13 Favorite Family-Friendly Valentine’s Day Recipes
Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and a thoughtful meal is an easy way to make the day extra festive for the whole family! From breakfast to dessert, these Valentine’s Day recipes are a fun way to show your family how much you love them all day long!
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Valentine’s Day Recipes: The Inspiration
I grew up in a very holiday-happy home, where we never missed an opportunity to celebrate– and Valentine’s Day was no exception! From the home decor to the Valentine’s Day recipes, we were ready to celebrate!
We’d start the morning with pink milk that my mother had recently dyed, and finish the evening with light and airy frosted sugar cookies. Would we have little Valentine’s Day presents or homemade cards? You bet! Because when it came to Valentine’s Day in the Robertson house, the more the merrier!
When it came to starting our own traditions with my kids, I definitely wanted to carry the festive vibes along. So you’ll probably see some pink and red streamers, the same red heart tablecloth from my childhood, and Valentine’s Day cups and plates from the Dollar Tree adorning my table in the morning.
But I also wanted to implement holiday traditions that were simple, easy, fast, and inexpensive. A lot of the Valentine’s Day experience simply comes from taking your favorite food and adding a heart-shaped spin to it. So Valentine’s Day recipes weren’t quite so different than our normal meals; they just had a few more hearts.
We might not always make these Valentine’s Day recipes each year on February 14th, but they’re a fun way to bring some festive spirit into our meals. No matter what, we’ll definitely be dining with our cheap paper heart-themed plates and cups so we won’t have to wash a single dish!
Here are a few of our favorite meal ideas, with gorgeous photos from some talented women who have some gorgeous Valentine’s Day recipes and ideas for displaying them. Be sure to check out their Instagram pages for more food and holiday inspiration.
1. Valentine’s Day Waffles
Heat up frozen waffles (or make them from scratch!) and cut them with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Top with fresh strawberries, raspberries, whipped cream, or even some pink sprinkles, and breakfast is served! Nadia Atalla has done a fabulous job adding lovely vanilla and strawberry heart macarons to elevate this meal idea. Doesn’t this look delicious?
2. Love Berry Bowl
Top your usual smoothie bowl with red berries and sprinkles for a festive twist. Be sure to incorporate lots of red and pink fruits like fresh or frozen raspberries, strawberries, and cherries to bring out the red or pink colors. It’s a delicious dish that’s also packed with essential vitamins and nutrients. Suzi Keegan of Health with Suzi has created a stunning “LOVE” variation on the top of her smoothie, and Nirzari from Accidental Experiments has an equally stunning pink heaven smoothie with dragon fruit, mango, and lots of berries.
3. Valentine’s Day Pancakes
While you can use your trusty cookie cutter to make hearts out of your usual pancakes, adding some red food coloring to your batter to make a pink pancake recipe will be a hit with your kids- especially any Pinkalicious-loving girls. This concept also works with French toast. Noa Vreven of Noa the Foodie has made a lovely meal with these delicious oat flour pancakes so be sure to check out her delicious Valentine’s Day recipe.
Valentine’s Day Lunch Ideas
Lunch on Valentine’s Day can also be really simple. Just add a few garnishes on their favorites, and you’re good to go!
4. Heart Sandwiches
Use the same large heart cookie cutter, and cut bread into a heart shape. This will work with virtually any sandwich, from peanut butter and raspberry jam to grilled cheese to a fancy deli variety. Bonus: if you have kids who are morally opposed to the crust, the cookie-cutter instantly removes it! Don’t these tea sandwiches from Meena Khilnani look divine! The toppings of carrots with yogurt, green chutney, and purple cabbage add some lovely colors to the Valentine’s Day feast
5. Love Berry Smoothie
You can use the same recipe you’d use for the Love Berry Bowl, just use about 1-2 cups of milk (or liquid of your choice) instead of 1/2 cup. Garnish with a fun straw, fresh raspberries, and a dollop of whipped cream. Tina Green has taken this idea to the next level with her lovely sprinkle topping and heart design on the side of the cup made from banana slices. What a fun idea!
Valentine’s Day Snacks
These snacks are a fun idea to refuel after the kids get home from school, or if you need an edible craft to do with the little guys during the afternoon with simple ingredients.
6. Fruit Kebabs
Get some kebab skewers, and have your children create their own fruit kebabs using precut fruit like strawberries, bananas, watermelon, apples, and pineapple. These are healthy and delicious, so it’s a win-win! Fiona Dawson takes her fruit kebabs to the next level with some delicious chocolate fondue and little lemon drizzle cakes. It’s a wonderful option for an afternoon snack or even breakfast.
7. Valentine’s Day Snack Mix
You can make your own from scratch with any ingredients, or buy a bag of premade Chex mix, add in 1/2 cup Valentine M&MS, and 1/2 dried fruit of choice (we like cherries and strawberries) for a fun and festive snack. Or you can follow Katherine’s delicious recipe and drizzle some pretzels with white chocolate, macadamia nuts, chocolate coconut, and Valentine’s Day candy.
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Valentine’s Day dinner with the family probably won’t be a simple romantic dinner for two. Whether you want a fancy dinner with the family or a low-key pasta dish, there’s no wrong way to celebrate. Here are a few fun and festive meal ideas to celebrate the day.
8. Valentine’s Day Pizza
Roll out pizza dough, but cut it into a large heart shape. Add your favorite toppings of sauce, cheese, vegetables, and meats. You can also make mini-pizzas with our favorite heart-shaped cookie cutters. This is a great option if you have kids who want to customize their pizzas! Maria has made a gorgeous pizza and we love her beautiful colors using pesto instead of marinara sauce.
9. Valentine Sliders
Get 1 lb of ground beef, and shape 4 patties into hearts (you can use the cookie cutter as a template). Match patties with bread also cut into the same shape, and enjoy! This will make four large sliders.
10. Steak
You can’t go wrong with a classic grilled steak! Grill some juicy steaks, serve with baked potatoes and a salad, and you’ve got the perfect Valentine’s Day meal for either a romantic dinner or family extravaganza. No extra heart shapes or sprinkles necessary!
Valentine’s Day Desserts
Nothing sweetens the mood quite like some favorite dessert recipes. Here are a few of our favorite tasty treats to celebrate the day.
11. Chocolate Fondue
Take the fruit kebabs you’ve used at lunch, and dip them in chocolate, like Fiona above. Experiment with ruby chocolate for pink chocolate fondue, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate . . . or mix a few together. Dip fresh strawberries, raspberries, or pound cake in your choice of chocolate. We’re inspired by this pink chocolate fondue Libby came across in Amsterdam. With sprinkles, strawberries, ladyfingers, pink marshmallows, and sprinkles, it’s got everything for the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert.
12. Sugar Cookies
These recipes for sugar cookies and the icing is the perfect sweet treat for enjoying as a family or sharing with friends and neighbors. Don’t forget to put the conversation heart toppers or your favorite Valentine’s Day candy on top! If you want a tasty treat, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between two sugar cookies for an ice cream sandwich.
If you’d rather have a creamier vanilla buttercream frosting instead, try out this recipe. It’s a little softer and not as sticky, so it might work better for little hands. This frosting variation works really well on different cookies, cakes, or cupcakes.
The Perfect Rolled Sugar Cookie (with Glossy Icing)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar regular granulated sugar is also okay, but confectioner's sugar gives cookies a creamier texture
- 3/4 tsp almond extract or use extra vanilla if you don't have almond extract
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Combine butter and sugar in standing mixer or mixing bowl, and beat until they’re creamy, light, and well-combined.
- Add in egg and vanilla (and almond) extract until well-combined.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Mix dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine.
- Divide dough into two balls and wrap with plastic wrap.
- Chill for two hours or longer. You can also freeze dough if desired.
- After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease baking pans.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease baking pans.
- Generously dust a clean surface with flour and deposit one chilled cookie dough ball onto the surface.
- Lightly flour the dough and roll out to 1/8 inch (for thinner, crispier cookies) or 1/4 inch (for thicker, softer cookies). Continue to add flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it does not stick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-10 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve as-is, or wait until cool to frost.
Nutrition
More Valentine’s Day Recipes and Ideas
If you’re still not feeling inspired by these Valentine’s Day recipes, here are a few more meal ideas and tasty treats to enjoy the day.
Savory Dishes and Appetizers
- Pasta: It’s easy for kids, and you can always practice that scene in Lady and the Tramp.
- Chicken: Yes, you can elevate simple chicken with this romantic chicken dinner dish. If you’re eating with younger kids, you’ll probably have better success with this kid-approved cornflake chicken recipe instead!
- Pork Tenderloin: Another relatively inexpensive and easy meal that feels fancy.
- Beef Wellington: Channel your inner Gordon Ramsay and make some delicious beef wellingtons.
- Herbed Goat Cheese Toasts: It’s deceptively simple to make, but can elevate your dinner. It’s probably going to be a bigger hit with adults than kids, though.
- Steak Salad: for a lighter variation on a steak dinner. This works well with flank steaks.
- Classic Cheese Fondue: a fun family meal. We love this pink cheese fondue from Yasmin Charlotte. Isn’t it the perfect Valentine’s Day appetizer?
Sweet Treats
- Strawberry Shortcake: You can’t beat a classic!
- Strawberry Shortcake Truffles: Small bites of heaven.
- Homemade Chocolate Cake: top it with fresh berries, whipped cream, and ice cream for an extra treat. We’re big fans of this one.
- Glazed Strawberry Fruit Pizza: Make it heart-shaped to celebrate the day.
Favorite Valentine’s Day Recipes
February 14 is a really fun time to show your family how much you love them, and food is a wonderful way to demonstrate that. These ideas are just a starting point, and there are countless variations.
Choose your family’s favorite recipes, and add your own twist. Use tomato-based pasta noodles with a marinara sauce for a pink spaghetti dinner. If cookies aren’t your thing, whip up a decadent cake or delicious cupcakes or strawberry cheesecake.
Incorporating one or two of these ideas into your holiday might only take a few minutes (or longer if you’re brave enough to bake and decorate those sugar cookies!), but it establishes fun traditions they’ll remember for years. It also makes Valentine’s Day less about romantic love and more about recognizing the love and appreciation for family.
What are your favorite recipe ideas for Valentine’s Day? Let us know on social #getfamilyapp!
