente.
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Take 1/4 cup of the hot starchy pasta water and stir it into the cacio e pepe sauce, whisking over medium low heat until smooth and glossy. Add the drained pasta, stirring in extra pasta water as needed until the sauce coats the pasta. Enjoy with extra pepper and crushed red peppers, if desired.
Notes
It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without Steak
Steak frites is the ultimate romantic dinner idea that can remind you of dinner out at a bistro. It doesn’t even have to be expensive steak. Sometimes the cheap supermarket cuts are just what you need to relax and unwind. Steak sauce is the key and there are many to choose from in this post but I’ve also included my favorite classic peppercorn here:
Classic Peppercorn Steak Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup brandy or cognac
- 1/2 cup no sodium beef broth
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1-2 tsp crushed whole black peppercorns
- salt to taste
Instructions
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In the same pan that you browned the steak, deglaze with the brandy/cognac over medium heat, scraping up any brown bits in the pan. When the brandy/cognac has reduced a bit, stir in the beef broth and cream. Add the peppercorns and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your liking. Season with salt to taste.
Estimated Nutrition
Calories from Fat 67
Wishing you a chill and romantic Valentines :)
-Steph
