23 Heart-Shaped Foods Perfect for Valentine's Day

A big box of chocolates is all well and good, but nothing says "I love you" quite like a sweet treat or a slice of pizza with love baked into each bite.

January 26, 2023

By: Food Network Kitchen

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Photo By: Matt Armendariz

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Eat Your Heart Out

If the way to someone's heart is through his or her stomach, these made-with-love foods cut right to the chase. Sweet Valentine’s Day breakfast ideas like pancakes and bacon, romantic dinner recipes including appetizers and mains and swoon-worthy desserts—we’ve got everything you need to set your valentine’s heart aflutter.

Don't Go Bacon My Heart

Start your Valentine's Day off the right way with your sweetie's other true love: bacon. Fold strips into hearts on a baking sheet (inset with a rack if you have one) and bake at 400 degrees F until crisp.

Heart-Shaped Lasagna Bundt

No matter how you choose to celebrate, this adorable lasagna is a must! It takes a bit of time to pull off but it’s not difficult to assemble as long as you have a heart-shaped Bundt pan. Pair it with a bottle of red and a good movie for a cozy date night—or serve it as a pasta course as part of a larger Valentine’s Day menu. Either way, you’re sure to fall in love.

Get the Recipe: Heart-Shaped Lasagna Bundt

The Heart of the Batter

These heart-shaped hotcakes take breakfast in bed to a new level. Think of a squeeze bottle filled with batter as your kitchen paintbrush: Squirt a heart outline on a hot griddle, let it start to set, and then flood it with more batter for charming less-than-perfect hotcakes.

Chocolate-Covered Ice Cream Hearts

Give your valentine a new kind of chocolate-covered strawberry this year — made of ice cream!

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Ice Cream Hearts

Take a Pizza My Heart

A pair of scissors is the only tool you need to cut presliced pepperoni into hearts. Use them to dress up a frozen pie, or go all out and make homemade pizza, shaping the dough into a big heart, too.

Flamin' Hot Cheeto Mozzarella Hearts

Nothing says "my heart is yours" like these spicy, cheesy, crunchy treats. There's nothing subtle about them—from the blazing red color to the bold flavor, they clearly show your Valentine how much you care.

Get the Recipe: Flamin' Hot Cheeto Mozzarella Hearts

Sealed with a Shrimp

For those with a savory bent, two shrimp arranged kissing with curved-sides out make a you-know-what. (Use jumbo if you're feeling fancy.)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tarts

These adorable tarts are a spin on a childhood favorites. They're filled with raspberry cream cheese, which peeks through a little heart window in each tart.

Get the Recipe: Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tarts

Home Is Where the Pork Is

Nothing says "I love you" like a home-cooked meal. Butterfly a boneless pork chop or chicken breast and you have a lean, good-for-you main that's fit for the dinner plate of that special someone.

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

Whether you are looking for a homemade gift for someone special or a fun holiday activity with kids, these sugar cookies couldn’t be simpler, tastier or more beautiful. We take the buttery and perfectly crisp rounds and dip them into colored icing, resulting in a marbled and jewel-like effect that’ll surely impress your valentine. Swap out the cookie cutter shapes and colors to create cookies for any holiday or special occasion.

Get the Recipe: Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

Hot Date Cheese Plate

Use a mini heart cutter to shape cheddar, Havarti or other semi-firm cheeses into cute little tokens of affection that will appeal to both adults and the toddler set.

Heart of the Batter

Strawberries make the perfect heart-shaped fruit. Stuff them inside cupakes for a sweet surprise. Top the cupcakes with creamy chocolate frosting and a sliced strawberry.

Get the Recipe: Heart of the Batter

Almost-Famous Conversation Hearts

Forget the store-bought treats. With this recipe you can customize your own candy hearts—and the flavors too.

Get the Recipe: Almost-Famous Conversation Hearts

Egg-in-a-Heart

To upgrade the brunch classic, use a cookie cutter to punch out hearts instead of circles from buttered slices of bread. Fry up the crust pieces, adding eggs to the holes after flipping. Serve the cut-out hearts alongside as "soldiers" for dipping into the yolks.

Heart-Shaped Pizza for Two

With a few little tricks, you can transform a regular pepperoni pizza into a special heart-shaped treat. We take a few shortcuts, like store-bought pizza dough and sauce, so that it comes together quickly, but don't worry, we won't tell anyone it wasn't a labor of love.

Get the Recipe: Heart-Shaped Pizza for Two

Heartbeats and Cereal Treats

Toss in a handful of cranberries, freeze-dried strawberries or pink sprinkles to dress up your standard treat mix. Coating a heart-shaped cookie cutter with nonstick spray makes cutting bars from the pan easy.

Chocolate Mousse with Puff Pastry Hearts

Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your sweetheart this Valentine's Day. This light and fluffy chocolate mousse can be made the night before your romantic feast.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Mousse with Puff Pastry Hearts

Meringue Lollipop Hearts

Swiss meringue pipes like a dream and makes an ideal base for heart-shaped meringue pops. Valentine's Day is all about chocolate, so you'll find a few chocolate chips nestled inside each pop for a tasty surprise.

Get the Recipe: Meringue Lollipop Hearts

Cross-My-Heart Cinnamon Twists

Shape ropes of puff pastry or pizza dough into hearts; brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking. Go over the top with a dipping sauce of warmed chocolate syrup or lavender honey.

Red Velvet Heart Pancakes

These pancakes are easier to make than you think—simply pour the batter into a squeeze bottle to easily create the shapes you want to make. Top with a drizzle of maple syrup and chopped nuts for texture.

Get the Recipe: Red Velvet Heart Pancakes

For the Love of Fruit

A strawberry with shapely "shoulders" becomes a pink and red heart when you slice it in half lengthwise (cut out a notch at the stem on less-rotund fruit). Use as a cheerful topper for cupcakes, oatmeal and waffles.

Heart-Shaped Biscuit Doughnuts

Deep-fried biscuit dough makes an incredibly delicious doughnut: crisp and golden outside and fluffy and soft inside. These doughnuts are extra decadent thanks to a chocolate filling and a creamy glaze.

Get the Recipe: Heart-Shaped Biscuit Doughnuts

Conversation Heart Cake

To create the supersize sweet, we turned two cakes into a heart shape, then we covered the whole thing in a homemade marshmallow fondant. For the message, you just need food coloring...and something sweet to say!

Get the Recipe: Conversation Heart Cake