Dinner for Two Easy and Innovative Recipes for One
Parker Feierbach
Looking to impress a appointment, simply non feeling super confident in your cooking skills? These special craven, steak, and pasta weeknight dinners are for you. All these recipes are a slight step in a higher place usual fare while still existence totally doable by even the most novice of home cooks. We too polled our editors (and non merely the chefs!) for their go-to date night recipes, and amidst these are some of their tried and true hits. Get inspired with our list of 52 dinners for two—we know you'll turn out something spectacular.
Don't forget: Everyone loves being cooked for, and information technology truly is the idea that counts! If you're hoping to serve a meal to your boo, stick with something simple and classic, like pasta or easy proteins. Try our cacio e pepe, our bucatini all'amatriciana, or our penne alla vodka—despite their Italian names, they're all SUPER simple, with flavor that'due south out-of-this-world adept. For protein, you can't beat chicken, like in our sesame seed-crusted chicken Parm, our creamy Tuscan chicken, or our butter chicken (just as skillful as Indian takeout), only nosotros've also included less standard recipes with cerise meat or fish that will actually impress. Try our Arctic char with pistachio gremolata, our creamy steak fettuccine, our coconut curry salmon, or our filet mignon for ideas. They've got all the sit down-downwardly steakhouse flavor, without the price tag.
If y'all're looking to make a dark out of cooking dinner together (we highly recommend this date idea!), try 1 of our more involved recipes. Check out our homemade pizza, our dragon curlicue sushi, our Korean fried chicken, or our ginger pork pot stickers for ideas. You'll get to run across your date's fine motor skills at work, learn a new skill together, and eat a delicious meal together (no matter how skillful or badly information technology turns out 😉).
The best part of these recipes? Leftovers. We know, we know, many of these recipes make iv to six servings. You could halve them and take just enough for ii, or practise what we do and make extra!
Desire more ideas for impressing your date? Try serving a fun cocktail or the perfect bottle of wine with your meal—check out our guides to both reds and whites. And don't forget almost dessert!
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Baked Feta Pasta
Obviously roasting a block of feta with bursting tomatoes is going to be astonishing. Just is it skillful plenty to suspension TikTok like this one did? Our answer, begrudgingly, is yes. It'due south genius—super piece of cake, simply fancy plenty for date dark. 😍
Go the Baked Feta Pasta recipe.
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Pad Thai
An like shooting fish in a barrel alternative to takeout, our simplified pad Thai recipe is designed to satisfy noodle cravings fast. We skipped some traditional ingredients (such every bit dried shrimp, tamarind, pressed tofu, and bean sprouts), opting for ingredients that you can pick up at your local grocery store. Skip the takeout and make it tonight!
Get the Pad Thai recipe.
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Homemade Pizza
Naught beats a fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza, and once yous see how like shooting fish in a barrel it is to brand for you lot and your engagement, you'll never social club delivery once again. Switch up the toppings and add your favorites to make information technology your ain. Pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple? You lot can have it all!
Get the Homemade Pizza recipe.
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Ally Me Chicken
This simple chicken is 1 of our about romantic recipes ever. If you (or your boo) is a dominicus-dried love apple hater (we experience you), use fresh ones instead. It won't have as much of a tangy kick, but it'll notwithstanding exist only as impressive.
Get the Ally Me Chicken recipe.
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Baked Risotto with Lemon, Peas & Parmesan
If you've never fabricated risotto considering you didn't desire to stand up in that location stirring forever, and then this recipe is for you. Information technology packs all the satisfying flavor of a deadening-stirred version into a fraction of the hands-on time!
Get the Baked Risotto with Lemon, Peas & Parmesan recipe.
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Lemon Pepper Chicken
If you throw chicken into a pan with salt and pepper and bake it for forever, of course it's going to be terrible. We know this sounds obvious, but information technology'due south what so many people trying to "eat salubrious" practice. On the other mitt, when you lot add layers of bright and fresh flavors (like lemon pepper!), a succulent and easy recipe both you and your healthy-conscious engagement tin can enjoy.
Get the Lemon Pepper Broiled Chicken recipe.
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Ginger Pork Pot Stickers
Looking for a date night projection? We propose these super-flavorful (and surprisingly easy) pot stickers! Check out the photos of our folding technique, just don't worry too much—these volition sense of taste amazing no matter how they look (and you lot get to meet your appointment's fine motor skills in action 😉).
Become the Ginger Pork Pot Stickers recipe.
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Spaghetti and Meatballs
If you're looking for a super simple, comforting, no-frills bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to impress your appointment, you've come to the right place. And if you're feeling adventurous, information technology'southward also a great jumping-off signal to make your own version of this archetype dish!
Get the Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe.
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Dragon Roll
Uramaki ("inside out") is a Westernized fashion of sushi roll where the rice is on the outside of the nori. Uramaki arguably reaches a peak of extravagance with the dragon ringlet, with its gorgeous "scales" of thinly sliced mango and avocado and drizzle of sriracha mayo. The ringlet is wrapped in archetype vinegar-seasoned rice and filled with crispy shrimp tempura, a mix of buttery avocado, and crunchy cucumber.
Get the Dragon Coil recipe.
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Flossy Steak Fettuccine
Whenever nosotros require steak, this dish is always what nosotros desire to make. It comes together quickly and is so full of flavour, plus the steak makes information technology feel extra special. It might simply brand you forget chicken Alfredo ever existed.
Get the Creamy Steak Fettuccine recipe.
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Korean Fried Craven
Nicknamed "processed chicken," Korean fried chicken is known for its addictively crunchy outside and its thick sugariness-and-spicy sauce. These bites pack a little capsaicin punch, then feel free to decrease the amount of dried chilis that get in. But if you've got a sweetie who likes the adrenaline kick, they'll lose their mind over this.
Go the Korean Fried Chicken recipe.
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Lemon Garlic Shrimp
This garlic butter shrimp recipe requires almost no planning—all you need to do is option upwards shrimp. Meaning, information technology's perfect for a romantic dinner Tonight.
Get the Lemon Garlic Shrimp recipe.
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Penne Alla Vodka
This is the best flossy and brilliant vodka sauce any of us in the test kitchen have ever had. The secret? Love apple paste. Tomato paste has a more than full-bodied season, and texture-wise, it makes for a smoother, almost velvety sauce your appointment will dearest.
Become the Penne Alla Vodka recipe.
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Broccoli Rabe & Italian Sausage Lasagna
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Linguine With Clams
When you desire a bit of decadence and elegance at the dinner table, but don't have fourth dimension to brand a super-fancy meal, this your recipe. It'due south so simple, it can be thrown together in about 30 minutes. That vino sauce is perfection.
Go the Linguine With Clams recipe.
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Filet Mignon
Filet mignon is considered the gold standard of steaks, and when information technology's cooked right, information technology has a melt-in-your-rima oris texture you simply can't go from other cuts. Avoid the overpriced, stuffy steakhouse and cook it at home (with our restaurant tips and tricks, of course!).
Get the Filet Mignon recipe.
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Extra Lemony Seitan Piccata
Nigh piccata sauces use only lemon juice; nosotros opt for whole pieces of the fruit to make employ of every last scrap of bright citrus flavor. After a simmer in a vino and goop jacuzzi, the lemon loses its sharp bitterness and becomes sugariness and tender, pairing perfectly with plant-based seitan.
Become the Extra Lemony Seitan Piccata recipe.
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One-Pan Tuna Pasta
This recipe is a scrap of a riff on pasta puttanesca, using familiar ingredients such as capers, anchovies, and olives. But instead of sitting over a pot of simmering tomato sauce, we used sun-dried tomatoes to course a paste that, when combined with pasta h2o, is transformed into a luscious sauce—and it's all fabricated in one pan!
Go the Ane-Pan Tuna Pasta recipe.
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Arctic Char with Pistachio Gremolata
This is the kind of recipe that immediately becomes a house favorite. That'due south because information technology's easy yet elegant (AKA worthy of date nighttime), it comes together in 30 minutes, and it teaches the foundations of skillful cooking techniques. (Similar how to melt pare-on fish so it gets crispy, not soggy, and how to create an like shooting fish in a barrel herb gremolata to height proteins like fish, chicken, and steak. 😍)
Go the Arctic Char with Pistachio Gremolata recipe.
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Pineapple Baked Salmon
Giving the salmon a quick broil at the cease of cooking lets the marinade caramelize. Make sure to keep a close eye on information technology—a couple minutes is all you need under a hot broiler. Looking for more salmon recipes? This Greek salmon is another foolproof, quick dinner.
Go the Broiled Pineapple Salmon recipe.
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Quesadilla Cake
Five layers of quesadilla means v times equally much flavour than your everyday beef quesadilla. Don't take a springform pan? A standard cake or pie pan totally works here. You'll only demand to serve your block IN the pan.
Become the Quesadilla Cake recipe.
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Bucatini all'Amatriciana
If you're in a pinch you can sub bacon for the pancetta in this classic pasta dish, but nosotros think it actually does make a difference in the outcome. It doesn't have hours to simmer, but still comes out to exist one of the best pasta sauces we've ever had. Exist sure to top with lots of Pecorino and basil!
Get the Bucatini all'Amatriciana recipe.
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Coconut Curry Salmon
The coconut milk and spice go so well together hither, making a rich, but not heavy, sauce that really tastes and feels far more complicated than it is. The salmon simmers in the milk keeping it very tender and flaky and actress flavorful. Spoon the sauce over the salmon a few times every bit it cooks to requite information technology a dainty coating.
Get the Coconut Back-scratch Salmon recipe.
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Sesame Seed-Crusted Craven Parm
On the route to chicken Parm perfection, we have ii unexpected turns. Commencement, we add sesame seeds to the breading for a nutty crust, crunchy enough to stand to lots of sauce and cheese. Second, marinara gets upgraded with a scoop of harissa—a smoky Tunisian chili paste—for some heat and complex flavour that's sure to impress.
Get the Sesame Seed-Crusted Chicken Parm recipe.
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Chilaquiles Verde
For the ultimate fun breakfast-for-dinner, endeavour this light-green salsa-smothered take on chilaquiles. How could you lot get wrong with a dish that's essentially crisped-upwards tortillas tossed in a brothy salsa? Trust us, you can tell a lot about a person when you're eating from the same skillet.
Get the Chilaquiles Verde recipe.
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Cacio e Pepe
Cacio eastward pepe literally translates to "cheese and pepper." These two ingredients are usually thought of as small components to a dish but in this pasta recipe, they have eye phase. Making this pasta (and toasting the spice) is the perfect way to show off pepper'south fruity, spicy, earthy flavour.
Get the Cacio e Pepe recipe.
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Beef Ragu
This easy and delicious ragu is perfect for date dark. Don't skimp on the Parm!
Go the Beef Ragu recipe.
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Best-Ever Flank Steak
Our simple marinade has just iv ingredients and is the perfect mode to prep flank steak for the grill. While acidic citrus juice and salty soy sauce deed to both season and tenderize the steak, olive oil helps to keep the meat supple and juicy. A small amount of brown sugar brings out the meat'due south natural sweetness and helps to create a slightly caramelized crust. Yum!
Become the Best-Ever Flank Steak recipe.
Source: https://www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/valentines-day/g4640/easy-dinner-recipes-for-two-for-beginners/