The Best Valentine’s Meal Deals From Supermarkets For 2022

Finally, we’re allowed out and about to celebrate Valentine’s Day but dine-at-home meals are still very much on the menu. The HuffPost UK Life team snuggled up with our better halves and friends to find the best meal for the big day.

We’ve reviewed them for taste, ease and value for money and ranked them by hearts out of five. Here are our favourites.

Waitrose’s £20 dinner for two

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Waitrose's sea bass fillets with greens.

Harry Slater

Waitrose’s sea bass fillets with greens.

Everything in Waitrose’s £20 dinner for two was perfectly fine and that’s sort of the problem. A Valentine’s meal should be special and pre-prepared food, no matter how fancy, doesn’t exactly say “I love you”. Granted, you could say this about every meal in our taste test, so let’s talk about the food.

Simple and satisfying, our two smoked and poached salmon terrines were close to the perfect starter. Along with a couple of glasses of San Leo Nerello Mascalese Rosato, they made for the best part the meal. (If you prefer a very dry fizz, go for the Calle d’Oro prosecco.)

Waitrose's salmon terrines.

Harry Slater

Waitrose’s salmon terrines.

The main required a bit more effort. With only buttered greens as a side, the sea bass fillets with a roasted tomato and olive filling needed some company and the addition of a bed of brown packet rice made the dish look prettier and fuller. Finally, gooey chocolate puddings from Waitrose’s luxury No.1 range were an indulgent but slightly floury end to our meal. They need a scoop of real vanilla ice cream with them.

Despite these shortcomings, it’s hard to knock the value for money from Waitrose’s extensive range. Treat yourself. Harry Slater, Deputy Editor.

Co-op’s £15 meal with alcohol (or £12 with a soft drink)

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Co-op's Irresistible range for Valentine's Day.

Faima Bakar

Co-op’s Irresistible range for Valentine’s Day.

Co-op’s Irresistible range for Valentine’s Day is fantastic and extensive. We started with a drool-worthy portion of their Camembert with garlic and parsley sharing bread. Although we found the bread a little dry, the cheese is so rich and creamy we didn’t mind. x

Their standout main is the steak and scotch eggs, which is sure to be a partner pleaser. I can’t eat meat, so instead tried the sea bass with a side of steak chips and Mediterranean-style veggies, and of course cute heart-shaped butter pieces on top.

Lastly, the melt in the middle puddings could melt your heart. They were a truly indulgent chocolatey, gooey bite heaven – but a 500 calories a pop, I can’t imagine having them often. And the prosecco didn’t disappoint. Faima Bakar, Life Reporter.

Tesco’s £15 meal with Prosecco

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The starter, main with two sides, and dessert from Tesco. Comes with Prosecco.

Rachel Moss

The starter, main with two sides, and dessert from Tesco. Comes with Prosecco.

Tesco’s deal has an impressive 32 products (including a number of vegan items), allowing shoppers to choose from more than 76,000 combinations, so you’re bound to find something you like.

We opt for the feta and red pepper tartlets to start, which are surprisingly light and moreish, but do look a little plain on the plate without the addition of some rocket (which I bought separately).

The main of duck breast with a raspberry hoisin sauce, alongside a trio of greens and heart-shaped herby potato croquette, feels like a real treat and something I wouldn’t usually cook. The duck is fairly small and does shrink quite considerably, though, so I graciously give my husband the larger portion and settle for a piece resembling a large, red slug. Still, it tastes delicious.

The chocolate and orange pots are the real stars, though, with the bottom layer reminiscent of the world’s most delicious Calippo. We practically lick the sides clean. For 15 quid – with a bottle of very quaffable fizz – this meal is great value. Rachel Moss, Life Editor.

Asda’s £15 meal for two

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Asda's sirloin steak with honeyed baby parsnips and triple-cooked chips.

Melanie Grant

Asda’s sirloin steak with honeyed baby parsnips and triple-cooked chips.

Asda’s Valentine’s meal offers plenty of choice with meat, fish and vegan options, and hearts thrown-in for good measure (reader, you’ll see).

We for the tempura prawns followed by the sirloin steak, triple-cooked chips with honey baby parsnips and Chantenay carrots. It’s all relatively easy to put together, even if the starter and both sides all go in the oven at different times. But thanks to the bang-on cooking instructions – especially for the steak – you’ll end up serving a meal that looks restaurant-quality.

The tempura prawns, with its chilli-by-name-not-necessarily-by-heat dip are nice enough but not memorable. The juicy steak is notable though. It’s made all the more succulent swimming in the melted (originally heart-shaped) peppercorn butter and complemented with the dreamy, soft and crispy chips. For that added crunch, I suggest a few extra mins in the oven.

The honeyed baby parsnips are worth fighting anyone for, less so with the chantenay carrots. Even after 40 mins oven-baking, some were still hard.

Asda's gooey chocolate pudding.

Melanie Grant

Asda’s gooey chocolate pudding.

It’s much relief that the sticky toffee pudding isn’t another oven job. After 90 seconds of microwaving you’re pouring sweet toffee sauce onto its chocolate-embossed heart (yes, another one). Our rosé pinot grigio helps cut through the saccharine flavours (or you could add a dollop of crème fraîche or cream).

The box of Lily O’Brien’s chocolates is perhaps best saved for after you’ve had your other dessert…Melanie Grant, Audience Editor.

Morrison’s £15 meal for two

Morrison’s

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With a starter, a main, two sides, a dessert and a drink for just £15, the Valentine’s deal from Morrisons is a real steal. The range of options is impressive and includes plenty of veggie and vegan delights, which impresses my newly vegetarian fiancé.

We go for the garlic and cream cheese mushrooms to start, which looks a little underwhelming, but once I taste the whipped, velvety garlic topping, I realise looks can be deceiving. It’s the perfect combination of decadent cheese and earthy mushroom.

Next, it’s the slow cooked ‘Coq au Vin’ for me and a vegan beef-lees Wellington for my partner (each extra main comes at an additional cost). Both are quick and easy to prepare.

Served in a red wine and beechwood smoked bacon sauce and topped with mushrooms and onions, the chicken delicately falls off the bone. It’s succulent, warming, and absolutely delicious. The beef-less Wellington also goes down well. My partner describes the pastry as unexpectedly buttery and wonderfully flakey. We share an uneventful side of carrots and kale in an orange dressing and a creamy, garlic-spiked portion of dauphinoise potatoes.

For dessert, my partner tries the Belgium chocolate pudding, but I’m unable to take part as it seems each dessert option “may contain nuts”, and I have a serious allergy. The pud smells absolutely divine. I assume, from the fact my partner demolishes his dessert in about three seconds flat, that it’s just as tasty.

We finish our meal feeling full and satisfied and wash it down with the crisp, satisfying prosecco.

Sainsbury’s £15 meal for two

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I love a good supermarket meal so I’m excited Sainsbury’s Valentines offering. Their options include a starter, main, dessert and bottle of fizz for £15.

We start with the the Scottish mussels in white wine, which were creamy and filling. Next, we tuck into Higgidy’s spinach, red pepper and feta quiche. It’s well seasoned and the feta is delicious. Sainsbury’s doesn’t include a side in their meal, but we can’t resisted their truffle mash. It’s rich and buttery and pairs well with the quiche. Finally, Gü’s salted caramel cheesecake makes for a fantastic finish. Can you ever go wrong with salted caramel? Our sparkling rosé is the only let down. It’s too dry for my taste. Habiba Katsha, Jnr. Life Reporter.

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Greggs’ New Vegan Melt Is Here, But Is It Any Good?

First, there was the game-changing sausage roll. Next, the Quorn-based ‘steak’ bake. Now, Greggs has added another vegan alternative to its menu: the Vegan Sausage, Bean and CheeZe Melt.

Available in 2,000 shops nationwide, the new product is designed to mirror the traditional, meat-filled Sausage, Bean and Cheese Melt, or SBCM, as it’s known among die-hard fans.

The vegan-friendly version is wrapped in layers of vegan puff pastry, but instead of the classic filling, it contains vegan sausage, baked beans and grated original and mozzarella flavour vegan cheeZe (yes, you have to spell it with a giant ‘Z’).

Customers queued round the block for Greggs’ previous vegan releases, so it’s no wonder the retailer is running with a theme.

Where other high street bakeries have struggled, Greggs has managed to bounce back from a tough 18 months, with profits now outstripping pre-pandemic levels. Can this £1.60 beanie bake help keep Greggs in the black?

We tried it to find out.

The vegan SBCM

The vegan SBCM

Faima Bakar, life reporter ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“My hopes are very high with Greggs’ new vegan sausage, bean and cheese melt. The last time I tried a new vegan item – the famous sausage roll – it had healing powers. I was sick at the time it was launched but the sausage roll was the only thing I could stomach. I got better after eating it. See, healing powers. So I was expecting the same kind of magic from this one.

“Unfortunately, it falls a bit flat. The beans feel too tomatoey and runny, it overpowers the rest of the flavours – but the sausage and pastry do satisfy. It looks and smells the same as other Greggs items, and has the crumbliness of them too, so maybe don’t eat it over your laptop.

“Though I don’t love this one as much as I like the other vegan products at Greggs, I am glad they’re continuing down this route. As I follow a halal diet, I can’t eat their sausage roll, steak bakes and melts. But the vegan offering changes all that.”

Rachel Moss, life editor ⭐️⭐️

“My breakfast routine usually consists of tea and something sugary, so it’s safe to say I’d never normally pick up a giant savoury square pre-10am.

“I’ve got to hand it to Greggs though, the chefs have nailed the pastry – it’s buttery in texture, golden in appearance and you’d have no idea it was vegan unless someone pointed it out. Unfortunately, things go downhill once you bite into it; the filling is disappointing, mainly because there isn’t enough of it.

“The vegan sausage is almost entirely absent and the cheese is so mild, you can’t taste it. Inside the largely hollow shell, the dominant flavour is beans. I like beans, but would I buy a plain old ‘Bean Melt’? No, I would not.”

Where's the filling? 

Where’s the filling? 

Nancy Groves, head of life ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Despite being a carb fiend, I’ve never really got into Greggs, I think because I prefer my starch in potato, rice or pasta form, rather than pastries and pies. Still, I’m not going to turn down a free meal, and this melt is certainly that: proteinous, despite its plant-based credentials.

“Biting in, I can taste all the different elements we’re promised even if I can’t see them – the filling has that unmistakeable pinky-red hue of baked beans which makes me feel a bit queasy. But neither the ‘sausage’ chunks or ‘cheeZe’ give me the ick that I often get from vegan substitutes, and the pastry square pretty much holds its shape, making it easy to eat on the go – or who am I kidding? – at my work-from-home desk. I’m left full, if craving some greens. I still don’t get the Greggs hype, but this melt is my type. Yes, I’m surprised too.”

Habiba Katsha, life reporter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“As a certified Greggs fan I’m so excited that they’ve extended their vegan line. Though I’m not vegan per se, it’s nice to know that there’s a healthier alternative available. I grew up on Greggs and my fondest memories have been getting a sausage roll in the morning with my mum.

“The presentation of the sausage, bean and cheese melt is perfect, but I expect nothing less from Greggs. It’s golden and crispy. I’m shocked these are even vegan because I expected it to taste bland, but it’s quite the opposite. The filling really is flavourful and I can taste all the elements coming through. The nice surprise is how I feel after eating it. Even though I’m full, I still feel light because it isn’t too heavy on the stomach.”

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