34 date night recipes

A lobster thermidor on a white serving plate

Craving something sweet? See our best indulgent dessert ideas.

Date night dinner recipes

Chicken risotto

Cook a dinner you can count on for date night. This easy risotto recipe is flavoured with chicken thighs, smoked bacon lardons and plenty of parmesan.

A risotto in its cooking pan with herbs on top

The perfect steak

Learn how to cook the best steak of your life with the help of olive's deputy food editor Adam Bush. Pair with your favourite sides for a special date night dinner.

Pici cacio e pepe

Three of the most comforting words you'll read: pasta, butter and cheese. This classic Tuscan recipe for pici cacio e pepe comes from Borough Market's Padella.

Easy roast chicken

All the decadence and comfort of a full roast, but without the trays, prep and washing-up. Plus, you can use any left-over chicken in a quick caesar salad.

One-pot sausage pasta

Rigatoni and sausage is a classic combo, and here we've used it to make a simple one-pot dish. Any short pasta will work for this magic one-pot that's ready in half an hour.

Venison steaks with caraway crushed swede

Elevate your date night with these venison steaks and buttery crushed swede. Ready In under an hour, enjoy this romantic winter dish.

A plate of venison with crushed swede on a small plate

Slow-roasted lamb with wild oregano

Impress with this succulent and comforting slow-roasted lamb recipe with wild oregano. Cooking in a rich and juicy sauce, the lamb is served with onions, tomatoes and root veg for a well-balanced feast.

Hasselback halloumi traybake

Hasselbacking the halloumi opens up more surface area for maximum crispness. Serve this easy but impressive-looking traybake with flatbreads and a green salad and let everyone dig in.

Lamb chops with green olive and orange salsa

Serve buttery lamb chops with a quick olive, orange and rosemary relish. Fresh and modern, it's a great dinner choice for when you want to impress someone special.

Lamb chops with an orange salsa on a green dinner plate

Cheese risotto

Make risotto even more luxurious with a mix of brie, stilton, cheddar and parmesan, then share with a loved one for a special dinner.

A white bowl filled with a creamy risotto topped with chopped green parsley

Stroganoff steak and sweet potato wedges

Slather your steak in a creamy, paprika-laced stroganoff sauce and serve with homemade sweet potato wedges for a quick midweek meal for two.

Steak Recipe with Stroganoff Steak Sauce and Sweet Potato Wedges

Tomato tarte tatin

Encase juicy cherry tomatoes in crisp, golden pastry to make this showstopping savoury version of the classic French tart.

Roast guinea fowl in white wine sauce

Level up your roast dinner game with this guinea fowl recipe featuring a rich and creamy chicken stock sauce with shallots and lardons. Serve with mashed potatoes and greens.

A black baking dish filled with a roast bird on a bed of creamy sauce

Butternut ravioli with brown butter and sage

Learn how to make the silkiest, smoothest dough to create out-of-this-world pasta at home, with step-by-step tips from our cookery team. This ravioli recipe is light yet satisfying, with a veil of buttery sauce and a slight sweetness from the butternut squash.

Two pieces of butternut squash ravioli on a plate

Lobster thermidor

Serve this indulgent classic with a big green salad and plenty of crusty bread for mopping up that rich, creamy sauce.

Stuffed butternut squash with cider cream sauce

Check out our impressive butternut squash recipe with veggie stuffing and a side of crunchy kale. This veg main becomes a real centrepiece when carved into slices at the table.

Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe with Cider Cream

Seafood fideuà

Fideuà is a Spanish dish similar to paella that uses short strands of pasta instead of rice. If you can't find fideuà, break angel hair pasta into short pieces.

Vegan mushroom risotto

Typically laden with butter and cheese, risotto is well known for its comforting and indulgent qualities. Here, we've transformed it into a much lighter (and totally vegan) option.

Ricotta ravioli

This glorious filled pasta – with sweet peas, zesty lemon and creamy whipped ricotta – is the perfect way to celebrate the fresh flavours of spring.

two plates of ravioli with creamy whipped ricotta and parmesan shavings on a pink tablecloth

Posh fish and chips

This one-pan, oven-baked take on the classic fish and chips is an unbelievably quick and easy family supper that’s a lot healthier, too. The crunchy, golden crumb for the fish is given extra flavour with parmesan.

An oven tray filled with golden chunky chips and breadcrumbed hunks of fish on a blue background with a creamy dip

Chicken in red wine vinegar sauce

Put that bottle of red wine vinegar in your cupboard to good use in this easy one-pot recipe. Chicken thighs are baked in a sauce of stock, wine and vinegar for a tender and flavour-packed result.

Chicken thighs in a tomato sauce in a white oven dish on a tablecloth

French onion soup

This deeply beefy French onion soup is rich with caramelised onions and topped with bubbling cheese melts, perfect for a comforting winter warmer.

Pan-fried salmon with watercress sauce

Fried salmon gets the crispy skin treatment here and is served with a vibrant (and nutritious) watercress sauce, made all the more interesting with dill, lemon, crème fraîche and capers. Also, check out more of our easy salmon recipes.