Heart-Shaped Foods Perfect for Valentine’s Day

If the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, then there’s no better guarantee for love than to treat the ones you adore with heart-shaped vegan foods. Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, Mother’s or Father’s Day, your partner’s birthday, or just a lazy Sunday, a heart-shaped meal is a guaranteed soul sweetener.

Sweet Treats
Turn your favorite recipe into a confection of devotion in an instant with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Try some classic Snickerdoodles or fancier Cashew Coconut Date Cookies. For cupcakes, mold tin sleeves (they shape better than paper) into a heart before pouring in the batter. Some knife sculpting should do the trick for larger cakes, which you can decorate with icing hearts or, for a super indulgent dessert, chocolate hearts that confess your vegan commitment. For something less cakey, cut and mold peppermint patties, whoopie pies, and the world’s best raw coconut truffles into cute bites. If you’re less inclined to make something yourself, there’s always Sweet & Sara’s chocolate dipped marshmallow hearts.

Hearty Breakfast
Any classic breakfast can be made into a heart-shaped meal. Pancakes, toast, waffles, and biscuits are easy go-to’s, but try molding your tofu scramble or frittata for something unexpected. Remember the childhood joy of seeing a happy face on your food? Relive those days by adding blueberries, carob chips, bananas, and vegan whipped cream for sweet foods, or olives, mushrooms, and ketchup for savory dishes.

Affectionate Snacks
Pretzels are traditionally heart-shaped and an easy snack or appetizer. You can also create polenta snacks, served with Chimichurri Sauce, or make your own tortilla chips by cutting hearts out of corn tortillas, spraying with a bit of oil, and baking them at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. The crispy snack is perfect for dipping in tasty Mango Salsa.

Dinner to Delight
With heart-shaped pasta available for purchase, plain spaghetti can get an instant makeover. Using marinara sauce also makes the red, pink, and white color pallette of love pop. For a handmade touch, use a cookie cutter and cook up heart-shapped Wild Mushroom Ravioli. But why stop at the pasta’s shape? Put a few drops of red food coloring in the dough for a crimson hue. If you’re lucky, and don’t mind spending hours examining produce, you’ll find naturally occurring heart-shaped strawberries, tomatoes, or cherries. On rare occasions, kiwi seeds align in the lovely pattern. Then again, it’s far easier to take fate into your own hands and cut hearts out of fruits and veggies such as carrots, beets, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Serve on the side in a heart-shaped bowl.

Coffee Amore
Get your inner barista on with some fancy latte art. If you have an espresso machine, watch the available YouTube tutorials and practice on a few (or more) cups. Soon enough you’ll master the right flick of the wrist to enjoy a love-laden latte, cappuccino, or mocha. Or, you can always politely ask your local barista to make the heart for you.

With so many options, any food can go from standard to sweet with some simple shaping. The possibilities are endless, so love up anything you like, from pizza to sushi, brownies to popsicles.