7 Easy Date Night Recipes (2024)

Cooking dinner for your SO can be a fun way to show how much you care. Unfortunately, trying to figure out what he’ll actually eat isn’t as much fun. It can be pretty stressful, and you might end up making something he doesn’t like!

That’s why we came up with a list of meals you won’t have to slave over a stove all dayto make. They’ll satisfy any guy’s stomach and are the perfect complement to a special night together!

1. Spaghetti and Meatballs

If he doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs, it might be time to find a new boyfriend. It is such a classic dish, and it’s incredibly easy to make! A box of noodles, a pot of water, pre-rolled meatballs and a jar of sauce is all you need to make him something he’ll be begging for seconds of.

“My mom makes spaghetti every Wednesday at home, so it’s my favorite,” says James, a student at Oregon State University. And if you’re feeling cheesy, try re-enacting the scene from Lady and the Tramp for fun!

If you want to get a little more adventurous with your pasta, try this spaghetti sauce recipe from Kludgy Mom. Garlic and basil, two aphrodisiacs, are in this sauce, which means it’s sure to stir up some romance!

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 14.5-ounce cans of tomato sauce
  • 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons Italian or pizza seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onions and cook until soft.
  3. Add garlic, cook for one minute.
  4. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste and water and stir.
  5. Add all seasonings and stir.
  6. Continue to simmer until well blended.
  7. Serve over pasta. Top with basil.

2. Tacos

What takes five ingredients to make and can feed your SO’s bottomless stomach? Tacos, of course! Some ground beef, lettuce, grated cheese, diced tomatoes and tortillas are going to be a lifesaver. Tacos are so easy to make—just stick everything in a tortilla, and voila! Tacos are a meal you can put any garnish on and every guy will like them, making them perfect for an easy, breezy date night dinner.

If tacos are too much of a hassle, taco soup is an even easier alternative! This taco soup recipe from Today’s Mamais perfect for date night.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans
  • 1 15-ounce can corn
  • 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles (an aphrodisiac)
  • 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
  • Dash of Tabasco sauce
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1 diced avocado (an aphrodisiac)
  • Tortilla chips

Instructions

  1. In a large stock pot, brown the ground beef until crumbly.
  2. Add onion and cook until translucent.
  3. Add taco seasoning and water. Stir until meat is evenly coated.
  4. Add in black beans, corn and chiles. Mix and simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmer for up to 20 minutes.
  6. Add spice with Tabasco and hot green chiles.
  7. Serve with grated cheese, avocado and tortilla chips.

3. Personal Pizzas

Personal pizzas are a great way to get your guy in the kitchen with you too! Smear your dough with tomato sauce and have a competition while you decorate to see who can make the best one. “Making a pizza with my girlfriend is fun because we actually get to goof off while making dinner!” says Anthony, a student at Santa Clara University.

Get some grated cheese, pepperoni, sausage, peppers and any other ingredients you love on your pizza and see who can make the better design! Everyone—and we mean everyone—loves pizza, so there’s no way he won’t love the cheesy goodness that is your creation.

If you want to get creative and make your own dough, follow this recipe from Creative Juice.

Ingredients

  • 3 ¾ cups bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 packet dry active instant yeast
  • 1 ½ cups hot water
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

  1. Combine flour, sugar and yeast into mixer with hook attachment and stir to combine.
  2. With mixer on low, slowly add hot water and oil.
  3. When dough starts to come together, add salt.
  4. Continue to mix on low until the dough comes together to form a ball.
  5. Remove ball of dough from hook and knead by hand on floured surface.
  6. Oil a large bowl and place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap.
  7. Keep dough in a warm place and allow dough to double in size (takes about 45 minutes to an hour).
  8. When doubled, put dough on floured surface.
  9. Cut dough in two pieces and shape dough into two large pizza rounds about ¼-1/2 inches in thickness.
  10. Add pizza toppings.
  11. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

4. Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese was an essential meal for him growing up, so he’ll definitely love it. “I make myself Kraft mac and cheese at my apartment all the time, so I’d love it if a girl made it for me,” says Charlie, a student at the University of Oregon. You’ll save yourself hours in the kitchen, and the cheesy goodness is too good to not have on date night.

Try Taste of Home’s amazing homemade mac and cheese recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups uncooked macaroni
  • ¼ cup cubed butter
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 3 cups 2 percent milk
  • 5 cups (20 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon paprika

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
  2. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat.
  3. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth.
  4. Gradually whisk in milk.
  5. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until thickened.
  6. Reduce heat. Stir in 3 cups cheese and Worcestershire sauce until melted.
  7. Drain macaroni and stir into sauce. Transfer to greased skillet.
  8. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
  9. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and paprika.
  10. Bake 5-10 minutes until bubbly.

5. Quesadillas

With only a cheese and a tortilla, does it get any easier? All guys love cheese, and this simple favorite is sure to be a hit on date night. “Mexican food is really good. My go-to is Mexican on date night,” says David, a student at Northwest Christian University. For all the time you save making this, you can spend more time with your SO!

If you want to add a little zest to your tortilla, try La Tortilla Factory’s barbeque chicken quesadilla recipe!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
  • ¼ – ½ cup BBQ sauce
  • 2 La Tortilla Factory 100-calorie tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

  1. Add BBQ sauce to chicken in a bowl to coat; set aside.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
  3. Place tortilla inside skillet and sprinkle one half with ¼ cup cheese.
  4. Add half the chicken and other ¼ cup cheese and fold tortilla over.
  5. Cook for 3-4 minutes for each side.
  6. Repeat with remaining tortilla and other ingredients.
  7. Let quesadillas cool for 2-3 minutes and cut into wedges before serving.

6. Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast food is delicious, and if your boyfriend likes to sleep in, he most likely misses breakfast most days anyway. Give him his daily dose of eggs (scrambled eggs are the easiest!) with bacon and hash browns! Nothing makes a guy happier than the smell of hot bacon. “If there is bacon on my plate, I will eat it,” says Scott from Loyola University. “Bacon is my favorite food of all time.”

Try this super easy scrambled eggs recipe from All Recipesfor your date night breakfast dinner.

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk with a fork.
  2. Whisk in salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat.
  4. Pour egg mixture into pan and cook.
  5. Stir, scrape and cut up eggs while cooking until no liquid remains.

But what about his sweet tooth?

It isn’t truly date night until you’ve had something sweet! Chocolate and whipped cream are perfect for setting the mood on date night, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours rolling pie dough and adding whipped cream.

We found the perfect recipefor chocolatey goodness that you can leave in the crockpot for a few hours while you cook everything else and fix your hair for the seventh time. Crockpot chocolate lava cake from Jamie Cooks It Upis your new best friend.

Ingredients

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 1 ¼ cups milk
  • ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 3.9-ounce container instant chocolate pudding
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips
  • Parchment paper

Instructions

  1. Line a ¾ quart crockpot with parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray.
  2. Pour cake mix into mixer. Add in 1 ¼ cups milk, ½ cup oil and 3 eggs. Beat on low speed for 1 minute.
  3. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Pour batter into crockpot.
  5. Pour chocolate pudding into mixer.
  6. Add 2 cups cold milk and beat until pudding thickens.
  7. Pour pudding over cake batter and don’t stir.
  8. Pour chocolate chips over the top of pudding. Do not stir.
  9. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 2 ½ hours or until top of cake is set.

The focus of date night shouldn’t be when to take the food out of the oven or whether you have enough flour or not. The main focus of the night should be on you and your SO and your time together! So take the stress out of your night and use these simple, quick meals that your guy will love no matter what. Not only will they taste delicious, but you made them. Time to get cooking!

  • cooking
  • date night
  • dinner
  • food
  • recipes
7 Easy Date Night Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best food for date night? ›

32 romantic recipes for a flirty date night at home
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  • Spaghettini with red mullet, onion, anchovy and saffron.

How can I make my dinner date special at home? ›

Make Ample Space

Instead of sitting at the kitchen table, bring your dinner date into the dining room. Set it with a clean tablecloth and your best dinnerware. If there's any mess or clutter in the area, put it away! Create a romantic little haven in your dining room so it feels less like a regular old dinner at home.

How do you plan a romantic dinner night? ›

Create a playlist to set the mood, think of creative ways to decorate the dessert, make a list of décor ahead of time (like fresh flowers or a new tablecloth), set up your cooking station, and take out any serving dishes, cooking utensils, and cutting boards you may need.

What tastes good on dates? ›

Nuts: Dates are often paired with nuts like almonds, pecans, and walnuts for added crunch and flavor. Cheese: Dates and cheese, especially soft cheese like goat cheese or blue cheese, make a great combination.

What is the most iconic first date ideas? ›

First Date Ideas
  • Shoot pool.
  • Play laser tag.
  • Take a music class.
  • Go for a bike ride.
  • Watch a local theater production.
  • Hit up a rage room.
  • Bounce around a trampoline park or bounce house.
  • Enjoy an outdoor concert.
Feb 8, 2024

When a guy wants to cook for you? ›

According to Harrison Forman, host of the live dating show UpDating, cooking dinner for a date is “without a doubt a romantic gesture,” one that signals a relationship is entering “more intimate” territory.

How can I make a romantic night at home? ›

Romantic At Home Date Night Ideas
  1. Candlelit Dinner for Two. It's a classic for a reason! ...
  2. Cooking Class at Home. Turn your kitchen into a culinary adventure by taking a cooking class together. ...
  3. Movie Night with a Twist. ...
  4. DIY Wine Tasting. ...
  5. Stargazing in Your Hot Tub. ...
  6. Art Night. ...
  7. Virtual Travel Experience. ...
  8. Hot Tub Night.

How do you make a date special? ›

Men, these tips will be useful for you to truly make your date feel special.
  1. Show some initiative. ...
  2. Dress to impress. ...
  3. Be on time. ...
  4. Be genuine and interested. ...
  5. Don't let your nervousness show. ...
  6. Listen, don't just hear. ...
  7. Be respectful. ...
  8. Don't wait too long to follow up.
Feb 22, 2023

How do I make my wife a romantic dinner? ›

Whether you're serving a roasted rack of lamb or silky, rich pasta, a romantic dinner for two can make an ordinary evening a little more special. Go big with pan-roasted lobster or steak frites, or try your hand at homemade pizza.

What do you put on a romantic dinner table? ›

Using pink crockery, heart-shaped table mats, and tall candle stands will create a setting that is both elegant and whimsical, making for a truly memorable date night experience. These elements will help you create a romantic mood that will make your dinner special and unforgettable.

How do I plan a romantic evening with my boyfriend? ›

20 date night ideas to help keep the spark alive in your...
  1. Outdoor cinema picnic. During the warmer months, enjoy a film with added romance. ...
  2. Bowling date. Wait, bear with us. ...
  3. Luxe dinner in the city. ...
  4. Stargazing. ...
  5. Board game night. ...
  6. Drive-in movie night. ...
  7. Cheese and wine night. ...
  8. Comedy night.
Feb 21, 2024

How do you plan a dinner date for a guy? ›

Pick out a cute or elegant outfit, take your time getting ready, and come up with a few topics of conversation before the date starts. That should ensure that you feel good walking into the restaurant, movie, or whatever activity you're doing for the date.

References

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