21 Easy Valentine's Day recipes

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a home-cooked meal and impress your loved ones with these simple yet delicious recipes. From appetisers to main courses and desserts, this collection of easy Valentine's Day recipes has something for everyone to enjoy.

Collage of images from the collection of recipes.

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Easy Valentine's Day recipes
Starters
Mains
Desserts
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Easy Valentine's Day recipes

This Valentine's Day set the mood for a romantic evening with a delicious meal made with love. Whether you're cooking for your significant other or just want to treat yourself or your family, this collection of 21 easy recipes that you can make for Valentine's Day is sure to provide inspiration. From make-ahead starters to quick and easy mains and sweet treats, there's sure to be something for everybody!

Starters

I think the American word 'appetisers' is actually a better description for the first course of a meal. A 'starter' simply sounds like something that you would eat at the start of a meal, whereas an 'appetiser' sounds more like something that awakens the taste buds and whets the appetite for the meal that is to follow.

These easy Valentine's Day appetisers will make the perfect start to any meal. They are light and non-filling, and can all be prepared in advance.

Closeup of a stilton and walnut tart garnished with creme fraiche and chopped chives.

Stilton and Walnut tarts

Stilton and walnut tarts are savoury tarts consisting of a nutty walnut pastry with a filling made from leeks, celery and Stilton cheese in a savoury egg custard. Make them ahead and warm them in the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

Stilton and Walnut tarts

Poor man's crayfish

Poor man's crayfish is a simple starter, made with a can of tuna mixed with a tangy Marie Rose sauce. I normally prepare it the day before and leave it overnight in the refrigerator so the flavours have time to develop.

Poor man's crayfish

Prawn and scallop au gratin

A prawn cocktail might have sufficed as a starter in the 1970s. 50 years on, the new kid on the block is this amazing prawn and scallop starter! Juicy prawns and succulent scallops in a delicious Diane sauce and covered with a crispy cheesy topping. Assemble the dish ahead of time, then just pop it in the oven to crisp up the cheese when you are ready to serve it.

Prawn and scallop au gratin

A large cheese covered stuffed mushroom on a plate.

Garlic stuffed mushrooms with ham and cheese

They say 'life is too short to stuff a mushroom'. I say if you want to taste these delicious garlic stuffed mushrooms with ham and cheese then you need to find the time!!!

Stuffed mushrooms

Mushroom pate

I first made this recipe for Christmas, but it would make a fantastic Valentine's starter. Serve it in individual ramekins with crusty bread or crackers.

Mushroom pate

Mains

Most of these recipes can be made ahead of time, and those that can't have minimum cooking involvement so you're not tied up in the kitchen all evening.

Take your pick from the selection of chicken, beef, pork, fish and seafood recipes. Any one of them will make a super Valentine's Day meal.

A dish of coq au vin garnished with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Slow-cooker coq au vin

Slow-cooker coq au vin delivers tender juicy chicken with fabulous flavours and minimum effort on your part. Serve with sweet potato mash and vegetables for a meal that will be requested time and time again.

Slow-cooker coq au vin

Chicken Diane

Who says Diane sauce only belongs on steak? let me introduce you to Chicken Diane with brandy sauce for an absolute taste explosion! Juicy chicken pieces cooked with mushrooms in a creamy brandy-infused sauce. This simple dish is packed with flavour but only takes minutes to prepare. Perfect for a weeknight supper when you want to treat the family to something different.

Chicken Diane

A dish of slow cooked beef Trinchado on a table with a fork.

Slow-cooker beef Trinchado

Layer chopped tomatoes and onions in your slow-cooker, top with marinated beef cubes, cover with a mixture of stock and spices, and come home to a mouth-watering meal of spicy slow-cooker beef Trinchado.

Slow-cooker beef trinchado

Closeup of two monkfish fillets wrapped in serrano ham.

Monkfish wrapped in Serrano ham with lobster risotto

Sweet and tender chunks of monkfish wrapped in Serrano ham served on a bed of tasty lobster-flavoured risotto makes an impressive dish for a posh dinner party, yet it's simple enough to serve as a delicious family supper.

Monkfish in Serrano ham

Paprika pork goulash in a blue serving dish alongside a wooden serving spoon.

Creamy paprika pork goulash

Juicy chunks of pork, flavoured with paprika in a mouthwatering creamy sauce, packed with onions, peppers and mushrooms, all come together in this yummy creamy paprika pork goulash. Serve over rice or pasta for a delicious family supper.

Pork goulash

A pan of Spanish paella garnished with prawn, mussels and calamari rings.

Easy Spanish paella

This easy Spanish paella is packed with juicy chicken, chorizo sausage, plump mussels, calamari rings and prawns, and is simply bursting with flavour. It's the perfect meal for those times when you want to spoil the family with something a little different.

Easy Spanish paella

Chicken fillets cooking in marsala sauce in a frying pan.

Creamy chicken marsala with mushrooms

Sometimes the simple classic recipes are the best. And this creamy chicken marsala recipe with mushrooms takes some beating. It's packed with flavour and needs only a few ingredients. You can have this on the table in just on half an hour.

Creamy chicken marsala

Fresh mussels with pasta in a spicy tomato sauce

Fresh mussels with pasta in a spicy tomato sauce make the perfect meal for a special occasion or just as a treat for the family. Plump, juicy mussels are cooked in their shells in my special chilli tomato and onion sauce and then mixed with cream before being served on a bed of pasta. This is a spicy, garlicky dish, perfect for when you want something different but don't want to spend hours in the kitchen.

Mussels with pasta

Creamy seafood linguine with lobster

Creamy seafood linguine with lobster has to be one of my all-time favourite seafood pasta recipes. Sweet, juicy lobster chunks and succulent garlic shrimp, swimming in a mouthwatering creamy sauce, served on a bed of perfectly cooked linguine. What’s not to love?

Seafood linguine with lobster

Garlic butter prawns

You can make these garlic butter prawns as a treat for the family, or as an easy way to entertain a crowd of friends. This is a super simple recipe, with only 3 main ingredients, and only takes minutes to cook! The prawns are pan-fried in their shells in garlic butter, ensuring they remain juicy and succulent.

Garlic butter prawns

Desserts

No matter how much I eat of the main meal, I always make sure to leave room for dessert! And these desserts are light and refreshing after a large meal. Plus you can make them all ahead of time and leave them in the refrigerator until you are ready for them.

A slice of double passion fruit cheesecake on a plate.

Passion fruit cheesecake (no cheese)

I'm going to let you into a little secret. This recipe for passion fruit cheesecake doesn't contain any cheese! That's right - no cheese at all. It relies on Greek yoghurt to provide the cheesy taste, which means it's lower in calories. I've used passion fruit in both the filling and the topping for double fruitiness. And with only 4 ingredients for the filling and 3 for the topping, it couldn't be easier to make!

Passion fruit cheesecake

Peppermint chocolate mousse

This peppermint chocolate mousse dessert is so light and airy, you'd almost expect it to float out of the refrigerator by itself! This is a classic chocolate mousse recipe, but I've given it a slight twist by making it with peppermint chocolate, and a dash of chocolate mint liqueur.

Peppermint chocolate mousse

A chocolate orange tart on a small plate with a cake fork.

Chocolate orange tarts

These chocolate orange tarts are made from buttery homemade pastry shells, filled with a delicious orange curd and topped with whipped cream and a slice of Terry's chocolate orange. And for extra chocolately flavour, they are brushed with melted chocolate before the filling is added.

Chocolate orange tarts

Peppermint crisp fridge tart

Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart is the ultimate in sweet indulgence. Luscious whipped cream mixed with caramelised condensed milk, layered on coconut biscuits and covered in grated peppermint chocolate. As a bonus there is no cooking required. Just let it set in the fridge for an hour or two before eating - if you can wait that long!

Peppermint fridge tart

Close up of Portuguese custard tarts on a plate.

Portuguese custard tarts (pasteis de nata)

Portuguese custard tarts, also known as "pastéis de nata," are a traditional pastry from Portugal. They are small, individual tarts made with a flaky pastry crust and filled with a rich, creamy custard made from eggs, sugar, and cream. The tarts are often dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar before serving.

Portuguese custard tarts

A dish of chocolate truffles, rolled in coocnut and chocolate sprinkles, in front of a bottle of Baileys.

No bake Baileys chocolate truffles

Baileys chocolate truffles make the perfect after-dinner treat. There's no baking involved - just mix, roll and coat and you have the perfect ending to a festive dinner party. Or why not whip up a batch and package in a pretty box for a homemade gift with a difference.

Baileys chocolate truffels

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I do hope you enjoyed this collection of Valentine's Day recipes as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

If you made any of these recipe and enjoyed them, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.