40+ Valentine’s Day Recipes From Our Hearts to Yours

I feel that I have to start this story out with a confession: I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day and all the typical romantic trappings it holds. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the thought of bouquets of red roses, giant teddy bears, lovey-dovey Hallmark cards, and heart-shaped chocolate boxes—and not in a good way.

However, I’m not one to put down any food-filled occasion, so I can put my critiques aside when it comes to using Valentine’s Day as another excuse to have a special, delicious meal with people I love. If there's one thing that gives me even more joy than treating myself to a home-cooked meal, it's cooking for my loved ones. But that doesn't mean it has to be a particularly elaborate or decadent meal; let alone heart-shaped, but of course you could go this route. For me, it’s more about putting some thought and (at least a little) effort to show your love through food.

If you’re not sure where to start, I have some suggestions sourced from all over the Kitchen Stories team. From melted cheese to handmade sweets, we see a wide variety of preferences—so there’s sure to be something that catches your eye, and will win your family and friends’ hearts!

Cook your way into anyone’s heart

Get that restaurant-y feeling

Sebastian, Head of Creative: "Scallops are probably one of the most straightforward dishes ever, but still feel fancy and fancy. They're super quick to prepare, so you don't have to spend the whole evening in front of the stove, and they really make something special. It feels like you're at a restaurant, although they're just as easy to make at home (with our video instructions, you really can't go wrong!). Especially with lemon, capers and butter, they're simply delicious."

Or, serve them alongside pasta and try our easy 5-ingredient recipe:

25 min

7.6k

5-ingredient lemony brown butter linguine with scallops

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More “restaurant-vibes at home” recipes

— Classic steak au poivre
— Roasted red cabbage steaks with crispy chickpeas
— Beetroot carpaccio with salmon tartare and wasabi cream
— Scallops and sautéed Swiss chard over polenta
— Classic chicken piccata

7th-carbohydrate-heaven

Philipp, Partner Operations Assistant: "I prefer to be the cook, but if someone’s cooking for me, I have to say: pasta alla carbonara! It’s always a winner. I’ll show you how to recreate my personal favorite version of the Italian classic in my own YouTube video."

20 min

82.2k

Classic spaghetti carbonara

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Sebastian, Head of Creative: "Homemade lasagna is actually unbeatable! First and foremost, a good lasagna feels like a hug in the form of a meal. After all, to make a really good lasagna, you have to put a lot of love and effort into it, too. Whoever you make it for, the love will definitely be noticeable. It's also super easy to prepare ahead, so you hardly have to worry about it on the night itself."

2:20 h

10.3k

Make classic lasagna Bolognese with Hanna

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Me (Caro, Editorial Assistant): "Personally, I’m happy about (almost) anything that has been prepared especially for me. However, I’m particularly impressed with homemade stuffed pasta or dumplings. From maultaschen to ravioli, dumplings to manti—I love all equally. The fact that someone would go through the trouble of preparing the dough and filling themselves, and then use tons of patience and dedication to wrap each dumpling up… the thought alone makes my heart beat faster!"

1:20 h

vegan

3.4k

Christian makes vegan German ravioli

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More pastas and dumplings for your Valentine's Day

— Red wine pasta with parmesan & hazelnuts
— Pasta al limone
— Italian sausage and sage lasagna— Timballo (Italian eggplant pasta bake)
— Chinese jiaozi
— Potato and mint ravioli with sage butter

Pizza = Amore

Luise, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager: "I think any meal that *forces* you not to get up from the table after 10 minutes, has the makings of a great Valentine's Day dinner. Instead, you can stay seated for a long time and have time to talk. So, it may sound weird, but I'm a big fan of homemade pizza for this occasion. You can top it with anything the other people love, share it, and even make it together (preferably with a glass of wine). Plus, as we found out last year during our pizza issue, pizza is a love story that touches us all."

Elise, Frontend Engineer: "For me, that's a Neapolitan pizza with San Marzano tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella like from Gazzo, one of my favorite pizzerias in Berlin. Best of all, it comes along with instructions for how to pimp out your own oven so it actually gets hot enough to make the pizza fluffy and crispy at the same time."

2:20 h

vegetarian

16k

Neapolitan-style pizza with Lisa

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“When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”

— Easy white pizza
— Cheesy cauliflower pizza with shaved asparagus
— Red beet and goat cheese tarte flambée
— Caesar salad focaccia

A heart of gold? How about a heart of cheese!

Kirsten, Head of Cross-Channel Communications: "For me, it doesn't have to be particularly fancy at all. The first thing that comes to mind is cheese. Isn't there just something comforting and heartwarming about melted cheese? It's also simple: just pick your favorite soft cheese (maybe something fancier if you want to impress) and pop it in the oven. Serve with some grapes and really good bread, not to mention a bottle of rosé. Anyone can do this without much effort and it's absolutely sure to succeed and stress-free."

Want to give your cheese more texture? Then coat it with a crunchy breading, like in this recipe:

30 min

vegetarian

3.6k

5-ingredient crispy Camembert

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More cheese-y, not “cheesy” Valentine’s Day recipes:

— Classic cheese fondue
— German cheese spaetzle
— Spinach and cheese dumpling with tomato-dates sauce
— Baked gnocchi with gorgonzola

Putting in the extra effort

Melina, Food Editor: "Personally, I love everything that has to do with pistachios. It doesn't matter if the dish is sweet or not. You might think I'm crazy, but it's because, in my mind, I imagine someone having to open each individual pistachio by hand—something I hated as a kid. Since love is largely about effort, I think pistachio-anything is pretty fitting."

3:50 h

vegan

4.2k

Orange, pistachio, and polenta loaf cake

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More pistachio recipes:

— Parchment-baked feta with raspberries and pistachios
— Orecchiette with green beans and pistachio pesto
— Quick cheesecake in a glass

Breakfast in bed or a boozy brunch

Volha, Product Designer: "This beautiful, delicious, and simple recipe for pancakes with cottage cheese can win anyone's heart; I can confirm from personal experience! Although it's not particularly complex, a lot of care goes into it, and it’s even healthy. If you like, you can serve it with homemade raspberry jam."

20 min

1.5k

Thick American-style Pancakes

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Breakfast recipes for Valentine's Day, or the morning after

— Apple and cinnamon French toast roll-ups
— Blueberry waffles
— Breakfast quiche cups
— The perfect breakfast burger

Sweet temptations

Devan, Managing Editor: "I'm going to go the most obvious route and say chocolate! Not the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, which I'm not a fan of (maybe I'm just not romantic), but something with less sweetness and more depth, like a flourless chocolate cake, mousse, or cute handmade chocolate truffles."

1:05 h

6.1k

Flourless five-spice chocolate cake with ginger cream

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Ruby Goss, Food Editor: "It may be a little cheesy to say, but Hanna absolutely "captured my heart" with her raspberry, rose, and Earl Grey truffles she made for Valentine's Day (catch the video on Youtube!) They're like the gourmet version of Lindt balls that are perfectly melt-in-the-mouth. I’m obsessed with them and could easily eat 20 in one sitting. I would recommend washing them down with some champagne. For digestion, of course."

3:15 h

vegetarian

1.8k

Simple Earl Grey truffles

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More sweet recipes for Valentine’s Day

— Classic tiramisu
— Zabaglione with sour cherries
— Classic crème brûlée
— Baked vanilla pudding with warm raspberries
— Tarte tatin

Compliments of KS — Happy Valentine’s Day!

To complement the inspiration from our team, here are a few ideas to round out your special Valentine's Day cooking experience with a few tasty accompaniments. This includes drinks of course (both with and without alcohol), some edible gift ideas that can be nibbled on in the evening as a dessert or used as a sweet snack while watching a movie.

V-day drinks

— Cosmopolitan
— Red currant margarita 
— Classic Negroni
— Kir Royal
— Aperol and Elderflower cocktail
— Strawberry lemonade
— Asian-inspired lemonade

Edible gift ideas

— Chocolate-peppermint bark
— White chocolate bark with cranberries and pistachios
— Rose cupcakes
— Pistachio macarons with lemon buttercream

Love is in the air! Here’s even more Valentine's Day inspiration

— A Valentine's Day Dinner Menu Fit for a Night with Friends
— A Decadent Valentine’s Day Menu for Two

I hope I was able to whet your appetite, whether you're a romantic* or not, for Valentine's Day to give someone special a personal culinary treat. Of course, I also want to know: How do you cook your way into your heart? Let me know in the comments!