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Our Valentine’s Day dinner recipes are a feast for both your heart and your taste buds. From creamy chicken recipes to seafood dishes, set the mood with recipes that are flavorful and captivating. Recipes like our Gnocchi with Truffle Parmesan Sauce and our Rosemary-&-Garlic-Basted Sirloin Steak are sure to add an extra dash of love to the special day.
Gnocchi with Truffle Parmesan Sauce
This gnocchi recipe was created by chef Fabio Viviani of Siena Tavern in Chicago. No need for homemade gnocchi when you can dress up store-bought pasta with this special sauce. A bit of truffle oil is the magic ingredient that turns pillowy gnocchi into an extraordinary dish with minimal effort. You can find it in most well-stocked supermarkets near other flavored oils.
Rosemary & Garlic-Basted Sirloin Steak
Master the perfectly seared sirloin steak with this easy method while playing with fresh herbs to enhance the flavor. The key to success: letting the meat come to room temperature before adding it to the pan to ensure it cooks evenly. Rosemary and garlic give it an irresistible herby finish. For the best results, let the steak rest before serving.
Chicken Cutlets with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Though a chicken cutlet may be a chicken breast cut in half, this recipe shows how to make chicken cutlets with double the deliciousness. A jar of sun-dried tomatoes does double duty for this healthy dinner idea. The flavorful oil they’re packed in is used to sauté the chicken, and the tomatoes go into the cream sauce.
Filet Mignon for Two with Sweet Potato Mash
A small quantity of compound butter, seasoned with garlic and herbs, makes a simple but delicious finish for a tender steak. We have rounded out this colorful healthy meal with roasted broccolini and mashed sweet potato–the perfect impressive yet easy dinner for date night-in.
Creamy Chicken Pasta with Brussels Sprouts & Artichokes
Photographer: Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
The creamy white wine-garlic sauce helps blend artichokes and shaved Brussels sprouts together with nutty whole-wheat pasta in this quick dinner. Use a mandoline or a very sharp knife to shave the Brussels sprouts. If you opt for pre-packaged shaved sprouts, note that they might be on the thicker side, requiring a few extra minutes of cooking time. You can swap in canned artichokes, but they tend to have more sodium than frozen, so give them a good rinse before adding.
Capellini with Crispy Prosciutto & Blistered Tomatoes
Blistered cherry tomatoes cook alongside capers and garlic with a splash of white wine in this ultra-quick pasta recipe. Crispy prosciutto adds savory notes, while fresh basil brightens the dish.
Scallop Risotto with Brown Butter & Parmesan
This simple scallop risotto makes for an impressive main dish. Stirring the risotto often results in a creamy, rich end product.
Broiled Lamb Chops with Charred Blood Oranges
In the south of France, lamb is often grilled on a bed of fresh rosemary and anointed with citrus juice. This lamb chop recipe takes inspiration from that tradition with a wet rub made with lots of garlic plus rosemary and blood orange. Besides being a beautiful garnish, the charred blood oranges are served to squeeze over the lamb for a final flourish of citrus flavor.
Pork Chops with Balsamic Sweet Onions
Balsamic onions and raisins add a burst of sweet and savory flavor to pan-seared pork chops. Round out this healthy dinner recipe with sweet potatoes and green beans.
Lobster Ravioli
Who says a quick, easy dinner can’t feel luxurious? This lobster ravioli recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make. It’s quick enough for everyday, but worthy of a special occasion. Whip up this easy dinner on Valentine’s Day or double it and serve it on a busy weeknight for the whole family to enjoy.
Lemon-Garlic Steak & Green Beans
For a steak that’s deliciously tender, flavorful and not too fatty, we reach for strip (also known as New York strip or shell steak). It has less than half the saturated fat of a rib-eye but is more tender than leaner sirloin. Here, we cook green beans in the same pan used to sear the spiced steak. All those delicious drippings add richness to the beans—plus there’s one less pan to wash!
Stuffed Lobster Tails
These stuffed lobster tails are filled with a rich combination of lobster and crab. The addition of panko on top adds a nice crunch. This easy lobster tail recipe is perfect for a special anniversary or celebration.
Pan-Seared Steak with Crispy Herbs & Escarole
This easy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare, meaning that seared steak can be a weeknight meal. Cooking herbs in the pan with the steak releases their aroma, infusing it into the meat while creating a crispy garnish. After the steaks and herbs are pan-seared, the escarole is cooked in the same skillet, so this healthy dinner requires minimal cleanup too.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Salmon & Vegetables
This dish is packed with flavor and fits perfectly into the Mediterranean diet.
Lamb Chops with Mint Pan Sauce
Lamb with mint jelly is a tried-and-true combination and this recipe takes the idea to new heights. The sweet, shocking green jelly is transformed into a richly flavored and pleasingly dark sauce. Make It a Meal: Serve with whole-wheat couscous and peas.
Baked Lemon-Pepper Chicken
Looking for a quick, easy dinner to add to your go-to chicken recipes collection? This baked lemon-pepper chicken recipe is it. Chicken breasts are cooked in a skillet, then finished in the oven with lemon slices that soften and become part of the sauce, with a touch of maple syrup and butter to carry the flavor. It’s so simple and delicious, you’ll be making this healthy dinner again and again.
One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
This creamy, simple chicken Alfredo recipe is incredibly comforting and cheesy from the combination of Parmesan and cream cheese. You’ll taste a nice pop of pepper and nutty notes from the whole-wheat pasta, too. Plus, it’s a one-pot meal, which means less cleaning for you and a dish that will quickly become your best chicken Alfredo recipe.
20-Minute Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Pesto Sauce
Serve these creamy pesto chicken cutlets over your favorite pasta or zucchini noodles. This easy dinner recipe is sure to become a new family favorite.
Seared Scallops with White Bean Ragu & Charred Lemon
This recipe for seared scallops with white beans and spinach turns out a healthy dinner that looks impressive (and tastes great) in just 25 minutes. Giving lemons a quick sizzle in the skillet amps up the flavor of this piccata-inspired dish. The heat helps release even more citrus juice and sweetens it too. When shopping for scallops, look for ones labeled “dry.” Some scallops are soaked in a solution that prevents them from searing properly and can give them a soapy flavor.
Rigatoni Amatriciana
Created by chef Fabio Viviani of Siena Tavern in Chicago, this Amatriciana sauce is a classic of modern Roman cooking (though it most likely came from the town of Amatrice about 90 miles away). Typically, it’s made with few ingredients: garlic, guanciale (cured pork jowl), cheese and tomato. This version doctors up jarred sauce to keep it quick and calls for easy-to-find pancetta in place of the guanciale. This tomato sauce is sometimes paired with bucatini; here, Fabio dresses up rigatoni with it.
Grilled Flank Steak & Corn with Green Goddess Butter
An herbaceous butter turns grilled sweet corn into a rave-worthy accompaniment to simple grilled flank steak.
Almond-&-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach
Coating fish with nuts and baking it is an easy, foolproof way to cook it elegantly. And it is especially nice with a mild white fish like cod or halibut. The spinach turns a little yellowy because it’s cooked with the acidic lemon juice, but what you lose in green color is more than made up for in great flavor.
Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp scampi is a favorite dish at many Italian restaurants, but our version takes just 20 minutes to prepare, so it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner. It’s served over linguine with a buttery wine sauce.
Skillet Lemon Chicken with Spinach
This simple, ultra-quick chicken dinner—packed with spinach and peppers—is delicious on its own or served over brown rice or your favorite pasta.
Lemon-Caper Black Cod with Broccoli & Potatoes
In this healthy black cod recipe, cooking the fillets skin-side down makes it easy to keep them intact when you flip them. Be sure to pat the fish dry before cooking—it’s the key to getting the skin crispy. The black cod is served alongside roasted broccoli and potatoes for a satisfying, 30-minute dinner.
Slow-Cooked Lamb with Lemons & Pomegranate
A long braise in the oven yields fork-tender results for a tough cut of lamb. Cinnamon, oregano, garlic and lemon infuse the lamb shoulder with Mediterranean aromas, while a final scattering of pomegranate arils provides a burst of color and crunch.
Chicken & Spinach Skillet Pasta with Lemon & Parmesan
This one-pan chicken pasta combines lean chicken breast and sautéed spinach for a one-bowl meal that’s garlicky, lemony and best served with a little Parm on top. I call it “Mom’s Skillet Pasta,” and she called it “Devon’s Favorite Pasta.” Either way, it’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner we created together and scribbled on a little recipe card more than a decade ago, and it remains in my weekly dinner rotation to this day. It’s a simple dinner the whole family will love.
Baked Lobster Tails
Celebrate Valentine’s Day—or any special date night—with this classic baked lobster tails recipe for two. Fresh or frozen lobster tails work well here and the recipe is easily doubled if you want the whole family to enjoy this simple yet decadent dinner.
Gnocchi with Bacon & Creamy Pumpkin Sauce
Get into the fall spirit with this one-pan gnocchi with a creamy pumpkin sauce. Some pumpkin and other squash sauces can be cloyingly sweet, but not this one–it’s savory all the way, thanks to the bacon, garlic and thyme. Instead of being boiled, a package of store-bought gnocchi–one of our favorite convenience products–is browned and crisped in a little bit of bacon fat. Then the sauce (made with canned pumpkin–another great convenience product) is prepared right in that same pan, so cleanup is minimal too. Serve with a simple green salad for an easy dinner that comes together in 30 minutes.
Roasted Salmon with Smoky Chickpeas & Greens
In this healthy salmon dinner, you’ll get a dose of greens and green dressing! Chowing down on 6 or more servings of dark leafy greens a week can help keep your brain in top shape. This dish features the Test Kitchen’s current go-to method for doctoring a can of chickpeas: spice them up and roast until crispy.
Skillet Mac & Cheese with Zucchini & Pimiento
Sweet and mild pimiento peppers add a little zest to this skillet mac and cheese, while zucchini boosts the veggie count. Here we boil the pasta a little less than usual, until just shy of al dente, so it doesn’t overcook in the oven.
Pomegranate Duck
Duck breasts may seem too fancy for the average weeknight, but they roast up beautifully and quickly. This preparation, with its luscious ruby-colored sauce, is definitely one that will impress.
Slow-Cooker Octopus with Red Wine Sauce Over Linguine
Don’t be afraid to put octopus in the slow cooker! Expand your palate and enjoy this tender, light meat that tastes similar to chicken. This red wine sauce is very rich, briny and deeply flavored, so much so that you only need to serve half of it with the octopus.
Mushroom Risotto
This creamy mushroom risotto recipe uses a mix of fresh mushrooms—any combination of cremini, shiitake, button or oyster would work well. Vermouth adds a little sweetness and acidity to the dish to balance the earthiness of the mushrooms.
Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce
This silky tomato sauce with a touch of cream makes mild-flavored cod sing. Serve with: Farro or rice and a salad of mixed greens.
Cheesy Polenta with Roasted Eggplant & Red Pepper Sauce
This hearty vegetarian main dish features tender eggplant, cheesy polenta and a roasted red pepper sauce. It’s perfect for entertaining friends and family who are eating more plant-based meals.
Slow-Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs
Now here’s a beef short ribs recipe you can serve to company—even on a holiday.
Kale, Sausage & Pepper Pasta
This healthy sausage and kale pasta recipe cooks in one skillet, so there’s only one pot to clean! Try it with any greens you have in the fridge, such as chard or spinach.
Slow-Cooker Chicken with Rosemary & Mushrooms over Linguine
The classic pairing of shallots and mushrooms gives this easy slow-cooker chicken recipe a timeless quality that’s sure to please everyone at your table. Swirling the stock and flour together at the beginning is a pro tip for creating a thick sauce that moistens the final dish and helps all the ingredients come together.
Pesto Ravioli with Spinach & Tomatoes
This easy ravioli recipe calls for just five ingredients but is loaded with fresh flavors. By using grape tomatoes, prewashed spinach and prepared pesto, we eliminate all prep work, making this 15-minute Caprese-inspired ravioli the ideal weeknight meal.
Galbi (Korean BBQ Short Ribs )
The longer you marinate these Korean sweet-and-savory ribs, the better. Look for flanken-cut short ribs in the meat department or ask your butcher to cut them for you. If you can’t find perilla or shiso leaves, try using mint instead.
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato & Chicken Pasta Bake
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayliss
This creamy and flavorful fall pasta bake comes together quickly, thanks to rotisserie chicken and jarred sun-dried tomatoes that flavor the sauce. This easy pasta bake is perfect for feeding a crowd. If you’re watching your sodium, you can cook and shred your own chicken in place of the rotisserie chicken.
Balsamic Steak & Mushroom Skewers
Sweet balsamic vinegar packs a punch in these balsamic steak and mushroom skewers. Top sirloin is tender and less expensive compared to other cuts of meat, but for a little more flavor, strip steak is a good alternative. If you have leftovers, use them up in salad or tuck them into pita bread with hummus for a delicious lunch the next day.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta
This rustic stew cooks all day in the slow cooker so you can come home to a comforting, hot dinner. Not a fan of polenta? Try this healthy chicken dinner over pasta instead.
Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms
Sliced Brussels sprouts and mushrooms cook quickly and cling to the pasta in our fall version of pasta primavera. Look for presliced mushrooms to cut prep time. Serve with a tossed salad.
Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale
This easy one-pan skillet-roasted lemon chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners. Juicy chicken thighs are cooked in the same pan as baby potatoes and kale for a satisfying meal with the added bonus of minimal cleanup.
Spicy Noodles with Pork, Scallions & Bok Choy
These spicy noodles are inspired by a Chinese dish called Ants Climbing a Tree, named for the way the small pieces of ground pork (the “ants”) cling to the noodles (the “tree”). The twist in these healthy noodles comes from adding vegetables like scallions and bok choy.
Garlic Chicken Thighs with Olives & Potatoes
Bright-green Castelvetrano olives hail from Sicily and have a buttery flavor and meaty texture that pair perfectly with the Italian seasoning and salty capers in this one-skillet chicken dinner. Look for them on your supermarket olive bar or in jars with Italian ingredients.
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