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Make the perfect Valentine’s Day menu!! From main dishes to desserts, we’ve got all of the Valentines dinner ideas!
More Collections: Valentines Desserts, Italian Dinner Recipes, Italian Appetizers
We Love Love!
We know that Valentine’s Day is often associated with romantic love, but it can be celebrated with anyone special in your life.
Over the years, we have made a variety of meals to celebrate – from Heart Shaped Pizza to Steak, and today we wanted to share some menu ideas for you to use in your own family.
Heart day dishes to love:
- Make it special. We’ve tried to make it a special night for the family and usually have a fun and festive dinner with the whole family.
- Celebrate all day. From breakfast to desserts, some recipes can help your loved ones feel special all day long.
- Variety. I searched for easy, yummy recipes as well as ones that use fun colors of red and pink.
Make it Special
Before we share some of the recipes, we wanted to give a few ideas of things you can do to make the Valentine’s Day dinner (or breakfast) even more special.
- Heart attack the kids’ door with hearts and notes with compliments or reasons why you love them.
- Make homemade valentines with the kids and Valentine’s boxes.
- Go to your local library and check out Valentine books to read together.
- Share “10 Things I LOVE About You” with one another.
- Play your favorite games together.
- Show love to others by serving them. Find a family service project in your area. One of my favorite websites to search on is JustServe.org.
- Include fondue dinner. Whether it’s savory (cheese) or sweet (caramel or chocolate with fruit), the kids will love it!
- Use plastic champagne glasses for sparkling cider or another yummy drink to make it more special.
- Add some candles to your dinner for a more romantic touch.
- Use our printable Valentine’s placemats.
- Keep all the food pink or red to make it extra festive!
- Use fresh fruit or herbs to garnish any of your dishes – from a lemon on a drink to berries, to herbs on your meat, it makes it look fancier.
- Sprinkle the table with conversation hearts or other Valentine’s candy. Or add a small box of chocolates to each plate as a treat for after dinner.
- Make Sugar Cookies for a treat and let the kids frost and decorate them after dinner.
Tips for Picking Your Menu
The best way to figure out the menu you’d like to make for the night is to first figure out what you’d like to make for the main dish.
The main dish will help you plan the sides and the desserts, but who are you making it for?
- The whole family?
- Just the two of you?
Pick the main dish and from there you can plan everything else to create an amazing Valentine’s menu!
Top Valentines Day Dinner Recipes
Here are some of our favorite dinner ideas for the whole family (our favorite is found below).
1 Heart Shaped Pizza
2 Steak Marinade
3 Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
4 Spaghetti Recipe
5 Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake
6 Baked Salmon Recipe
7 Easy Fettuccine Alfredo
8 Easy Lasagna Recipe
9 Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe
10 Chicken Penne Pasta
Valentine’s Day Side Dishes
Now that you’ve picked what you want to make for the main dish, you should have a better idea of what you’d like for the sides.
Below we have listed out some of our favorites to pair with the main dishes above.
11 Honey Glazed Carrots
12 Crescent Rolls
13 Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe
14 Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe
15 Asparagus Roll Ups
16 Cheddar Bay Biscuit Recipe
17 Garlic Knots Recipe
18 Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
19 Twice Baked Potatoes
20 Parmesan Crusted Zucchini Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe21 Strawberry Harvest Salad Recipe
22 Baked Parmesan Asparagus Recipe
23 Sauteed Green Beans Recipe
24 Wedge Salad Recipe
25 Steak and Tortellini Salad Recipe
26 Asparagus Salad Recipe
27 Roasted Tomatoes Recipe
28 Spinach Tortellini Salad Recipe
29 Brussel Sprouts and Bacon Recipe
30 Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Valentine’s Day Dessert Ideas
Now, to the best part – DESSERT!
There are so many treats you may want to make for your Valentines dinner, but we wanted to share some of our favorites.
If you’d like to see even more ideas, be sure to check our post ALL ABOUT Valentine’s Desserts with even more options – all from chocolate to pink and red to fruity!
31 Valentine Cookies
32 Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
33 Valentine’s Charcuterie Board Recipe
34 How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Recipe Video
Get the recipe35 Red Velvet Poke Cake Recipe
36 Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe
37 White Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Cookies Recipe
38 Cherry Almond Cupcake Recipe
39 White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
40 Crème Brûlée
41 Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
42 Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
43 Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe
44 No Bake Cheesecake
45 How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Recipe Video
Get the recipe46 Strawberry Shortcake Bars Recipe
47 Dessert Kabobs Recipe
48 Cheesecake Cupcakes
49 Strawberry Cookie Recipe
50 Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
Valentine’s Day Drinks
Last, but not least, are the drinks!! It’s always fun to have a festive and delicious drink with your Valentine’s meal.
But, not to worry – don’t feel like making anything?! Sparkling apple cider is always great and kids love how fancy it is. Cherry 7UP is another tasty option – it’s pink, kid-friendly, and delicious.
51 Pineapple Pink Lemonade Soda Recipe
52 Shirley Temple Recipe
53 Pudding Milkshake Recipe
54 Red Velvet Milkshake
55 Watermelon Juice Recipe
56 Frozen Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
57 Best Strawberry Lemonade
58 Sonic Cherry Limeade Recipe
Our Go-To Family Valentines Dinner Recipe
For our delicious, go-to Valentine’s Dinner Recipe that our kids love, try this Heart Shaped Pizza. It’s a family favorite!
Here is the recipe:
55+ Valentine’s Dinner Ideas – {Pizza, Spaghetti + More}
Ingredients
- 1 ball pizza dough homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 30 pepperoni
- ¼ cup pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley or basil *optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a pizza pan with parchment paper, set aside.
- Fold each pepperoni in half and cut into heart shapes using kitchen shears. Place on a paper towel lined plate and microwave for 15 seconds on high. Dab any excess grease off, set aside.
- Lightly flour a surface, roll dough into a heart shape, about 16 inches in width. Fold edges over and press to create the crust.
- Transfer pizza dough to prepared baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, then dock the crust with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming.
- Place in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. Remove and spread sauce over top, then add cheeses and pepperoni.
- Return to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the pepperoni is crispy. Remove from the oven and top with fresh parsley or basil, if desired. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Make it Special
Whether you’re planning a romantic meal at home for just the two of you, or a festive family dinner, you’re sure to find the perfect Valentine’s Day recipes on this list.
More Collections: Easy Dinner Ideas, Sunday Dinner Ideas, Chicken Dinner Ideas
I really love this idea. I have used your homemade dough recipe several times and think it will be perfect for this cute dish.
I love all these fun special ideas! Every thing you need for a great Valentine’s Day is right here. Thank you Lil Luna!
I love making my family a special Valentine’s dinner & I refer to this site every year for ideas! Loving that heart shaped pizza. Anything shaped into a heart is extra special!