How much could you save on Valentine’s Day meal deals? - Which? News (2024)

Valentine's Day is right around the corner - and with the cost of living crisis continuing to bite, many will be celebrating at home rather than at a restaurant this year.

Most major supermarkets are offering discounts if you buy a combination of ready meals, desserts, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the lead-up to 14 February.

Here we reveal how much money you could save at your favourite supermarket by opting for a Valentine's meal deal.

How do supermarket Valentine's meal deals compare?

Most supermarkets run some sort of meal deal promotion around Valentine's Day, allowing you to pick from a selection of items to unlock an overall discount.

If you go for the most expensive options included in the meal deals at Asda, Co-op, M&S and Morrisons you could save more than 50% on the items' combined total shelf price.

Here's a rundown of what to expect from the Valentine's Day deals on offer in 2024. We've included the maximum amount you could save if you choose the menu's priciest items.*

Remember that some supermarkets are more expensive than others and sell similar products at different prices. While a larger maximum saving might look more attractive, it's possible another supermarket's deal could be better value.

• Find out more:cheapest supermarkets of 2024

Asda

Meal deal price:£12

Max saving:£12.50

What's included:Starter, main, side (x2), dessert, drink

Dates available:8 to 20 February

Asda’s Valentine’s Day promotion is an upgrade of its existing ‘Bistro Dine in for 2’ offer. The typical ‘Bistro’ deal includes just one side and doesn’t include a drink.

On offer are a combination of old favourites - think steak and ale pie and lasagne - and themed products such as Valentine’s profiteroles and vegan brie hearts.

If you pick the most expensive items on the menu, you’ll save £12.50 compared to what you’d pay if you bought them separately - a saving of just over half price.

Find it atAsda.com.

Co-op

Meal deal price:£7 (£6 for members)

Max saving:£3.10 (£4.10 for members)

What's included:Main, side

Dates available:24 January to 14 February

Co-op is offering a mini Valentine’s feast from its ‘Irresistible’ product range, featuring dishes like macaroni cheese and dauphinoise potatoes.

The menu’s pretty small, but it’s not Co-op’s only Valentine’s Day promotion - it's also running a pizza and prosecco deal for £12 (£10 for members) and a steak and chips deal for £7 (£6 for members).

Find it atCo-op.co.uk.

M&S (and Ocado)

Meal deal price:£25

Max saving:£16.75

What's included:Starter, main, side, dessert, drink or chocolate

Dates available:9 to 14 February

You can find the M&S Valentine’s meal deal in-store or online via Ocado. You’ll save more than 50% if you add the most expensive items to your basket.

Most of the food courses come from M&S’s ‘Dine In’ range.

Find it in-store at M&S and onOcado.com.

Morrisons

Meal deal price:£17 (£15 for More Card holders and online)

Max saving:£19.95 (£21.95 with a More Card)

What's included:Starter, main, side (x2), dessert, drink

Dates available:8 to 14 February

Morrisons has the second-longest Valentine’s deal menu of these supermarkets and the largest range of drinks.

Most of its courses consist of items from its ‘The Best’ range, including tempura prawns, smoked salmon, raspberry profiteroles and Kylie Minogue alcohol-free wine.

Choose wisely and the deal will reduce prices by more than 50% for loyalty cardholders and non-cardholders alike (cardholders will save slightly more).

Find it atMorrisons.com.

Sainsbury's

Meal deal price:£15

Max saving:£14.25

What's included:Main, side, dessert, drink

Dates available:7 to 14 February

All the food courses on Sainsbury’s Valentine’s menu come from the grocer’s 'Taste the Difference' range.

Making the priciest picks will save you £14.25 compared to buying the items separately – very close to 50% off.

Find it at Sainsburys.co.uk.

Tesco

Meal deal price:£15

Max saving:£11.50

What's included:Main, side, dessert, drink

Dates available:9 to 14 February

Tesco is the only supermarket on this list whose Valentine’s deal is exclusive to customers with a loyalty card.

If you don’t have a Clubcard, you can still buy items from the Valentine’s menu, but you’ll have to pay full price as the deal mechanic won’t kick in to give you the savings.

The £18 deal is available at large Tesco stores and online, but the chain is also offering a slimmed-down Valentine’s deal, again exclusive to Clubcard customers, at Express stores and via its delivery service Whoosh.

The smaller deal is £12 and doesn’t include starters.

Find it atTesco.com.

Waitrose

Meal deal price:£20

Max saving:£19.40

What's included:Starter, main, side, dessert, drink

Dates available:7 to 14 February

Waitrose has the largest Valentine’s menu of the deals we looked at, with a wide range of products available to choose from, mostly from the upmarket chain’s No.1 range.

Picking the priciest product for each course will net you £19.40 in savings – nearly 50% off.

Waitrose is also running a Valentine’s meal deal for dogs, so your four-legged friends don’t have to miss out.

Find it atWaitrose.com.

What are other supermarkets offering for Valentine's Day?

You’ll notice we didn’t include Aldi, Lidl or Iceland on this list. That’s because these supermarkets aren’t running ‘meal deal’ promotions this year.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have Valentine’s Day offers, though.

Aldi has a menu of romantic food options available from 9 February, including heart-shaped garlic bread and heart-shaped lobster pasta. You can’t unlock extra savings by picking certain items from the menu, but it’s all very affordable anyway (no surprise from our cheapest supermarket of the year for 2023).

Lidl has similarly launched limited-edition Valentine’s dishes, available from 8 February. You’ll find beef burgers with heart-shaped cheese melt and heart-shaped chicken nuggets among them. Again, there’s no ‘meal deal’ as such, but it’s all reasonably priced.

Iceland is running two deals for Valentine’s Day: two for £10 on steaks, and a free Ben & Jerry's ice cream when you buy two of its 'Italpizzas'.

• Find out more:how to spend less at the supermarket

*Max savings calculated by choosing the most expensive items from each course on 1 February 2024. Products out of stock or not yet launched on this date were not included in the calculations.