Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Dinner Inspo

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we thought we’d share our favourite heart-inspired, super-easy family meal idea.  Gone are the days where we seek out a fancy restaurant, and instead opt to have a simple, but special affair at home with the kids.  And when I say simple, I mean easy-peasy, under 20 minutes to prep + cook simple 😉

And what’s the way to my kids’ heart?  Pizza, of course – perhaps embedded in their DNA by their pizza-crazed Dad!  Seriously, pizza is kind of a big deal around here.  It made many date nights when Andrew and I were younger and we even had a pizza bar at our wedding reception.  If you follow our insta-stories, you know pizza is still a staple around here.  Sometimes 2-3 times per week!  While delivery is sometimes a great option for us with the kids busy hockey schedules, we also LOVE the homemade variety, stemming from my Italian roots and seeing my Nonna & Dad prep the most mouth-watering pizza pies I ever did taste!

These heart-shaped pizzas literally took only 10 mins to prep and made for a fun kitchen activity with the kids this past weekend.  We made Margherita & Pepperoni versions, but your options are endless. We’ll be repeating it for the ‘day of love’ next week and hope it inspires you to bake it up for your own brood.  We’re also including a super-simple Caprese Salad you can hold the kids off with while the pizzas bake! (*Updated 2022 – scroll down for more Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Dinner Inspo!*)

Shopping List

• Ready to eat pizza crusts or large round flatbreads (available at all grocery stores near the bread section.  We love the President’s Choice ones which come in white, multi-grain and thick crust varieties)
• 1 can of 213 ml pizza sauce per pizza you intend to make (we made 2 pizzas, so 2 cans)
• Small, heart-shaped cookie cutter (approx. 1 + 1/2 – 2 inches) (I picked mine up at our local dollar store)
• 2 fresh balls of Buffalo Mozzarella or Mozzarella Fresca
• Fresh basil bunch
• 1 bag of pre-shredded or 1 brick/ball of regular mozzarella
• Italian herb blend
• Chili pepper flakes
• Pre-sliced pepperoni (1 bag or container) or favourite stick of salami/pepperoni
• 2-4 medium-large, ripe tomatoes (we used the Roma variety, but any will do)
• 1 bottle of balsamic reduction glaze
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Black Pepper
• Salt

Heart-Shaped Caprese Salad

Our last vacation as a couple before starting our family was an Italian whirl, including a stop at the Island of Capri.  This super-easy antipasto (appetizer), which literally translates to ‘Salad of Capri”, has always been a favourite for Andrew and I, and we now love making it ‘con amore’ for special family meals.

Ingredients

• 1 ball of fresh Buffalo Mozzarella or Mozzarella Fresca
• 2-4 tomatoes
• fresh basil leaves
• balsamic reduction glaze
• salt & pepper
• EVOO

Directions

1. Slice the buffalo mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices & used the heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many cheese shapes as you wish
2. Wash and slice the tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices (about as many as you cut for the cheese)
3. Place tomato + cheese slices one after another until you arrange enough to feed your crew.
4. Drizzle balsamic reduction over the tomatoes and cheese
5. Next, drizzle EVOO over the tomatoes and cheese
6. Garnish with fresh basil leaves
7. Sprinkle salt & black pepper (sparingly, to taste)

*The version shown above excludes the EVOO + salt & pepper because the kids prefer it without so Andrew and I added it to our own portions after*

Heart-Shaped Pizzas

Pizza Margherita 

Ingredients for Heart-shaped Pizza Margherita

• pre-made pizza crust or large round flatbreads
• 1 can of 213 ml pizza sauce per pizza
• fresh buffalo mozzarella ball
• fresh basil
• Italian herb blend (*optional*)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Freehand cut the premade crusts into a heart shape.  If you’re not confident in freehand (trust me it was super easy!), cut out a stencil from cardboard, place on top, and cut around with a knife
3. Add pizza sauce to your liking using a large spoon.
4. Cut the buffalo mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices, and cut out heart shapes with your cookie cutter.  Place cheese hearts on pizza.
5. Rinse the basil with water, dry & separate.  Place on the pizza as desired (I used approx. 4 large leaves for one pizza, but add to taste).
6. Sprinkle with Italian herb blend (*optional*)
7. Place on baking sheet
8. Bake on oven middle rack for 5-8 minutes (depends on oven strength), or until edges begin to get golden brown and cheese bubbles.

Meat Lover’s Heart-shaped Pizza

Ingredients

• pre-made pizza crust (available at all grocery stores near the bread section.  We love the President’s Choice ones which come in white, multi-grain and thick crust varieties)
• pre-sliced pepperoni or other favourite cured meat by the stick/slices
• 1 can of 213 ml pizza sauce per pizza
• pre-shredded, bagged Mozzarella or regular mozzarella ball
• Chili pepper flakes (*optional*)
• Italian herb blend (*optional*)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Freehand cut the premade crusts into a heart shape.  If you’re not confident in freehand (trust me it was super easy!), cut out a stencil from cardboard, place on top, and cut around with a knife
3. Add pizza sauce to your liking using a large spoon.
4. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the sauce (to taste)
5. Use heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out pepperoni (or other meat) hearts (as many as you wish) & place all over, on top of the cheese
6. Add chili pepper flakes, if desired
7. Sprinkle with Italian herb blend (*optional*)
8. Place on baking sheet
9. Bake on oven middle rack for 5-8 minutes (depends on oven strength), or until edges begin to get golden brown and cheese bubbles.

And that’s it!  A simple heart-shaped meal your family will love in under 20 minutes?!  Now’ that’s AMORE!

More Easy Heart-Shaped Food Ideas

*Updated 2022* Since creating this post, we’ve created a whole lot of easy heart-shaped recipes.  Here are some of my faves:

Roasted Blushing Heart Potatoes

Chicken Parm-atore D’Amore ©

Caprese Salad D’amore

Heart-to-Handle Charcuterie Board

Chocolate-Dipped Heart Cookies

Easy Date Night at Home Recipes

For easy date night at home recipes to try the whole ‘Month of Love’ and beyond, check out some of our favourites HERE.

How are you spending Valentine’s Day this year?  Hot date with hubs?  Family night out?  Tell us your favourite things to do as a family below! And if the day is just not your thing, tell us that too!

Love & light,