Easy date night ideas are a must-have for any couple. These 18 foods and drinks are perfect for whenever you want a fun night in with your partner.
We’re big fans of keeping the romance alive in a relationship. Whether you’ve just started dating someone or have been married for 20 years, it’s important to always keep dating your significant other.
Sometimes making time for dates with your partner can feel like a burden, which is why we’re a huge fan of easy date night ideas at home.
A great date doesn’t need to mean getting dressed up, leaving the house, and spending a lot of money. It just needs to be quality time spent with your other half. We’re constantly coming up with easy date night ideas at home, to make sure that we’re carving out enough time for each other.
And it shouldn’t be any surprise that most of our date night ideas revolve around food. We love good food and drinks, and there are few ways we’d rather spend time than by eating and drinking yummy things with each other.
What Makes a Good Easy Date Night Idea?
There are a few different things that go into easy date night ideas. Here are the essentials in our eyes.
- It’s actually easy. Easy date nights should actually be easy! The entire point of an easy date night idea is that you don’t need to stress over it. You should spend your day excited for that evening’s date, rather than fretting over getting home on time, getting the food thrown together, and making sure everything’s good. Whether you’re making a full meal or just some cocktails together, it should actually be easy enough that you’re looking forward to it.
- Minimal clean up. Similarly, you don’t want to spend your date night fretting about the clean up that awaits you afterwards, or the next day. A good easy date night idea will have minimal clean up, so you can just enjoy the food, drinks, and company.
- It’s fun. Despite being easy, you also want to make sure that something actually differentiates a date night from any other night. Maybe that means you eat something a little more indulgent, or a little more expensive than you normally would. Perhaps it’s just a really fun food you’ve been meaning to try, or a weekday cocktail that you would usually save for the weekend.
- Have some more activities planned. We’ve got you covered for fun food and drink recipes, but you can take your home date to the next level by planning a fun activity. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but knowing that after dinner you’ll play a game, or watch a movie makes your date night a lot more fun.
- Be present. Part of the fun of a date night, even a simple date night idea, is that it reminds us of when we first started dating someone. When you went on your first dates with your partner, you probably didn’t have your phone out while eating dinner, or the TV on in the background. So make that the case when having a date night at home. Put away your phones and other distractions, and just be present with your partner … and with your food and drinks!
Now let’s get to making some easy date night ideas.
18 Easy Date Night Recipes You Need to Try
These dinners, desserts, and cocktails are perfect for a date night at home with your partner. They're easy to make, require minimal clean up, and give you the indulgent, romantic flavor of a fancy night out on the town.
Is there any food that defines a nice date night like steak? This recipe will give you fancy steakhouse quality New York strip steaks, for a fraction of the price, and not much work at all. It’s perfect for a date night.
Yes, you read that correctly. This pasta has champagne in it, and cream! Talk about two indulgent, date night ingredients. It’s a rich and luxurious dish, but not too heavy.
Fajitas are near the top of our list when it comes to fun food. And easy date nights should be fun! Fajitas are not just fun to eat, but a lot of fun to make as well, so they’re a perfect dish to make if your date night includes cooking together.
If you want to feel like you’re in a fancy restaurant for your home date night, then this is the recipe for you. Chicken milanese is surprisingly easy to make at home, but it feels so fun and fancy. Put on a nice outfit, crack a good bottle of wine, and eat this recipe, and you’ll have a perfect night together.
We said it before and we’ll say it again: no food defines date night quite like steak. And we’ve never encountered an easier steak dish than this. Everything is made in one pan for super easy clean up, and it’s impossible to mess up.
Pork tenderloin is another great date night meal. It feels like a fancy cut of meat that you would get when out at a fancy restaurant, but it’s quite affordable, and it’s easy to cook with a few simple tricks and tips. This dish tastes straight out of your favorite restaurant.
This chicken recipe is rich and indulgent tasting, yet it’s pretty healthy and super easy to make. You’ll be sure to impress your partner if you make this for a date night dinner.
This recipe is easy to make, and creates minimal mess. But the pork chops will melt in your mouth they’re so juicy and tender. Have this dish with some nice wine and you’ve got all the workings of a perfect date night at home.
You don’t need to get dressed up, leave the house, and spend a lot of money to have a fancy Italian date. You can do it all at home, with this simple but luxurious seafood pasta. The flavors pop, and it doesn’t hurt that it pairs perfectly with a nice white wine.
Creme brulee is an iconic date night dessert. It’s so luxurious, creamy, and rich … it’s truly perfect. This recipe takes it up a notch by using Irish cream. A fancy dessert made with alcohol? Now that’s the ideal dessert for a date night at home.
If there’s a more romantic or sexy food to make than chocolate fondue, we haven’t found it yet. You can customize this recipe as much as you want, with any kinds of treats to dip in the rich, melty chocolate.
The famous grey stuff at Disneyland and Disney World is great for a Disney date. But it’s also incredibly easy to make for a date at home, and only uses 4 ingredients! Plus, you can throw on a Disney movie and make it a Disney date at home!
I mean … come on! You can’t tell me that bourbon cherry pie doesn’t sound perfect for a date night. This recipe uses a pre-made pie crust, which makes it super easy and quick to throw together. But it doesn’t taste like it was easy or quick.
This is one of the most seductive cocktails you’ll ever try. With amaretto and orange liquor, this is the perfect cocktail for a late night date night at home, with some smooth music on. Turn your home into a two-person speakeasy!
We have two favorite alcohols for date night: bourbon and red wine. This cocktail uses both of them, with some cherries for good measure. It’s basically romance in a glass.
If there was ever a cocktail named for a date night, this is the one! Doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty darn delicious, too.
Martinis are a classy cocktail, which is always fun for a date night. But this recipe is a little more fun and cozy than a traditional martini. Pumpkin spice liqueur and vanilla vodka make for a fun, exotic, and comforting cocktail, perfect for drinking on the couch or by the fire.
This recipe has a whole lot going on, which we think is a ton of fun for a date night at home. Fireball cinnamon whiskey is festive and exciting, and it’s mixed with apple liquor, caramel vodka, and a whole bunch of fruit. This cocktail is all kinds of fun, but be careful … you’ll definitely want a few glasses.
