Food and Recipes Dinner 28 Easy and Delicious Date Night Dinner Ideas By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 27, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Let us guess—it's been way too long since your last date night. Life has a knack for getting in the way of small pleasures like date nights. It can take forever to get reservations at the new restaurant downtown, and who has time to get all dolled up for date night when there are kids dirty from soccer practice running around the house? We get it. But there is still a way to plan a romantic date night. It's time to clear your schedule for a few hours to enjoy an at-home dinner together. With these amazing date night dinner ideas, you won't even realize you're not at a fancy restaurant. And staying in doesn't just save your schedule some hassle, but it's also much more budget-friendly than eating out. Even if you're trying to save up, you can still treat yourself to one of our affordable date ideas. These fun dinner recipes take pantry staples and weeknight favorites like pasta, chicken thighs, and pork chops and dress them up for an adults-only dinner. With these five-star suppertime superstars, you'll save money and get to focus on what matters about date night—each other. No reservation required. 01 of 28 Roasted Beef Tenderloin Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling; Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Roasted Beef Tenderloin If your date night go-to is a steakhouse, you'll love to serve a beautiful roasted beef tenderloin at home. 02 of 28 Creamy Rice with Scallops Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Creamy Rice with Scallops Scallops feel dressy enough for date night, but this 30-minute recipe is easy enough that you can actually relax and enjoy your night in. 03 of 28 Pasta with Burst Tomatoes and Mascarpone Hector Sanchez Recipe: Pasta with Burst Tomatoes and Mascarpone This pasta recipe might look restaurant-worthy, but it starts with frozen tortellini and ends with a handful of pantry staples. 04 of 28 Best-Ever Crab Cakes with Green Tomato Slaw Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Best-Ever Crab Cakes with Green Tomato Slaw You might think of crab cakes as a dish you only order at restaurants, but once you see how easy they are to make at home, they'll be on your at-home date night rotation. 05 of 28 Grilled Steak with Blistered Beans and Peppers Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Grilled Steak with Blistered Beans and Peppers Take date night outside and fire up the grill with this colorful, flavorful dinner recipe. 06 of 28 Almond-Crusted Tilapia Ralph Anderson Recipe: Almond-Crusted Tilapia This recipe looks and sounds formal, but it only takes a few ingredients to put together, and it will go well with just about any side dishes you like. 07 of 28 Grilled Curried Chicken Thighs with Charred-Vegetable Rice Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Grilled Curried Chicken Thighs with Charred-Vegetable Rice Curry powder brings bright color and flavor to these chicken thighs, which cook beautifully on the grill. 08 of 28 Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce This simple but stunning pasta recipe is only missing a glass of wine on the side. 09 of 28 Braised Lamb Shanks with Parmesan-Chive Grits Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Braised Lamb Shanks with Parmesan-Chive Grits Your partner will never know that this sophisticated meal was made in the slow cooker, and you don't have to tell them. 10 of 28 Tomato-Basil Lasagna Roll Ups Hector Sanchez Recipe: Tomato-Basil Lasagna Roll Ups This recipe has all the flavor and comfort of classic lasagna with elevated presentation that was made for date night. 11 of 28 Seared Scallops with Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce and Orzo Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Seared Scallops with Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce and Orzo This summery pasta recipe looks restaurant-worthy, but it only requires 10 minutes of hands-on time. 12 of 28 Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak Hector Sanchez Recipe: Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak Enjoy a restaurant-style steak from the comfort of your own home. Easy and delicious, this skillet dinner recipe doesn't disappoint. 13 of 28 Chicken Alouette Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Chicken Alouette We keep turning to this trusty vintage recipe for dinner parties and holidays, and for good reason. 14 of 28 Crab-and-Bacon Linguine Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Crab-and-Bacon Linguine You'll feel like you're at a white tablecloth-restaurant with this elegant pasta on your plate. 15 of 28 Slow-Cooker Ginger, Sweet Tea, and Whiskey Short Ribs Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Slow-Cooker Ginger, Sweet Tea, and Whiskey Short Ribs These slow-cooker short ribs are easy to prepare, but the bright, tangy sauce they're paired with feels so sophisticated. 16 of 28 Fresh Salmon Cakes with Buttermilk Dressing Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Fresh Salmon Cakes with Buttermilk Dressing The salmon croquettes made with canned salmon from your childhood wouldn't recognize this elevated, fresh recipe that's perfect for a light date night with a glass of chilled white wine. 17 of 28 Cast-Iron Chicken Piccata Greg Dupree Recipe: Cast-Iron Chicken Piccata You can make restaurant-worthy chicken piccata in a flash thanks to your loyal cast-iron skillet. Serve over whatever noodles you have on hand and dinner is done. 18 of 28 Slow-Cooker Bolognese Sauce Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce If Italian is one of your go-to cuisines for a date night on the town, replicate it with a fun at-home date night that's just as delicious but much more budget-friendly. 19 of 28 Chicken-Mushroom-Sage Casserole Iain Bagwell Recipe: Chicken-Mushroom-Sage Casserole You probably don't picture a casserole when you think "date night," but this pretty dish is presentable enough to fit the bill—with all the ease you love about casseroles. 20 of 28 Skillet Orzo with Fish and Herbs Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: Skillet Orzo with Fish and Herbs This one-dish recipe is just as easy to prepare as a weeknight family dinner but feels more grown-up for date night. 21 of 28 Cast-Iron Pork Cacciatore Stephen DeVries, Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Cast-Iron Pork Cacciatore You're just 30 minutes away from putting this impressive dinner on the table—no joke. 22 of 28 Eggplant Rollups Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Eggplant Rollups Maybe you're doing date night at home to cut out the extra calories that come with eating out. This low-carb version of eggplant rollups doesn't skimp on the comfort of indulging in classic Italian food. 23 of 28 Baked Chicken Roulade Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Baked Chicken Roulade This recipe elevates budget-friendly chicken to a date night-ready meal. 24 of 28 One-Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: One-Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo Step away from the jarred Alfredo sauce: This recipe is the easiest way to make it at home for a fun new recipe for you two to try together. 25 of 28 Molasses-Soy Glazed Salmon and Vegetables Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food styling: Karen Rankin Recipe: Molasses-Soy Glazed Salmon and Vegetables Salmon entrees at restaurants can get pricey at restaurants, so it's the perfect at-home date night dish to save money. Cheers! 26 of 28 Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Beth Dreiling Hontzas Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin In case you didn't already know, everything is better with bacon. This versatile recipe will pair well with any of your favorite side dishes. 27 of 28 Lemony Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Artichokes in Parchment Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Lemony Baked Cod, Potatoes, and Artichokes in Parchment This sophisticated seafood supper is sure to wow your sweetheart. 28 of 28 Easy Shrimp Scampi with Basil Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Easy Shrimp Scampi with Basil Pair this simple, succulent pasta dish with some crusty bread, a starter salad, and a glass of white wine, and you've got an incredible date night ahead of you. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit